Luke Humphries suffers shock World Matchplay first-round exit to Cameron Menzies

Luke Humphries’ World Matchplay defence collapsed in the opening round at the Winter Gardens, where Scotland’s Cameron Menzies beat the world number two in one of the tournament’s earliest shocks. The defeat removed the 2024 champion from the 32-player PDC major and immediately changed the shape of Blackpool’s draw.

The Betfred World Matchplay began on Saturday, 18 July and runs through 26 July, with Sky Sports carrying live coverage throughout the event. The draw was confirmed on 10 July, and it had already put Humphries on a difficult path against Menzies, who was making his World Matchplay debut. That pairing turned into a pressure match rather than a routine opener for the defending champion.

Humphries arrived in Blackpool with a target on his back after winning the title in 2024 and helping England lift the World Cup of Darts in June. He also came in as one of the sport’s most bankable names, but the early exit underlined how thin the margin is in top-level darts, where the format can punish even the highest-ranked players if scoring or doubles go missing at the wrong moment.

The result also brought back a familiar Blackpool problem for Humphries. In 2025, he had already fallen in his opening match at the World Matchplay, losing 10-8 to Gian van Veen after missing 20 doubles. Two straight first-round exits now leave questions not about Humphries’ standing in the game, but about how quickly the tournament can turn on a favourite when the first round arrives.

For the rest of the field, Humphries’ exit alters the bracket immediately. Luke Littler, the defending men’s champion, remains in the tournament, while Michael van Gerwen and other leading contenders now have one fewer major obstacle between them and the late rounds. In a short-format, high-pressure event at Blackpool, that kind of opening can matter as much as form.

Humphries had gone into the event as world number two and one of the central figures in the week’s billing. By the end of his first match, the conversation had shifted again, with Menzies’ debut producing the sort of upset that keeps the World Matchplay volatile from the first dart.