Reigning champion has pinpointed Callan Rydz as the standout player who has caught his attention at the .

As the reigning champion gears up for his fourth-round clash with on Sunday, he shared his thoughts on the competition's top performers so far. Humphries thrashed Nick Kenny to secure his spot in the last 16 and said he's been keeping tabs on the tournament between matches.

When asked about his observations, 'Cool Hand' Humphries mentioned Rydz as the unexpected name that has impressed him thus far. And apart from one particularly impressive set from , 'The Nuke' hasn't done anything to stand out, according to the reigning champ.

"I've been watching it as a fan, so I've been watching a lot of the players," Humphries told reporters after his convincing win over Kenny (via the ). "And I just kind of don't really see anybody that's really put their hand up and performed at an absolutely incredible level.

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"The only one off [the top of my head] is Callan Rydz. I didn't see that game but that's the only one that's really performed, to me. I mean Luke [Littler] had that incredible last set [against White] but before that he wasn't firing on all cylinders.

"And none of us have! So I think there's a lot of pressure on everyone this year. I think everybody's sort of seeing an opportunity, and it's kind of making everyone try too hard."

Rydz - the emerging star of the Pro Tour - has been turning heads after blitzing through the first two stages without giving up a set. He nailed down the highest tournament average thus far with a whopping 107.06 in his first-round bout against Romeo Grbavac, then effortlessly dispatched Martin Schindler with another clean 3-0 sweep.

'The Riot' faces a tough challenge as he squares off against UK Open champion Dmitri van den Bergh on Sunday. 'The Dreammaker' narrowly triumphed over Humphries to snatch the title at Minehead in March and is eager to surpass his own semi-final finish at the 2023 World Darts Championship.

As for Littler, the stakes are high to etch his name as the youngest world champ in darts history, hoping to go one better than last year's second place. And snagging the top spot next month will be all that counts for the youngster, regardless of his performances along the way

Humphries echoes a similar sentiment, suggesting he's content with averages in the upper 90s if it means successfully defending his title. It's that same down-to-earth approach that helped him secure the hefty £500,000 prize just one year ago.

"I'm not one of those people that averages 105, 105, 105 - but I do enough to win every time," he added. "And that's all that matters. I'd rather be averaging 98, 99 and winning 4-0 than averaging 105 and I'm not here, I'm a loser.

"So I just do what matters, and when the top, top players turn up and I know I'm in for a real slog, that's when I turn up. That's when I'm at my best. That's when I'm firing. So for me, I'm just one of those people that just wants to get the job done."

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