Canada's Long stuns Rock on opening night of US Darts Masters, Humphries advances

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/long-jim/ENiPRh9J/"]Long[/a], who also defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/smith-michael/fuylyQpD/"]Michael Smith[/a] at the tournament in 2023, capitalised on missed doubles by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rock-josh/xKxxNY1P/"]Rock[/a] to claim another notable victory on the Madison Square Garden stage.[/p][p]After Rock recovered from 3-0 down to level at 3-3, the Canadian won three of the next four legs to seal his place in the quarter-finals.[/p][p][b]“It’s an amazing feeling to win on this stage. I’m over the moon,” [/b]Long said.[/p][p][b]“I’ve played Josh three times on the tour, so we’re familiar with each other, and I was fortunate he missed a couple of doubles at the end there.[/b][/p][p][b]“I just want to play every game I can play and perform at my best with every chance I get.”[/b][/p][p]Long's reward is a meeting with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/littler-luke/0URN6Xks/"]Luke Littler[/a], who recovered from 4-3 down to beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cameron-dave/YTktilJa/"]David Cameron[/a] 6-4 after an unconvincing start.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/humphries-luke/n34VOAWo/"]Humphries[/a], meanwhile, opened his bid for successive US Darts Masters titles with a comfortable 6-1 victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gates-leonard/Y78TtL8k/"]Leonard Gates[/a].[/p][image alt="Humphries and Gates" id="8b0a838e-f5fe-439b-92b5-9cc33573a503" credit-line="Ed Mulholland / PDC" guid="ce66825f-1dff-4225-afd4-f06a0d5de15f" original-width="2000" original-height="1333" /][p][b]“This is a really prestigious event and one of the best venues in the world,”[/b] Humphries said.[/p][p][b]“My brother told me in the last eight events I’ve played in - including the Premier League - I’ve made eight finals on the trot, so that’s given me a lot of confidence.[/b][/p][p][b]“I’ve been a really tough player to beat in the last few weeks, and it’s nice to have that winning feeling back.”[/b][/p][p]Humphries will face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bunting-stephen/xANKMtPG/"]Stephen Bunting[/a] in the quarter-finals after the Merseyside native defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/spellman-alex/p218tZFf/"]Alex Spellman[/a] 6-2.[/p][p]Elsewhere, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-veen-gian/jgT1AT29/"]Gian van Veen[/a] marked his US Darts Masters debut with a 6-1 triumph over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/krueger-frederick/Y9pT7rkm/"]Fred Krueger[/a] and will play [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/clayton-jonny/tx0y2xRD/"]Jonny Clayton[/a], who beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mawson-gary/vDIJoo0e/"]Gary Mawson[/a] 6-2.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/price-gerwyn/8dDDoW0B/"]Gerwyn Price[/a] also progressed with a 6-4 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hall-brayden/42zM7aaJ/"]Brayden Hall[/a] and will face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wade-james/MRrXjBAB/"]James Wade[/a], who bettered [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sevada-adam/KdLKkDsQ/"]Adam Sevada[/a] 6-3 on his return to the World Series circuit.[/p][h2]Results[/h2][p]Gian van Veen 6-1 Fred Krueger[/p][p]Gerwyn Price 6-4 Brayden Hall[/p][p]James Wade 6-3 Adam Sevada[/p][p]Jim Long 6-4 Josh Rock[/p][p]Luke Littler 6-4 David Cameron[/p][p]Luke Humphries 6-1 Leonard Gates[/p][p]Jonny Clayton 6-2 Gary Mawson[/p][p]Stephen Bunting 6-2 Alex Spellman[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/darts/usa/us-darts-masters/"]Follow the US Darts Masters with Flashscore[/a][/h2]