Spectacular duel between Gabriel Clemens and Luke Humphries at the Darts World Championship. The German started an incredible comeback and demanded everything from the 2024 World Champion.
A new German record, impressive high finishes and a great fight, but Luke Humphries ultimately proved to be too strong. Gabriel Clemens was eliminated in the third round of the Darts World Championship 2026.
The “German Giant” lost to world number two “Cool Hand Luke” 2:4 in sets on Sunday evening.
Gabriel Clemens was eliminated in the third round of the Darts World Championship
“Especially after being 0:3 down, I suddenly played really well. I don’t know why, but the triples came well, the doubles came well. I played a lot of twelve-darters. But in the end, Luke deserved to win because he was simply better at the beginning,” Clemens concluded after the match on SPORT1 .
New German Record at Ally Pally
The Saarlander ultimately played a strong 101.49 points in the three-dart average and was successful with 50 percent of his throws on the doubles. It was the first time in history that a German played over 100 points in average at the PDC World Championship. Humphries achieved 100.14 points in average and had a double percentage of 51.9 percent.
“Phenomenal match. Gaga showed what he can do. If Humphries hadn’t taken the sixth set, I believe Gabriel Clemens would have won this match,” was the conclusion of SPORT1 expert Max Hopp.
Darts World Championship: Whistles against Luke Humphries
Even during the walk-on, the German fans in London’s Alexandra Palace made their presence felt. Humphries was booed sporadically and clearly audibly on TV. The first legs were accompanied by “Gabriel Clemens” chants.
Clemens had a good start and secured his throwing leg. However, Humphries took the following three legs and thus also the first set. Set two also went to the Englishman (3:1), who now showed significantly improved scoring.
“There was more in the first two sets. The opportunities you get, you simply have to take. Luke Humphries is a world-class player. You have to seize these moments,” summarized SPORT1 expert Robert Marijanovic at the beginning of the third set, referring to Clemens’ missed darts on doubles.
Clemens conjures up numerous high finishes on the board
In the third leg of the third set, Clemens created a real highlight: via Bullseye, Single-Bull, and Bullseye, the German checked out 125 points to win the leg. Buoyed by the high finish, Clemens started the next leg with a 180, broke Humphries, and leveled the score at 2:2 in legs. However, Humphries secured the decider – and thus a 3:0 set lead.
At the beginning of the fourth set, Clemens checked out 81 points for the break via double 13 and let out a loud shout. “He’s angry, and that’s good,” said Marijanovic. In the next leg, the German promptly delivered another strong finish: via Bullseye, he took out 121 points and took a 2:0 lead in legs.
And Clemens was far from finished: a 116 checkout via double 18 meant the Saarlander’s first set win. Particularly impressive was his set average in the third round – 115.62 points! “That was an excellent set. Clemens is playing really, really well right now,” Hopp concluded: “That was a challenge to Luke Humphries.”
Darts: Humphries takes out the Big Fish
The level remained incredibly high in set five. Clemens played an 11-darter to go 2:1 up in legs before Humphries retaliated and took out the Big Fish – the highest possible finish in darts – to level at 2:2 in legs. Clemens, in turn, secured the decider and thus the set.
In the fourth leg of the sixth set, Clemens had a great chance to level the set, but the German missed three darts on the doubles.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t manage it. 3:3 would have been really interesting,” Clemens said after the match about this decisive moment.
The decider in the sixth set was also lost – Humphries converted his first match dart on double 13. The Englishman was visibly relieved and embraced Clemens warmly. “An incredibly cool match,” rejoiced SPORT1 commentator Basti Schwele.