Darts results: Luke Humphries makes dominant start on the opening night of the PDC World Darts Championship

Cool Hand was well below his best from a statistical point of view as he averaged just 90.79 but it was plenty good enough to brush Thibault Tricole aside 3-0 on the opening night of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.

His French opponent had earlier battled past Joe Comito 3-1 in a match which saw both players average in the very low 80s and he didn't improve on those levels much when he returned to the oche a couple of hours later.

Tricole missed all eight of his attempts at doubles as Humphries punished him in style.

The defending champion will now head home for Christmas before returning after the break for the third round.

Elsewhere, Jermaine Wattimena came through his first round clash with Stefan Bellmont 3-0 with an impressive average of 98.54 and a similar performance could put James Wade in big trouble on Monday afternoon.

Keane Barry came from a set down to defeat Kim Huybrechts 3-1 in a thrilling clash that featured 17 maximums.

Barry, who hit seven of those and averaged almost 95, will now face Gerwyn Price on Monday night.

WATCH: ALL THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TIES PREDICTED!

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Day one results and day two schedule

Sunday December 15
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Thibault Tricole 3-1 Joe Comito (R1)
• Jermaine Wattimena 3-0 Stefan Bellmont (R1)
• Kim Huybrechts 1-3 Keane Barry (R1)
• Luke Humphries 3-0 Thibault Tricole (R2)

Monday December 16
Afternoon Session (12.30pm GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
• Luke Woodhouse v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
• Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
• James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena (R2)

Evening Session (7pm GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Niels Zonneveld v Robert Owen (R1)
• Connor Scutt v Ben Robb (R1)
• Cameron Menzies v Leonard Gates (R1)
• Gerwyn Price v Keane Barry (R2)

CLICK HERE FOR FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND SCHEDULE

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