Gian van Veen beat Luke Humphries 6-2 on Sunday 8 November, five days before the start of the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts. The Dutchman, ranked number two in the world, arrives in Wolverhampton brimming with confidence. The Englishman, the 2024 world champion and a regular at major tournaments, leaves with questions about his current form.
A heavy defeat at the worst possible time
The timing is just as significant as the scoreline. With five days to go before the Grand Slam gets underway on 14 November in Wolverhampton, a 6-2 defeat to a direct title rival sends a clear message. Van Veen didn’t just win: he kept Humphries two points behind for almost the entire match, in a short-format competition where every lost leg counts.
In a best-of-six-sets match, a 6-2 result means the loser has taken just a third of the sets. This wasn’t a narrow defeat, snatched away by a poorly executed volley. It was a match controlled from start to finish, with a gap that opened up and never closed.
Van Veen, a number two who lives up to his ranking
The Dutchman is enjoying the best spell of his career. Since August, he has held second place in the PDC world rankings, just ahead of Humphries. He is no longer a rising star on the circuit: he is a player firmly established at the top of the table, capable of stringing together successful weekends.
On 18 October, he broke an eight-year-old record by posting an average of 120.24 in Maastricht, with five 180s and a 6-0 victory to boot. An evening like that doesn’t happen by chance. Above all, it shows one thing: when Van Veen finds his rhythm, he leaves his opponent with very little, both in terms of scoring and checkouts.
Against Humphries, he applied exactly that approach. Consistent scoring, few wasted chances, and that ability to capitalise on his opponent’s moments of hesitation to win legs. In a tournament where the groups consist of just three players, this style becomes particularly dangerous.
Humphries and the question of form
Luke Humphries remains one of the most complete players on the circuit. World Champion in 2024 and a multiple winner of major tournaments, he has plenty of experience of long tournament weeks and high-pressure matches. A 6-2 evening does not call this record into question, and no one writes off a player of this calibre after a single defeat.
The problem lies elsewhere. With five days to go before a tournament that marks the start of the season’s final stretch, such a clear defeat against a direct rival raises questions about his consistency in scoring. Humphries seemed to be lagging behind in the closing stages of the sets, whilst Van Veen was stringing together a series of powerful volleys. In a two-match group stage format, this detail could cost him his place in the next round.
Accumulated fatigue is also a factor. The end of the professional season sees one weekend tournament after another, and the top-10 players arrive at the Grand Slam with very different match loads. Humphries has played a lot in recent weeks, which makes his poor performance less surprising than it might seem.
What this means for the Grand Slam
The 2026 Grand Slam of Darts takes place from 14 to 22 November in Wolverhampton, featuring 48 players divided into sixteen groups of three and a prize fund of one million pounds. This is a brand-new format this year, designed to maximise the number of decisive matches right from the opening days.
In practical terms, each player plays only two group matches. One defeat and the tournament is over immediately: they must win their second match, then hope for favourable results elsewhere. In this context, arriving with a 6–2 defeat under your belt is no small matter, whereas a player on a roll can carry on without a break.
The group draw takes place this Monday, 9 November. It will determine whether Van Veen and Humphries end up in the same group – a scenario that would immediately add a special flavour to the tournament. The seeds are allocated in such a way as to avoid immediate clashes, but with groups of three, high-profile matches come around more quickly than elsewhere.
The draw as the first judge
One evening does not make a season, and the Grand Slam has already seen favourites get off to a slow start before finding their form. Van Veen, for his part, goes into the tournament as the player to beat, which changes the way his opponents prepare for their matches. Humphries, for his part, retains the advantage of experience over the long haul and the ability to turn around a week that has got off to a bad start.
The event in Wolverhampton will soon reveal which of the two has truly gained the upper hand. In the meantime, the Dutchman has scored a crucial point, and the Englishman knows he’ll have to respond on court, not in interviews.
