The US Darts Masters has turned into a one-night pressure test for Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and the rest of the Madison Square Garden field.
After Thursday’s opening round, Sky Sports confirmed that Friday’s New York session will carry the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one block. The quarter-finals remain best of 11 legs, before the semi-finals move to best of 13 and the final stretches to best of 15.
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Littler’s side of the draw now runs through Jim Long, who kept North American interest alive by beating Josh Rock 6-4. A win there would send Littler into a semi-final against Gerwyn Price or James Wade, a route that leaves no room for a slow opening leg.
Humphries, meanwhile, faces Stephen Bunting after a 6-1 win over Leonard Gates. The defending champion’s half is just as loaded, with Gian van Veen and Jonny Clayton meeting for the other semi-final slot.
NineDartNews has already tracked the quarter-final paths and Humphries’ wider New York title defence. The sharper point now is endurance: whoever lifts the title must win three televised matches in the same session, with the format getting longer as fatigue rises.
That makes the US Darts Masters less about reputation and more about recovery. In a short-format World Series event, one loose spell can erase an entire weekend.
