Ireland's Keane Barry books place in second round of World Darts ...
Luke Humphries begins title defence with straight sets win
Ireland's Keane Barry reacts during his win over Kim Huybrechts of Belgium in their first round match during day one of the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace in London, England. Photo: James Fearn/Getty Images
Ireland’s Keane Barry has booked his place in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship at the Alexandra Palace in London.
The Meath native overcame the challenge of Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts on opening night at the London venue.
Barry had to rally after losing the first set 3-2. The second set also went to the wire, with Barry prevailing 3-2.
The 22-year-old Duleek man then took the third set on a score of 3-1, before closing out the win with another 3-1 set victory, finishing on double 20.
Barry scored a 94.97 average overall and now faces the daunting task of overcoming tenth seed Gerwyn Price of Wales in the second round.
Reigning champion Luke Humphries of England, meanwhile, eased to victory in his opener, beating Frenchman Thibault Tricole 3-0.
In the opening match-up, Tricole had beaten Joe Comito of New Zealand 3-1, setting up his showdown with Humphries.
In game two, Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont put in a decent performance in his Alexandra Palace debut, although it was not enough to prevent a straight-sets defeat to Jermaine Wattimena of the Netherlands. He faces England’s James Wade in round two.
