Luke Humphreys knows he has a long way to go in the World Darts Championship but enjoyed an impressive opening night at Alexandra Palace with a comprehensive win, a huge atmosphere and one to remember.
Humphries dominated the atmosphere when he was announced as the reigning champion on the opening night at Alexandra Palace, leading the crowd as they belted out his ‘I Predict Riot’.
While it was no old-fashioned Cool Hand performance, the world No. 1 made it nine legs in a row in a comprehensive 3-0 victory to move swiftly and safely into the third round after Christmas.
Humphreys was candid about his win, admitting he wasn’t very “clinical” but hailed the crowd as one of the most unique he’s dealt with.
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Luke Humphreys hits 160 points as he looks to win against Thibaut Tricole.
“It wasn’t my best performance,” Humphreys said. “I didn’t feel like I was very clinical at times. I’ll be honest, I was taken back a little bit because the crowd was so amazing.
“Honestly, it was one of the best crowds I’ve ever been in a room with. They should all be really proud of themselves. They made me feel amazing, and I don’t get that often, so it was really nice.
“It wasn’t anywhere near my best, but I’ve said in a lot of interviews before that it’s two different tournaments. Now you go into the second part of tournaments and come back after Christmas and really think about being world champion.”
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Humphreys will now face either Raymond van Barneveld, Nick Kenny or Stowe Buntz, and while he’s not trying to put too much pressure on himself, he knows a two-time world champion would be a great way to cap off a very strong year.
“I’m incredibly proud of the last 12 months, for me it’s been one of the best years as a world champion since Michael van Gerwen won it,” he added.
“Even if I don’t win again, I’ll be proud of the year I’ve had, but it’ll be a nice way to top it off. But I’ve got five games to go.”
Webster. Humphreys was relishing the opening win
For: Sky Sports Darts’ Mark Webster, Humphries is having a “perfect night” as the reigning and defending champion, combining a guaranteed win with enjoying the big stage.
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“Tricole will be disappointed because he let Humphries off the hook on the first two legs. But from there, Luke was just enjoying himself,” Webster said.
“When he spoke to us earlier, he said he wasn’t going to feel pressure to perform. It was just to win, to get to the Christmas break.
“He’s done it and he’s got a lot of time. It’s a perfect night. He can’t complain. He seems to really enjoy it.”
What’s next?
We’ve got a tough day of action on Monday 16th December at 12.30pm on Sky Sports Darts and the main event with Wesley Pleasure v Ryusei Azemoto, Luke Woodhouse v Lawrence Ilagan, Alan Soutar v Kai Gothard and James Wade play the winner of Wattimena and Bellmont.
Then we’re back from 7pm with Nils Zonneveld v Robert Owen, Conor Scutt v Ben Robb, Cameron Menzies v Leonard Gates and the winner of Gerwyn Price v Huybrechts and Barry.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship Watch every match exclusively live from December 15 to January 3 on Sky Sports’ special Darts channel. Stream darts and better sports with NOW!.
