Luke Humphries: Euro Tour King to World Champion
The development in performance from Luke Humphries was there for the world to see, as he fulfilled his destiny to become the 12th different winner of a PDC World Darts Championship. Cool Hand Luke included 23 180s to defeat World Youth Champion Luke Littler 7-4 at the Alexandra Palace, having become the World Number 1 a day before.
The Red Dragon player started to make a name for himself last year having worked his way to 4 European Tour titles, beating 2018 World Champion Rob Cross in two of the Finals as well as Martin Lukeman and Rowby-John Rodriguez.
The Englishman began to rise in the rankings because of the prize money he was racking up, showcasing his ridiculous talent with a whitewash win over Michael van Gerwen en route to winning the German Darts Grand Prix, with the Green Machine the defending champion.
Humphries averaged 107.36 in winning 7-0 in the Semi Finals before defeating Martin Lukeman in the Final, and this was a little eye opener to darts fans and other players that he was going to become a big force within the Professional Darts Corporation.
Cool Hand Luke has continued to improve and in October last year he finally picked up his maiden televised title, with a 5-2 victory over Gerwyn Price to win the World Grand Prix at the Morningside Arena. Luke included a 170 finish over the 2020 Champion having beaten the likes of Peter Wright and Joe Cullen earlier in the competition.
The 2023 European Championship was where the 28-year-old lost his last televised match, falling to a 10-6 defeat in the Quarter Finals against James Wade.
Humphries went on to claim 3 of the 4 televised majors before the PDC World Darts Championship, beating Rob Cross 16-8 to win his first Grand Slam of Darts at Aldersley Leisure Village before recovering from 9-5 down in the Final, to beat Michael van Gerwen 11-9 in the Players Championship Finals at Butlins in Minehead.
MVG was a 7-time winner in the competition but even he had no answer to the unstoppable form of Cool Hand Luke, who included 100+ averages in 4 of his 6 matches including an 11-3 victory over Ryan Joyce with a score of 106.26.
The 3 Time PDC Major winner had a difficult start to proceedings at the Alexandra Palace, dealing with a rowdy atmosphere against Ricardo Pietreczko in the Last 32.
Humphries looked down and out but a never say die attitude saw him recover the match. From 3-1 down he reeled 3 sets straight to beat the final German left standing in North London, with a 4-3 victory on the world stage.
The Red Dragon player improved against a spirited Joe Cullen in the Last 16, with both players playing arguably their best stuff in the last tungsten tussle before New Year’s Eve. You’ll recall The Rockstar missed 2 darts at double 18 for a 93 checkout and a place in the Quarter Finals, in one of two contests at the Alexandra Palace that required sudden death legs.
Cool Hand Luke threw a 12-dart break of throw to beat Joe 4-3, including 5 perfect darts to start the most important leg in booking a place in a 4th World Championship Quarter Final.
The Englishman started to find ton plus averages which he had been hitting on a regular basis in other PDC Competitions throughout 2023, and that spelled problems for opponents Dave Chisnall and Scott Williams in the New Year.
Humphries dropped a combined 1 set from his wins in the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals, not giving Williams a look in after the Lincolnshire born player stunned Michael van Gerwen 5-3 on New Year’s Day.
Cool Hand Luke included a 60% checkout rate in whitewashing Shaggy 6-0 in the Last 4 after hitting 18 out of 30 darts on the outer ring, finding 14 180s, the big fish and a 108.74 average in the English capital to set up a Final of Luke’s.
Luke Littler enjoyed one of the most sensational runs the Alexandra Palace and the World Championship has ever seen, defeating two former World Champions in Rob Cross and Raymond van Barneveld, whilst hitting 5 averages over 100 all in a sensational debut for the 16-year-old sensation.
Luke Humphries though was improving by the game and there was no sign of it letting up in the Final, which saw both Luke’s hit 170 finishes in an epic contest which was worth the hype and the added media attention.
The 28-year-old averaged 103.67 and found double 8 with his second dart to end what was a fantastic tournament, experiencing all the emotions up on the world stage. From being so close to exiting to becoming the World Number 1 and the New Champion of the World, Luke Humphries’ darting dream came true on the 3rd of January 2024.
There is no doubt Luke Littler’s day will come at the Alexandra Palace, qualifying for this year’s tournament because of finishing in the top 2 places on the PDC Development Tour Order of Merit. His achievements on the Development Tour have earned him a Tour Card for the next two years, and when you’re playing the best of the best every week, your game/ performance will improve massively.
The 2024 World Darts Championship though was about Luke Humphries who will feature in the 2024 Bet MGM Premier League Darts, with the lineup set to be announced at 4pm on the 4th of January. The Englishman continues what is a 19-match unbeaten run in PDC Televised Events, earning the Sid Waddel Trophy for the first time as well as half a million pounds.
By Harry Masterson
