Wright knocks defending champion Humphries out of Worlds

Luke Humphries was number one seed but the bookmakers' second favourite for the tournament behind teenager Luke Littler

Defending champion Luke Humphries is out of the PDC World Darts Championship in the fourth round after an astonishing performance from former winner Peter Wright.

Humphries was far from his fluent best and was eventually beaten 4-1 by the 2020 and 2022 champion.

Scot Wright, who is seeded 17th, has endured a difficult year but said in the build-up that he was confident he could still match the levels of Humphries and teenage prodigy Luke Littler.

And so it proved. He averaged 100.93 - slightly higher than Humphries' 99.23 - and had a staggering 70% success rate on the checkouts.

Humphries had fought back in the pre-match words - saying if he won this year's event he would have matched everything Wright had achieved despite being 25 years his junior.

His bare numbers were still at a reasonable level - he was at 56.3% on checkouts himself - but there was a flatness about his performance and he was not able to produce that consistent high-level of scoring that has propelled him to the world's best player.

His ranking as world number one is safe because the PDC Order of Merit is done over two years and Humphries has won six PDC major finals in that time.

"I probably put too much pressure on myself," said Humphries.

"I'm still the world number one, and this result won't deter me from going on to win more.

"I don't see my career ending as a one-time World Champion. I do feel like I will win more."

For Wright this is a significant warning to others that he still has plenty of life left in him at 54.

Earlier this year, he endured a torrid Premier League campaign, winning just two of 18 matches, as he finished bottom of the eight-player table.

He will face the winner of eighth-seed Stephen Bunting against unseeded Luke Woodhouse in the last eight.

"Luke gave me a load of chances there, he didn't play like he can," Wright told Sky Sports.

"I've been struggling for form all year and it's so annoying because I know I can still play darts.

"I'm a double world champion and I want to win it for a third time. I'm not too old and you only have to play well for two or three weeks the whole year. These three weeks are all that matters and I'm in the quarter-finals."

Humphries' exit, in theory, makes Littler's route to the final easier with Bunting now the highest-seeded player he could play before Friday's showpiece event.

Price beats Welsh compatriot Clayton

Meanwhile, 2021 champion Gerwyn Price is through to the last eight with a 4-2 win over number seven seed Jonny Clayton.

Price, who is good friends with Clayton and plays alongside him for Wales in the World Cup of Darts, raced into a 2-0 lead with an impressive 107 average.

As has been the case for much of the year, he was unable to produce that level for an entire game, with his average dropping by more than 10 as Clayton levelled at 2-2.

Tenth seed Price found more rhythm to win the fifth and sixth set, and closed out the win to earn a place in the quarter-finals for the fifth time in the past six years.

"I thought the first two sets I blew him away, then I couldn't hit a barn door. I was trying too hard," Price told Sky Sports.

"It was a tough game in more senses than one. I wanted to win but he's a great friend, not that that matters because I'm here to win. I promise I will get better."

He will face 15th seed Chris Dobey or the unseeded Kevin Doets in the quarter-finals.

Rydz dazzles in shock win over Van den Bergh

Callan Rydz reached the quarter-finals at the World Championship in 2022

England's Callan Rydz put in a magnificent performance to stun 11th seed Dimitri van den Bergh and reach the fourth round.

Rydz, a quarter-finalist in 2022, stormed to a 4-0 win over the 2020 World Matchplay champion as he recorded an impressive 105.31 average.

That number was at 115.94 after a blistering first two sets in which Rydz hit six 180s and made six of his nine darts at double against a bewildered Van den Bergh.

The Belgian attempted to force his way back into the contest but Rydz's level was such that any opportunities were soon snatched from Van den Bergh's grasp.

"I'm over the moon. I didn't give Dimi a sniff and I've got to do the same in the last 16," Rydz told Sky Sports. "Buzzing with the result and can't wait to be back here."

Dutchman Doets survived four match darts as he produced a stirring comeback to beat 31st seed Krzysztof Ratajski.

Doets, who knocked out second seed Michael Smith in the last round, did not have a dart at double in the first set and found himself 2-0 down without winning a leg.

However, he suddenly burst into life to win six of the next seven legs and level the match at 2-2 with a 106 checkout.

Ratajski rallied in the fifth and had four darts to win the match in the sixth but failed to take them.

That allowed Doets to level again before he took the lead for the first time at 2-1 in the seventh and won the next to seal it.

Meanwhile, Sweden's Jeffrey de Graaf set up a last-16 tie with three-time champion Michael van Gerwen after a convincing 4-1 win over Paolo Nebrida.

Filipino Nebrida took the first set but De Graaf won the next four on the bounce, finishing with a 10-darter, to progress from the third round of the World Championship for the first time.

Wales' Robert Owen became the final player through to the fourth round with a brilliant win over Ricky Evans.

The 40-year-old qualifier trailed 2-1 but won three sets on the spin to triumph 4-2.

The win is the biggest of his career, having lost in the first round on his only previous World Championship appearance.

"Throughout I was saying 'I'm here' in Welsh. I'm here for my family and to give us a good life," Owen, who will face Rydz in round four, told Sky Sports.

It means seven unseeded players will be in the fourth round - a joint-high with the 2019 tournament since the 96-player format was introduced.

Sunday's results

Afternoon Session

Third round

Jeffrey de Graaf 4-1 Paolo Nebrida

Kevin Doets 4-3 Krzysztof Ratajski

Dimitri van den Bergh 0-4 Callan Rydz

Evening Session (19:00)

Third round

Ricky Evans 2-4 Robert Owen

Fourth round

Jonny Clayton 2-4 Gerwyn Price

Luke Humphries 1-4 Peter Wright

Monday's schedule

Afternoon Session (12:30 GMT)

Fourth round

Kevin Doets v Chris Dobey

Robert Owen v Callan Rydz

Ricardo Pietreczko v Nathan Aspinall

Evening Session (19:00 GMT)

Fourth round

Stephen Bunting v Luke Woodhouse

Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey de Graaf

Luke Littler v Ryan Joyce

There will be live text commentary on the evening session from 18:45 GMT on the BBC Sport website and app.