Luke Humphries exits Grand Slam of Darts despite beating Jose de Sousa

Newbury darts player Luke Humphries suffered Grand Slam exit on Tuesday, despite winning two of his three group games.

Going into his final match with defending champion Jose de Sousa, Humphries needed a victory of 5-2 or better but let a 4-1 lead slip before eventually winning 5-3 in vain.

The Portuguese ace got the three legs he needed to progress from Group F at the expense of his opponent.

Humphries opened his Grand Slam account with a 5-3 defeat to Mensur Suljovic, even though he averaged 101.25.

Going into his match with Matt Campbell, the 26-year-old knew he needed a win to remain in the competition in Wolverhampton and he did what he needed, earning a 5-3 win.

However, Humphries exited the competition in the cruellest of ways after the victory over de Sousa.

The Newbury man will have a short amount of time to reflect before the Ladbrokes Players Championship begins on November 26.

Humphries will come up against fellow Newbury man Jason Heaver in the opening round of the competition.

Heaver has enjoyed a recent run of form and has also qualified for the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace, London, next month.