Luke Humphries has responded to trolls who dubbed him the “worst world champion” in commanding fashion with a statement performance in Thursday’s Premier League meeting. Cool Hand Luke reached the final of the third night and was only narrowly beaten by Michael van Gerwen.
The world number one started the night strongly, beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in the quarter-finals. Humphries averaged 105 during the Aspinall win and backed it up with another triumph in the semi-finals, this time over Gerwyn Price with yet another ton-plus average during a 6-3 win.
Humphries, who had been knocked out in the quarters on night one before making it to the semi-finals last week, wasn’t able to defeat a dominant van Gerwen in the final. The Dutchman edged Humphries in the showdown, defeating the reigning world champion 6-5.
Regardless, it was a much-needed performance from Humphries, who earlier in the week had been facing heavy criticism for his showing in the first Players Championship tournament of the season. The 29-year-old suffered a shock 6-0 defeat to Ian White, who sits 61 places below Humprhies in the world rankings.
Averaging just 81 in the White clash, Humphries looked a shadow of the player that waltzed his way to the World Championships title at the Alexandra Palace less than two months ago. Despite the shock defeat, Humphries silenced the critics with his performance in Glasgow, and the Newbury-born darts player appears to have justified his position at the top of the PDC Order of Merit.
“I was written off and called the worst world champion, so I just wanted to come out and play well in Glasgow,” Humphries said after Thursday’s Premier League meet. “In the end I was quite unlucky not to win and I’m proud of how I played. I’m not really that frustrated about what happened on Monday. I’m disappointed to lose, but you can’t win every game you play.
“I understand the pressures of being world champion but every game you lose, like the Ian White game on Monday, can happen. No excuses, I got fairly beaten. But when everybody gets on your back, it can become tiresome. I probably over-achieved at the back end of last year – no one expected it, so it would be nice if people stayed off my back a little bit.
“It’s not just me – Luke [Littler] gets so much pressure as well and it’s tough when you are relatively new to it. I don’t feel the target on my back, but every time you lose a game, suddenly everyone is against you and everyone thinks you are going to fall by the wayside.”
Humphries will now enjoy a week off from darting action, with his next match-up not until Thursday’s Premier League outing in Newcastle. The world champion begins night four with a quarter-final against Rob Cross, as he looks to secure his first Premier League win of the season.
