“Cool Hand” Luke Humphries, who won the World Grand Prix, vows to become number one and conquer the world with Ally Pally. The next date on the Sky Sports darts calendar is the 17th staging of the Grand Slam of Darts, to be held at Aldersley Leisure Village from November 11th to 19th.
Tuesday 10 October 2023, UK, 12:37
Luke Humphries has vowed to become number one and win a world title at Alexandra Palace after his sensational World Grand Prix title success in Leicester.
The 28-year-old Newbury-born star produced the performance of his career, upsetting Gerwyn Price to claim his first TV ranking title and take home the top prize of £120,000.
Humphries averaged 100.47 in the final six sets of the double-start feature match, posting a 5-2 success and scoring a breakthrough victory with a stunning 138 checkout.
“I’ve been imagining this moment my entire career,” an emotional Humphries said. “That 138th place finish will live with me for the rest of my life. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to my first major title.”
“I think a lot of people underestimated me. They thought Gaethje was going to hit me hard, but I have a little bit of quirk and the ability to play well.
“Doubles has been my Achilles heel at times in my career, so it’s pretty funny that the major championships I won started in doubles!
“Regardless of what else I did in my career, that was the best game I’ve ever played in my life.”
The former World Youth Champion has overcome his fair share of adversity during his young career. The man known as “Cool Hand” has endured battles with panic and anxiety disorders that have proven enough to make him consider his future in the sport.
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2021, he said: “I’m very open and honest about it and I’m very proud of it, because it was a period in my life where I wasn’t enjoying darts. , because it was a time when I was thinking of quitting darts.” It was having a very negative effect on me.
“I knew I was in a privileged position as a professional darts player, but to not be there mentally and physically and not be able to perform is very difficult.
“Now everything has changed and I feel like I’m in such a great place. It took me a lot of time to get into this headspace, but I’m trying to figure out how to get myself back into the game and get myself back.” I’m very proud of how I acted.”My head is straight.
“It proved to me that you don’t have to give up on things because of anxiety, you can beat it. I still get it, but I’m able to cope with it much better now and it doesn’t affect me as much in darts anymore. .It’s important to me. It allows me to reach my full potential.”
Humphries’ win at the World Grand Prix gave him a career-best fourth place in the PDC Order of Merit, ahead of Price, and continues his rapid rise at the elite level.
He has made continued progress over the past 18 months, winning five European Tour titles and reaching the semi-finals in five of the last seven televised events.
Humphries, the 2021 British Open runner-up, becomes the 13th winner of the premier TV event in the past two years and believes his first title will lay the foundation for further success.
“The world is my oyster. It’s up to me now. I’ll probably work harder, because it’s time for you to taste it.” [winning]it makes you want more,” Humphries said.
“When you get into the top 32, you think, “This is amazing.” Then you get into the top 16 or top 8, and you think, “It can’t get any better than this.” You have to push and keep pushing.
“Right now I’m in the top four in the world. I’ve exceeded all my expectations of how my career will go, but I have one place left and that’s at the top. .
“Winning a title like this gives you the momentum and confidence to win anything, because you know you can win even under the most intense pressure.
“My next goals now are to become world number one and win a world title. Those are the two things left to achieve in my career.”
Catch the 17th staging of the Grand Slam of Darts at Aldersley Leisure Village from 11th to 19th November.Stream your favorite sports and more now for just £21/month for 6 months