Luke Humphries and Luke Littler kept their Czech Open hopes alive in Prague, with both moving through to the last 16 after second-round wins. Humphries beat Beau Greaves 6-2, while Littler edged Niko Springer 6-4 in a match that briefly tightened after he had led 5-2.
Humphries overcomes Greaves challenge
Humphries, the world number two and a three-time champion at the Czech Open, was made to work by Greaves, who had already become the first woman to win a match on the European Tour after beating Daryl Gurney in round one. Humphries still did enough to close out a 6-2 win with a nearly 109 average, and he made clear after the match that Greaves had pushed him throughout.
He described her as an amazing player and said that if he had lost, he would not have been disgraced. That is a fair reflection of a contest that had real quality, even if Humphries found the extra gears when it mattered most. The result sends him into a third-round meeting with Andrew Gilding.
Littler returns with a win
Littler’s victory had a different feel. Before the Czech Open, he had missed the last eight events on the European Tour, so this was a useful return to the circuit. He started strongly against Springer and later said he was pleased to get through, particularly after seeing a 5-2 lead trimmed to 5-4.
He also said it had been a while since he had been to a European Tour event, and added that he produced a 108 average despite struggling in practice backstage. That sort of scoreline underlines why he remains one of the most dangerous players in the field. Littler now moves on to face Krzysztof Ratajski.
More big names through
Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen also reached the last 16 with wins against Mario Vandenbogaerde and Jeffrey de Graaf. That keeps several of the sport’s leading names in the hunt as the event continues in Prague.
For Humphries and Littler, the immediate takeaway is simple: both are still alive, both handled tricky second-round tests, and both now have a clear path into the next stage of the Czech Open.
