Luke Humphreys can finally break out of his emotional glass cage and enjoy the feeling of living his dreams. The new darts world champion paid tribute to defeated rival Luke Littler after winning a thrilling match 7-4 and said he believed the Warrington prodigy’s rise was one of the best in the sport An unprecedented phenomenon.
“All day long, in the back of my mind, I was thinking: ‘Get this win now because he’s going to dominate the world of darts soon’,” Humphreys admitted after his grueling victory. “Luke is an unbelievable talent. Not just at darts: he performs brilliantly in front of all media and he takes defeat very well there as well. You don’t see anything like that again. He’s such a 16-year-old kid. He’s a different guy. He’s one of the best players in the world, there’s no doubt about it.”
Humphries’ ability to maintain such balance in the face of such unimaginable pressure is a credit to the mental strength he has developed in recent years, and it is this perseverance that has seen him win four Grand Slam titles and reach the top of the world rankings. This is not always the case. Early in his career, he suffered from stage anxiety and seriously considered quitting the sport.
“There was a time in my life where I was very depressed and I thought this wasn’t the place for me,” he said. “I couldn’t do it on the big stage and had a lot of problems. Continuing to be world champion and number one in the world has proven my mental abilities. I’m not the only athlete in the world who has gone through this. I’m definitely not The only person in the room who has ever experienced this.”
It was also a life-changing experience for Littler and the arrival of one of the sport’s great new stars. While he’s immensely proud of his journey, there’s also the nagging aspect that he let the game slip from a 4-2 lead, missing a 5-2 lead at doubles No. 2 Scored a crucial dart.
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“You can’t be angry with yourself if you fail at that stage,” Littler said. “The only thing that pissed me off was I lost a lot of legs when I was throwing. That really pissed me off. But fair play to Luke, he deserves it. I’m delighted: 32 on debut Strong and finished second. It’s incredible. I might not make it to the finals in another five to ten years, we don’t know. But I can say I’m second. Now I want to win the competition.”
