Cool Hand Luke lifts Best Newcomer Gong

Luke Humphries admits he must kick on to “make a name for himself” after being named PDC Best Newcomer. Cool Hand Luke was given the accolade at the glitzy PDC Annual Awards dinner at The Dorchester in London on Monday night. It came after a sensational run to the World Championship quarter-finals including a win over the reigning champion Rob Cross on a dramatic night at the Ally Pally. He said: “This is a massive award and shows how far I have come over the last year. “To beat the reigning World Champion at Alexandra Palace was unreal for me and now my goal is to carry on my development and continue to make a name for myself." Daryl Gurney won Best TV Performance with his remarkable comeback to beat Van Gerwen in the Players Championship final. He said: “Around a year ago I was questioning whether I could still play at the top level, but that Players Championship Finals win showed I can still do it. “For that reason that performance was a huge one for my career and I hope I can add many more titles to my honours list and keep making my son young Daryl proud.” Michael van Gerwen, not surprisingly, scooped the most gongs with the PDC Player of the Year for a fourth year in a row, while he also picked up the ProTour Player of the Year prize in recognition of his consistency throughout the year away from the TV cameras. The 29-year-old won a third consecutive Premier League title, along with victories at The Masters, World Grand Prix and a third World Cup of Darts alongside Raymond van Barneveld. MVG said: “To win these two awards is a phenomenal achievement, along with winning my third World Championship a few weeks ago. “Other players are getting better and better every week so I have to be at my best all the time. I love playing darts and I'm going to come back even stronger next year. “Darts is growing bigger and bigger and is being watched by more and more people around the world, so it's amazing to be World Champion and win this award as the sport continues to grow.” Gary Anderson admitted he was “very proud” to be named the Fans’ Player of the Year - outgunning World Champion Van Gerwen. Ando, 48, had arguably his most successful year, winning the UK Open, Matchplay and Champions League. He said: “I’m really chuffed to get the fans award, that’s the most important one in my book to be honest. I’m very proud of this. “Thanks to the fans for voting for me. I had a decent wee year, it was nice to finally win the UK Open and Matchplay which had previously been bogey tournaments for me. “Considering I started and ended the year with big back problems, that’s not bad going at all.” Michael Smith, managed by Scot Tommy Gilmour, won PDPA Players’ Player of the Year while Max Hopp was Young Player, Luke Humphries Best Newcomer and Rod Harrington made a PDC Hall of Fame Inductee. 2019 PDC Annual Awards PDC Nine-Dart Club Gold Pins: Gary Anderson, Dimitri Van den Bergh Silver Pins: Robbie Green, Ian White, Michael van Gerwen (x3), Peter Jacques, John Goldie, Cameron Menzies, Jamie Lewis, Noel Malicdem, Steve Hine, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Dawson Murschell, Dennis Nilsson, Lee Turle, Simon Preston, Adrian Lewis, Vincent van der Voort, James Wade, Krzysztof Ratajski, Rowby-John Rodriguez, George Killington, Peter Hudson, Andrew Gilding, Jimmy Hendriks, Eddie Lovely ProTour Player of the Year Winner: Michael van Gerwen Nominated: Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Ian White Best Newcomer Winner: Luke Humphries Nominated: Danny Noppert, Ryan Joyce, Luke Humphries, Gabriel Clemens Televised Performance of the Year Winner: Daryl Gurney (Players Championship Finals Final v Michael van Gerwen) Nominated: Michael van Gerwen (Premier League Final v Michael Smith), Gary Anderson (World Matchplay Quarter-Final v Joe Cullen), Michael Smith (World Championship Semi-Final v Nathan Aspinall), Luke Humphries (World Championship Fourth Round v Rob Cross) Fans' Player of the Year Winner: Gary Anderson Runner-up: Michael van Gerwen PDPA Players' Player of the Year Winner: Michael Smith Runner-up: Michael van Gerwen Young Player of the Year Winner: Max Hopp Nominated: Dimitri Van den Bergh, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Luke Humphries PDC Hall of Fame Inductee Rod Harrington – PDC Director and two-time World Matchplay Champion Player of the Year Winner: Michael van Gerwen Nominated: Gary Anderson, Michael Smith, James Wade

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By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia) Photography Courtesy of Lawrence Lustig