Defending World Grand Prix champion Luke Humphries marches on in Leicester

Luke Humphries remains on course to defend his World Grand Prix title after easing into the quarter-finals with victory over Ricardo Pietreczko.

Pietreczko had accounted for two-time finalist Raymond van Barneveld in the previous round but the German was no match for the world number one and reigning world champion, who coasted to a 3-1 victory.

Humphries won the first set 3-0 and finished in style with a 112 and 139 in his final leg.

Rob Cross, who knocked out pre-tournament favourite Luke Littler , made it past the second round for the first time in eight appearances with a 3-1 win over Martin Schindler.

The German number one, a quarter-finalist last year, won five successive legs in taking a 2-1 lead but Cross levelled things up with the help of his first 180 of the match and was never behind from that point.

Nathan Aspinall, 2022 runner-up, missed three match darts to allow Ryan Joyce to win 3-2 in a last-leg shoot-out.