Scott Williams loses to Luke Humphries in the Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Scott Williams saw his Paddy Power World Darts Championship dream demolished after a whitewash defeat in his semi-final clash with Luke Humphries.
The Swineshead showman found himself frozen out of the last four match at the Alexandra Palace by 'Cool Hand' Luke who produced a sensational performance to secure a 6-0 success.
The Players Championship Finals champion came into the match on the back of a 17-match winning streak which was never threatened as his victory moved him to the top of the world rankings.
Williams had knocked out three players in the top 10 en-route to his first-ever semi-final appearance on the world stage.
And he broke the throw of Humphries in the first leg of the match before the reigning World Grand Prix champion responded to level.
Both players then held their own darts to set up a deciding leg where Humphries stole a march and his authority was never threatened for an early lead.
Williams had the advantage of throwing first in the second set but the powerful scoring and fantastic finishing of Humphries saw him breeze to a 3-0 win with back-to-back 12-dart legs featuring 121 and 136 check-outs.
The onslaught continued in the first leg of the third set as Humphries took out a 170 finish but Williams stopped the rot with a double, double on 19.
Humphries held throw in the next leg but Williams won with his darts to set up a deciding leg where he narrowly missed his shot at bullseye for a 123 finish and the Grand Slam of Darts champion stepped up with a 126 check-out for an overall 3-0 lead.
The opening four legs of the fourth set all went with throw to set up another decider where Williams was unable to take the briefest of chances and Humphries moved within two sets of victory.
The sensational form of the Newbury oche ace continued in the fifth set with Williams unable to get close to a finish in the first two legs.
A 121 check-out wrapped up the fifth set 3-0 and left Williams with a mountain to climb in the best-of-11 match.
He did break Humphries' throw in the second leg - for the first time since the opening leg of the match - but he bust his score attempting a 126 check-out in the next match-up as his opponent moved within one leg of the match.
Humphries missed a match dart to take out 80 but, with Williams well back, he hit double 10 on his next visit to secure his place in the final where he will face teenage sensation Luke Littler.
The defeat ended a remarkable run for Williams who first plied his trade in the Spalding and Holbeach leagues.
In only his second-ever appearance on the world stage, he defeated some of the sport’s leading lights, including three-times world champion Michael Van Gerwen in a memorable quarter-final success.
His exploits have earned him a £100,000 pay day and moved him up the world rankings after coming into the competition in 52nd place.