Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries will meet in Sunday evening's World Grand Prix final after coming through their semi-finals in Leicester on Saturday night. Price defeated Nathan Aspinall, while Humphries ended James Wade's run in the double-in, double-out tournament.
Price made a superb start against Aspinall, who averaged just 58 after the opening set while Price's average was twice as high, allowing the Welshman to take the first set 3-0. The second set also went to 'The Iceman', who struck with a 78 finish in the fifth leg before holding his own leg to move into a comfortable 3-0 lead. Aspinall responded strongly in the fourth set, including with a 132 finish, and then claimed the fifth set to reduce the deficit to 3-2, but failed to make the most of starting the sixth set, immediately surrendering his own leg. Two 40 check-outs gave Price a 2-0 lead before Aspinall stayed in the set with a 48 finish, only for Price to wrap it up with a 66 finish. The seventh set began with a break in Aspinall's favour, but Price immediately broke back with a 74 finish, moved to within one leg of victory with a 20 check-out, and sealed the match with a 52 check-out. It will be Price's fourth World Grand Prix final; he won the title in 2020 by defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode and lost the final in both 2021 and 2023.
In the other semi-final, Humphries proved too strong for Wade, who had previously eliminated, among others, Gian van Veen. The match had an unusual pattern early on, with the first four sets each being won by the player who had not started them: Humphries took the first and third sets, while Wade levelled by winning the second and fourth. That trend continued in the fifth set, as after Wade won the opening leg, Humphries levelled with a 32 finish and a 68 check-out, then took the set 3-1 as Wade struggled badly to open the leg. Humphries became the first player to successfully hold his own set in the sixth, though it was far from straightforward: Wade moved 2-1 ahead but produced two disastrous legs, and in the fifth leg missed a set dart at the bull, allowing Humphries to take the set via double 8 and move 4-2 ahead. Wade extended the match by taking the seventh set 3-1, but was forced to bow out in the eighth as Humphries opened with a 78 finish, doubled his advantage with a 40 check-out, and completed a 5-3 victory with a 58 finish.
Humphries will also be appearing in his fourth World Grand Prix final, having reached all four consecutively, and won his only World Grand Prix title in 2023. In that final, Price had to acknowledge Humphries' superiority, and the Englishman will once again be his opponent on Sunday evening in Leicester.
