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Luke Humphries

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Luke Humphries
Humphries in January 2024
Personal information
Nickname"Cool Hand Luke"
Born (1995-02-11) 11 February 1995 (age 29)
Newbury, Berkshire, England
Home townCrewe, Cheshire, England
Darts information
Playing darts since2010
Darts22g Red Dragon
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music“I Predict a Riot” by Kaiser Chiefs
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2011–
(Tour Card: 2018-)
Current world ranking1 Steady (24 November 2024)[1]
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipWinner (1): 2024
World MatchplayWinner (1): 2024
World Grand PrixWinner (1): 2023
UK OpenRunner Up: 2021, 2024
Grand SlamWinner (1): 2023
European Ch'shipQuarter Final: 2022, 2023, 2024
Premier LeagueRunner Up: 2024
PC FinalsWinner (1): 2023
MastersLast 16: 2022, 2023, 2024
World Series FinalsSemi Final: 2023
Other tournament wins
PDC World Cup of Darts (team event)2024
PDC Home Tour Event 2 2020

European Tour Events

Czech Darts Open 2022, 2024
European Darts Grand Prix 2022
European Darts Matchplay 2022, 2023
German Darts Grand Prix 2022, 2024

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2022, 2023
Players Championship (LEI) 2023
Players Championship (WIG) 2024

World Series of Darts

New Zealand Darts Masters 2024

Youth events

Development Tour 2017 (x5), 2018 (x3), 2019 (x3)
World Youth Championship2019

Challenge tour

Challenge Tour2017

Luke Humphries (born 11 February 1995) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is the current World No. 1 and reigning World Champion. Nicknamed "Cool Hand Luke" in reference to the 1967 film, he is the current Grand Slam champion, Players Championship Finals champion, and the World Matchplay Champion. Humphries also won the 2023 World Grand Prix.

Early life

Luke Humphries was born on 11 February 1995 in Newbury, Berkshire and grew up there, later moving to Crewe, Cheshire.[2][3][4]

His father, a Leeds United FC fan, named him Luke as an acronym for "Leeds United, Kings of Europe". Humphries is also fan of the team.[5] He is of Irish descent through his maternal grandfather.[6]

Humphries started playing darts in his teens, playing for Berkshire county darts, then moving onto Wiltshire county darts before leaving to join the PDC.

He previously worked as a roofer, retiring in 2018 to pursue darts full-time.[7]

Career

Humphries won five PDC Development Tour titles in 2017, finishing top of the Development Tour Order of Merit.[8] As a result of this, he qualified for the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship where he lost to Jeff Smith, and received a PDC Tour Card for the 2018 and 2019 season.

2019

Humphries won the Development Tour Order of Merit in 2019, a year which culminated in a fantastic run at the 2019 World Championship for Humphries. He beat Adam Hunt, Stephen Bunting, Dimitri Van den Bergh, and defending champion Rob Cross, before eventually losing 1–5 to Michael Smith in the quarter-finals.

Following Gary Anderson's withdrawal from the 2019 Premier League, Humphries was selected as one of nine 'contenders' to replace him. He played a one-off match against Gerwyn Price on night four in Exeter.

At the age of 24 Humphries won the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship, where he beat Adam Gawlas 6–0.[9]

2020

In the 2020 World Championship, Humphries once again reached the quarter-finals before losing 3–5 to eventual champion Peter Wright. Humphries was once again selected for the Premier League, this time under the tag of 'challenger'. He faced Gary Anderson in Exeter and became the first challenger to win their game.[10]

2021

In the 2021 World Championship, Humphries suffered a shock 2–3 first-round defeat to veteran Paul Lim. Luke Humphries made his first major televised final at the 2021 UK Open in March 2021. His run to the final saw him claim wins over Dave Chisnall in the quarter-final and then-reigning champion Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final. He was defeated 5–11 by James Wade in the final.

2022

In the 2022 World Championship, Humphries reached his third quarter-final in four years before losing 2–5 to Gary Anderson. Humphries reached his first PDC European Tour final at the 2022 German Darts Grand Prix by beating Jeffrey de Zwaan,[11] Michael Smith, Wesley Plaisier and Michael van Gerwen.[12] He beat Martin Lukeman in the final, hitting double 4 to win 8–2.

Humphries (right) with Michael Smith after their win in the 2024 PDC World Cup of Darts

2023

In the 2023 World Championship, Humphries reached the fourth round before losing 1–4 to Stephen Bunting. In October 2023, Humphries won his first major title at the 2023 World Grand Prix, defeating tournament favourite Gerwyn Price, 5–2 in the final.[13] The £120,000 prize money earned through this victory, saw him move into a career-high fourth in the Order of Merit.[14] He won his second major televised title, 42 days later, at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts, defeating Rob Cross 16–8 in the final, averaging an impressive 104.69.[15] Humphries won his third televised title at the 2023 Players Championship Finals, defeating Michael van Gerwen (who hit a nine-dart finish) 11–9 (Van Gerwen also missed eight darts at doubles in the 19th leg, to set up a deciding leg), before Humphries won the match on double 1.[16]

2024

On 3 January, Humphries won the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, defeating fellow Cheshire talent Luke Littler 7–4 in the final.[17] For that, he was invited to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street.[18]

In March, Humphries reached the final of the UK Open for the second time. He missed two match darts to win the title in an 11–10 loss to Dimitri Van den Bergh.[19][20]

Humphries partnered with Michael Smith to win the World Cup of Darts for England, defeating Austria 10–6 in the final.[21]

In July he won the 2024 World Matchplay, beating Michael van Gerwen 18–15 in the final. This made him only the second player after Phil Taylor to win the World Championship and the World Matchplay in the same year.

In October, Humphries started his defence of the World Grand Prix title after his victory over Price in the 2023 final. After an impressive comeback against Stephen Bunting, he was able to reach the final for a consecutive second year. However, he lost 4-6 to Mike De Decker in this final.

Premier League Darts

Nights 1–5: Starting off in the bottom-half of the table

Humphries started his 2024 Premier League Darts campaign at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.[22] He went on to lose his debut match to Luke Littler 6–2 in legs.[23] After the match, Humphries wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he felt "gutted" with the constant whistling and heckling at him during the match.[24]

Humphries started night two at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin by winning his quarter-final match against Rob Cross 6–5. However, he then suffered another loss to Littler, losing 6–5 in the semi-finals.[25] On night three at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Humphries beat Nathan Aspinall 6–3 with a 105.53 average in the quarter-finals, and defeated Gerwyn Price 6–3 in his semi-final match. Humphries lost to Michael van Gerwen 6–5 in the night's final.[26] On night four at the Newcastle Arena, Humphries lost 6–5 in the quarter-finals to Rob Cross.[27]

Just before the 2024 UK Open weekend, Humphries played at Premier League event five at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter. In the quarter-finals he defeated Michael van Gerwen 6–3, before losing 5–6 to Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals.[28][29][30]

Nights 6–8: Three consecutive night wins

Luke Humphries won his first Premier League night at Brighton Centre on night six. Humphries achieved a three-dart average of over 100 in all three of his wins on the night, with a 6–2 victory over Gerwyn Price,[31] followed by a 6–3 win over Rob Cross, where Humphries averaged 113.71, and a 6–3 defeat of Michael Smith in the final.[32][33] Humphries won a second consecutive night on night seven, at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. Humphries recorded his fifth and sixth consecutive ton+ (100+) Premier League averages in wins over Michael Smith, 6–4, and Peter Wright, 6–1, before beating Nathan Aspinall 6–3 in the final.[34][35] Humphries equalled the record for most consecutive nightly wins in the Premier League, making it three in a row on night eight at the 3Arena in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Humphries continued to record averages over 100, doing it in all 3 of his wins en route to victory in the night's final. Humphries was the number one seed as the league leader so was up against number 8 seed Peter Wright in the quarter-finals, he defeated Wright 6–1. In the semi-finals Humphries faced Nathan Aspinall, winning 6–4, and in the final Humphries achieved another triumph over Michael Smith, 6–2.[36][37]

Nights 9–16: Making three semi-finals, victory in Leeds

Night nine at the SSE Arena, Belfast saw Humphries' winning streak come to an end, losing to Luke Littler 6–5 in a deciding leg.[38] On night ten at the Manchester Arena, Humphries lost in the quarter-finals for a second consecutive week, with Michael Smith beating him 6–3.[39] On night eleven at Arena Birmingham and night twelve at Rotterdam Ahoy, Humphries made the semi-finals, with a 6–4 over Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen in the respective quarter-finals being followed by another deciding leg loss to Luke Littler on night eleven and a 6–4 loss to Nathan Aspinall on night twelve in the respective semi-finals.[40][41]

Night thirteen at the Liverpool Arena saw Humphries again defeated by Nathan Aspinall, losing 6–2 in their quarter-final match.[42] On night fourteen at P&J Live, Aberdeen, Humphries was given a bye due to his quarter-final opponent Gerwyn Price withdrawing from the night. Humphries lost 6–5 to Rob Cross in the semi-final.[43] Having previously announced that he would be changing his walk-on song from "Cake by the Ocean" by DNCE from night fifteen onwards, Humphries premiered his new walk-on song "I Predict a Riot" by the Kaiser Chiefs on Night 15 at the Leeds Arena. Humphries defeated Rob Cross and Michael Smith each by a 6–1 margin, before beating Michael van Gerwen 6–5 in the final to win the night.[44] Humphries announced he would raffle off his match-worn shirt from night fifteen and donate the proceeds to the Rob Burrow Foundation, a charity for motor neurone disease.[45] Night sixteen at the Utilita Sheffield Arena saw Humphries win 6–4 over Gerwyn Price in the quarter-final. He defeated Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final and lost 3–6 to Michael Smith in the final.[46]

Play Offs: Premier League final in his debut year

After sixteen nights, Luke Humphries finished second in the Premier League table behind Luke Littler.[47] This drew Humphries against Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final of the playoffs, held in The O2 Arena, London. Luke won the semi-final 10–5 to advance to the final against Luke Littler. Humphries lost 7–11 to Littler.[48]

Personal life

During a 2019 PDC tournament Humphries suffered an anxiety attack. He considered quitting the sport as a result.[49]

Humphries and his fiancée, Kayley, live in Crewe and had a son together in October 2022.[4][50] On 30 May 2024, whilst in New York for the 2024 US Darts Masters, the couple became engaged, with Humphries proposing to her on the top floor of The Edge.[51]

World Championship results

PDC

PDC career finals

PDC major finals: 9 (5 titles, 4 runner-up)

Legend
World Championship (1–0)
World Matchplay (1–0)
UK Open (0–2)
Premier League (0–1)
World Grand Prix (1–1)
Grand Slam of Darts (1–0)
Players Championship Finals (1–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Runner-up 1. 2021 UK Open England James Wade 5–11 (l)
Winner 1. 2023 World Grand Prix Wales Gerwyn Price 5–2 (s)
Winner 2. 2023 Grand Slam of Darts  Rob Cross 16–8 (l)
Winner 3. 2023 Players Championship Finals  Michael van Gerwen 11–9 (l)
Winner 4. 2024 World Darts Championship England Luke Littler 7–4 (s)
Runner-up 2. 2024 UK Open (2) Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh 10–11 (l)
Runner-up 3. 2024 Premier League Darts England Luke Littler 7–11 (l)
Winner 5. 2024 World Matchplay Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 18–15 (l)
Runner-up 4. 2024 World Grand Prix Belgium Mike De Decker 4–6 (s)

PDC world series finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2024 New Zealand Darts Masters Australia Damon Heta 8–2 (l)

PDC team finals: 1 (1 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Team Teammate Opponents in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2024 World Cup of Darts  England Michael Smith  Austria – Mensur Suljović and Rowby-John Rodriguez 10–6 (l)
  1. ^ a b (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline

PDC

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
PDC World Championship DNQ PR QF QF 1R QF 4R W
UK Open DNQ 3R 3R 4R F 4R 6R F
World Matchplay DNQ 2R 1R SF W
World Grand Prix DNQ 2R 1R W F
European Championship DNQ 2R QF QF QF
Grand Slam of Darts DNQ RR RR SF W
Players Championship Finals DNQ 1R 3R 3R SF W
Non-ranked televised events
Masters DNQ 2R 2R 2R
Premier League Darts DNP C C DNP F
World Cup of Darts DNQ W
World Series of Darts Finals DNQ SF QF
PDC World Youth Championship 2R SF 2R W DNP
Career statistics
Year-end ranking NR NR 57 35 42 19 5 1

PDC Premier League Darts

Contender Week 4
2019 EXE
D
Contender Week 5
2020 EXE
W
Legend: W Win D Draw
Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
2024 CAR
QF 		BER
SF 		GLA
F 		NEW
QF 		EXE
SF 		BRI
W 		NOT
W 		DUB
W 		BEL
QF 		MAN
QF 		BIR
SF 		ROT
SF 		LIV
QF 		ABD
SF 		LEE
W 		SHF
F 		LON
F

PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2018 EDO
1R 		GDG
3R 		GDO
2R 		ADO
2R 		EDG
DNQ 		DDM
DNQ 		GDT
DNQ 		DDO
DNQ 		EDM
2R 		GDC
DNQ 		DDC
DNQ 		IDO
DNQ 		EDT
2R
2019 EDO
DNQ 		GDC
2R 		GDG
DNQ 		GDO
2R 		ADO
DNQ 		EDG
DNQ 		DDM
DNQ 		DDO
DNQ 		CDO
DNQ 		ADC
2R 		EDM
DNQ 		IDO
DNQ 		GDT
DNQ
2020 BDC
1R 		GDC
DNQ 		EDG
DNQ 		IDO
DNQ
2021 HDT
SF 		GDT
1R
2022 IDO
DNQ 		GDC
2R 		GDG
W 		ADO
2R 		EDO
SF 		CDO
W 		EDG
W 		DDC
WD 		EDM
W 		HDT
2R 		GDO
QF 		BDO
WD 		GDT
QF
2023 BSD
F 		EDO
WD 		IDO
WD 		GDG
QF 		ADO
2R 		DDC
F 		BDO
F 		CDO
QF 		EDG
F 		EDM
W 		GDO
3R 		HDT
F 		GDC
SF
2024 BDO
3R 		GDG
W 		IDO
3R 		EDG
QF 		ADO
WD 		BSD
F 		DDC
DNP 		EDO
2R 		GDC
DNP 		FDT
SF 		HDT
2R 		SDT
QF 		CDO
W
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel. 		Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round 		DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

References

  1. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  2. ^ "'I honestly cannot put into words how great this feels' – Luke Humphries". Newbury Today. 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Luke Humphries – Mastercaller".
  4. ^ a b Price, Richard (5 January 2024). "'Give Luke Humphries freedom of borough' - Tories". BBC News.
  5. ^ Veal, Jonathan (4 January 2024). "World champion Luke Humphries expects long-lasting rivalry with Luke Littler". The Independent. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  6. ^ Glennon, Michael (22 March 2024). "Luke Littler and Luke Humphries top billing as Premier League darts hits Dublin". RTÉ.
  7. ^ Liew, Jonathan (17 December 2023). "Luke Humphries: 'If I've got to be boring to win majors, no problem'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. ^ Allen, Dave (5 November 2017). "Humphries Seals Glory As Rodriguez Takes Win". PDC. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  9. ^ Gorton, Josh (25 November 2019). "Luke Humphries whitewashes Adam Gawlas to win World Youth Championship title". Sky Sports.
  10. ^ "Challengers confirmed for 2020 Unibet Premier League". PDC. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  11. ^ "2022 Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix Day Two". PDC. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  12. ^ "2022 Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix Finals Day". PDC. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  13. ^ "World Grand Prix: Luke Humphries wins biggest title of his career by stunning Gerwyn Price". Sky Sports. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  14. ^ Gorton, Josh (9 October 2023). "Emotional Humphries vows to build on BoyleSports World Grand Prix win". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  15. ^ Allen, Dave (19 November 2023). "Unstoppable Humphries races to Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts title". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  16. ^ Allen, Dave (26 November 2023). "Humphries denies nine dart van Gerwen with Minehead glory". www.pdc.tv.
  17. ^ "Luke Humphries beats Luke Littler to win PDC World Darts Championship". BBC Sport. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Luke Humphries 'privileged' to meet PM Rishi Sunak after World Championship win". The Independent. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  19. ^ Gorton, Josh (3 March 2024). "Van den Bergh topples Humphries to claim UK Open glory". PDC. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  20. ^ "PDC UK Open 2024". DartConnect.
  21. ^ "Humphries stars as England win World Cup of Darts". BBC Sport. 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  22. ^ Burnett, Johnathan (1 February 2024). "How to watch Premier League Darts 2024: Live stream, TV channel, schedule for Luke Littler's debut season | Sporting News United Kingdom". Sporting News.
  23. ^ Wood, Kieran (1 February 2024). "Luke Littler blitzes past Luke Humphries on Premier League debut to set up semi-final with Michael Smith, after BullyBoy takes victory over van Gerwen in Cardiff". Darts News.
  24. ^ Gill, Samuel (3 February 2024). "Luke Humphries left 'gutted' with Luke Littler whistling as he vows to 'get better' at dealing with situation after Premier League opener". Darts News.
  25. ^ Wood, Kieran (8 February 2024). "Michael van Gerwen vs Luke Littler set for final on Night 2 of Premier League Darts in Berlin". Darts News.
  26. ^ "Premier League Darts: Michael van Gerwen wins in Glasgow after Luke Littler is beaten in thriller". Sky Sports. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  27. ^ "Premier League Darts: Michael van Gerwen secures third night win in a row with victory over Nathan Aspinall in Newcastle". Sky Sports. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  28. ^ Stanley, Lawrence (29 February 2024). "Premier League: Cross and Littler produce sensational performances to book place in Exeter semi finals". Darts News. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  29. ^ Stanley, Lawrence (29 February 2024). "Aspinall survives Humphries scare to reach consecutive Premier League night finals in Exeter". Darts News. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Premier League Darts: Nathan Aspinall wins night five in Exeter". BBC Sport. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  31. ^ Stanley, Lawrence (7 March 2024). "Premier League Night Six quarter-finals: Humphries produces brilliant performance against Price and Cross defeats underwhelming van Gerwen in Brighton". Darts News. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Premier League: Luke Humphries beats Michael Smith in Brighton final after Luke Littler's semi-final exit". Sky Sports. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Humphries wins night for first time". BBC Sport. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Humphries secures second night win in a row as Luke Littler comes close to nine-darter". Sky Sports. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Humphries wins night seven in Nottingham". BBC Sport. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  36. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Humphries demolishes Michael Smith in Dublin for third win in a row". Sky Sports. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  37. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Humphries wins night eight in Dublin". BBC Sport. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  38. ^ Wellens, Megan (3 April 2024). "Premier League Darts: Luke Littler fights back against Nathan Aspinall to seal epic Premier League night win in Belfast". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Littler secures back-to-back night wins as Gerwyn Price hits nine-dart finish". Sky Sports. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  40. ^ Matthews, Callum (11 April 2024). "Premier League Darts: Luke Littler beaten by Michael van Gerwen in night 11 final in Birmingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  41. ^ Wellens, Meg (19 April 2024). "Premier League Darts: Nathan Aspinall boosts play-off hopes with Rotterdam win over Michael Smith". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  42. ^ Wellens, Meg (26 April 2024). "Premier League Darts: Luke Littler moves clear at top of table with 6-2 Rob Cross demolition in Liverpool". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  43. ^ Drury, Sam (2 May 2024). "Luke Littler beats Rob Cross in Premier League Darts night 14 final to seal play-off spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  44. ^ "Premier League Darts: Luke Humphries defeats Michael van Gerwen to win in Leeds as Luke Littler is beaten in semi-finals". Sky Sports. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  45. ^ Bower, Aaron (10 May 2024). "Darts star to raise money for Rob Burrow charity after Premier League win in Leeds". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  46. ^ Wellens, Megan (17 May 2024). "Premier League Darts: Michael Smith clinches play-off spot and takes nightly victory against Luke Humphries in Sheffield".
  47. ^ "Premier League Darts table: Final standings as Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, and Michael Smith secure Play-Off spots". 16 May 2024.
  48. ^ Colman, Jonty (23 May 2024). "Littler beats Humphries to win Premier League Darts title".
  49. ^ "World Darts Champion Luke Humphries is living by his motto after overcoming anxiety and depression". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  50. ^ "Humphries becomes a father for the first time". Dartsnews.com. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  51. ^ "Luke Humphries gets engaged to long-time girlfriend Kayley prior to US Darts Masters in New York". Dartsnews.com. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
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