Paddy Power World Darts Championship Analysis: “It may be the wrong Luke for the public, but… Luke Humphries is the right champion”
On the 7 October 2023, Luke Humphries had not won a TV major title. Now, he has realised the dream of anyone who’s picked up a dart and become the winner of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
In the space of 87 days, he’s won four of the big TV tournaments, including fighting back to win five sets on the spin in the final against the 16-year old sensation Luke Littler 7-4.
He’s also just the 13th player in the history of the PDC to be the world number one, capping off a remarkable three months for the 28-year old from Newbury.
Luke Littler’s story captured the hearts and minds of the darting world and beyond. It may be the wrong Luke for the public, but in 2024, there’s no doubt Luke Humphries is the right champion for this sport at this time.
Premier League exclusion the catalyst for Cool Hand to win World Darts Championship
If you don’t mind jumping into a time machine, let’s go back to Monday 30 January 2023. On that day, Chris Dobey found out that he had made into the Premier League for first time.
One of the surprise exclusions that day? The multiple Euro Tour winner, back to back TV semi finalist, and then world number five, Luke Humphries.
With the year he had had, and the talent Cool Hand showed in 2022, people in darting circles were certainly surprised to not see his name on the list of stars to tour around the UK and Europe, including Humphries himself.
Can’t deny that I’m incredibly gutted not to be involved in this years Premier league, I’ve really worked hard in 2022 to get the results I did, 5 senior ranking titles and 2 major semi finals, and All I can say is I’m proud of my achievement’s even if they wasn’t good enough 💪🏻
— Luke Humphries (@lukeh180) January 30, 2023
Instead of getting him down though, it only fired up the former World Youth Champion to prove them wrong and make it impossible to leave him out of this year’s event. He made his third semi final on the TV at the 2023 World Matchplay, losing an epic to Jonny Clayton. He also made multiple Euro Tour finals, winning one of them.
It felt inevitable that he would eventually get over the line in a TV major, and that happened on 8 October 2023, by winning the World Grand Prix, beating Gerwyn Price 5-2 to finally add his name to the list of major winners. It was also a significant moment, as Humphries won the only other set play tournament bar the Paddy Power World Darts Championship, showing the Newbury ace he could win in the format.
The floodgates then opened, as he won both the Grand Slam, followed by a stirring comeback from 9-5 against Michael van Gerwen to win the Players Championship Finals at Minehead. By doing this, he’d won three TV titles in 50 days, the quickest to ever achieve this, as well as the youngest. It also showed Humphries that he could come back from seemingly impossible positions, leaving him in the perfect position to go to Alexandra Palace, where he had been made favourite to take home the Sid Waddell Trophy.
Experience comes in handy for Humphries
In a way, the road to his maiden Paddy Power World Darts Championship encapsulated Humphries season. Starting with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Lee Evans, he then found himself down to Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko and looked like he was out. However, Cool Hand lived up to his nickname, winning an excellent game 4-3, much to the despair of the German contingent at Ally Pally desperate to see their hero be victorious.
But that drama paled into insignificance in comparison to what was the game of the tournament between Humphries and Joe Cullen in the next round. In a game that went back and forth, it all came down to the deciding set that went to extra time. In the 10th leg, 5-4 up in the set, Humphries and Cullen both missed multiple leg darts. Humphries to win the match, Cullen to take it to a sudden death leg. The crowd, captivated with the emotion of both players, were on the edge of their seat. In the end, Cullen hit double four to extend the match, but it did not phase Humphries, as he took out 100 in the deciding leg to end an incredible match.
Humphries had used the experience of fighting back against MvG to come back against both of his last two opponents, but his quality showed in his next two games. In the quarter final, he demolished Dave Chisnall, who’d beaten him in multiple Pro Tour and Euro Tour finals in 2023, 5-1, followed by a 6-0 whitewash against Scott Williams in the semi final to move into his first World Darts Championship final.
So, to the big one, played against the most talked about 16 year old arguably ever. Luke Littler had beaten all before him very comfortably, but against the winner of three of the last four TV titles, it would be an entirely different proposition.
Humphries started well, but when he missed a chance to go two sets up and Littler equalised, his body language started to change. He knew he was in trouble, and for a large part of the game he was. However, it all changed in the deciding leg of the seventh set.
Littler, 4-2 up and left on 112, hit the first treble 18. Instead of finding single 18 though, the second dart deflected into the treble again. Instead of tops, he was left with double two, and he missed it by millimetres. Cool Hand, with all the experience he’d built up prior to this event and during it, knew he had to seize this moment, and he did. Having hit 180 the previous visit, he then pinged double 12. Instead of 5-2 down and likely out of it, he was 4-3 down and had the game on throw. The magic of set play.
At the time, it felt like a tide turner, similarly to when van Gerwen missed a chance in the seventh set to go 5-2 up on Phil Taylor in the 2013 final. Taylor came back to win 7-4, and so did Humphries. He produced a spell for the ages, that few could live with, although Littler tried his best, which saw the Newbury man win the crucial deciding legs, culminating with him hitting double eight to realise his dream.
“Humphries’ story is a great one for darts”
After he missed out on the Premier League last year, Humphries is guaranteed as world number one to be one of the names involved this time around. He is also on a 19 match unbeaten run on television, echoing the great runs of multiple World Champions Taylor and van Gerwen. He has the star on his shirt, and deservedly so.
For the PDC, it is a vindication that their development system for young players does work. Not only is it the second straight year that a World Youth Champion has won the Sid Waddell Trophy, after Michael Smith, but the final was the first time that two World Youth Champions had clashed in the sport’s showpiece match.
In the build up to the Paddy Power World Darts Championship Final, a photo surfaced of both Littler and Humphries playing at a local tournament in Hayling Island in 2019.
Lost out in quarterfinals last night at Hayling Island comp to @lukeh180 missed a few chances to go ahead and a bull for a 164 but gave him a great game 🎯 2 Youth comps today Under 14’s and Under 18’s hopefully make tomorrow’s finals on stage @bucker1980 @lisa_littler pic.twitter.com/hTb4Cj0vuW
— Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) November 9, 2019
While this is an amazing photo to see the two of them playing when Littler was just 12, it’s also amazing to see the difference in Humphries’ appearance. Back in 2019, he hated the game, and took time away from the sport to focus on his mental health. He struggled with anxiety and wanted to give it up.
Since 2019, he has lost more than four stone in weight, worked on his fitness to be able to cope with the long format games, and now looks a totally different player both physically and mentally. At a time where mental health is rightfully now becoming less of a stigma, he could become a fantastic inspiration to those suffering from mental health issues and proof that people can overcome their demons.
While Luke Littler’s story may have captured the public’s imagination, Luke Humphries’ story is a great one for darts.
World Grand Prix. Grand Slam. Players Championship Finals. Now, the Paddy Power World Darts Championship and new world number one.
After suffering from anxiety and other mental health issues, you don’t get many better 87 days in your life, than that.