Luke Humphries ended up winning a Players Championship event he initially didn’t want to compete in last year. The 30-year-old was persuaded to play by his fiancée Kayley after considering skipping the competition due to fatigue.
Cool Hand has been the immovable object to Luke Littler’s unstoppable force in darts over the past few years, lifting a world title in 2024 before collecting a string of major wins. He wrestled the Premier League crown off The Nuke earlier this year. Although he was eliminated in the fourth round by Peter Wright when defending his worlds crown last time out, Humphries holds a strong hand at Ally Pally this year. Cheering him on all the way is long-time partner Kayley. Having proposed in New York last year, Humphries has been supported by his fiancée for some time and last October her encouraging message summed up their relationship perfectly.
The English thrower was due to compete at Players Championship 26 in October 2024, one of many floor events that those on the PDC compete in ahead of the Players Championship Finals.
Such events come thick and fast and with a schedule that took him across the globe on the World Series and European Tour, Humphries admits he considered withdrawing from the competition, as stars often do with such events.
However, his wife Kayley urged him not to pull out and he obliged. Humphries ended up winning the event, beating George Killington, Callum Goffin, Connor Scutt, Josh Rock, Dave Chisnall and Luke Woodhouse en route to the final.
Cool Hand edged out Stephen Bunting in a nail-biting 8-7 showpiece and earned himself an unlikely floor title. He said afterwards: « It hasn’t been the way the last couple of weeks, to be fair.
« As you do, you’re on Twitter and a lot of people are saying, ‘No chance, he’s not going to retain his [world] title.’ You know, this is what happens in darts. You go through spurts where you’re playing fantastic and then you go through spurts where they ain’t going very good. You can’t buy a win.
« Yesterday, I didn’t want to be here. Fair play to my fiancée Kayley because she’s like, ‘Play tomorrow’ and I was like, ‘No, I think it’s time for a break. I’m knackered, I really am.’ But she was like, ‘No, go and give it a go. You might give yourself some confidence,’ and obviously she was right. »
He also dedicated the win to his father, saying, « That one was for you, Dad. A nice one for him; I’m sure he’ll raise a pint for himself for that one. »
The former world champion welcomed his son, Rowan, into the world in 2022 with his partner, whom he credits with being a source of unwavering support when he steps up to the oche. When Humphries won his world title, it was Kayley whom he embraced after the victory and he described her as his « rock » when he suffered a bereavement in 2024.
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