Luke Humphries felt “discredited” in the buildup to defeating Michael van Gerwen

Humphries will compete in the final day of the Grand Slam of Darts later today after defeating Michael van Gerwen 16-10. Despite both players not being at their best, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ dominated in periods and could’ve been an even more comfortable winner had he advanced to the semi-finals.

Cool Hand has had the better of van Gerwen in some significant matches over the last 18 months, and this Grand Slam quarterfinal is near if not top of the list. 

“I am delighted. I think a lot of people discredited me said about standing no chance of being the first to 16 legs but I just proved them wrong. The averages 95, 96 weren’t the best in the world but there were a lot of missed doubles in there especially from Michael.”

“I had a lot of clutch finishes and that gave me control to go on and win the game. I don’t think we were nervous, we were just trying too hard to get a big lead on each other.”

“I think the last 16 legs from the break, I thought I played really well, I was much more clinical and much more like a champion would be because if I played like I did in the first 10 legs, I wouldn’t be winning this title no way.”

“I’m not going to get ahead of myself because there’s a long way to go so it’s going to be a lot of ups and downs tomorrow. But I have envisioned myself winning a major and I know I can do it but there are players waiting to win one. Two of us have never won one, one has and Barney has won loads but I think it’s going to be an exciting day of darts.”

“People discount you when you play Van Gerwen saying you’ve got no chance playing first to 16 as he’s too strong but I proved there if you stick in there. The resilience I’ve gained in the last 18 months, I’ve gained that mental strength and not let it affect me.”