Luke Humphries needed a break from darts after his World Championship exit (Image: Getty)
Luke Humphries has admitted he needed to go cold turkey from following his exit. The world No.1 was dumped out in the fourth round by Peter Wright in one of the shocks of the tournament.
It ended a hectic year and month for Cool Hand, who felt the need to switch off from the sport entirely. He didn’t even watch the final as thrashed to take his maiden world title at the age of 17.
Instead, enjoyed some extended family time and a spot of Call of Duty. Speaking in an exclusive interview for Reach’s , he said: “I didn’t watch any of it. My life had been all about darts in December and I just wanted to switch it off for a little bit.
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“I could actually wake up on the 31st and not think about darts for a change. I didn’t watch any of it, I just wanted to break away from it.”
On what he was doing during the final, Humphries added: “I was probably playing Call of Duty or something. That’s something I like doing in my spare time.
“I checked on it every half-an-hour or so. When Luke went 4-0 up, I thought that was game over. He’s a bit like me, a great front-runner. I heard it wasn’t the most exciting final, but Luke did what he had to do. That’s the character he is.”
Aside from a couple of new major tournament winners in Mike De Decker and Ritchie Edhouse, 2024 was dominated by the Lukes, who were the standout players of the year by far. Humphries is expecting more players to be in the mix in 2025, especially with increased prize money on the horizon following a lucrative new TV deal between Sky and the PDC.
Luke Littler celebrates becoming world champion (Image: Getty)
“Me in 2023 (when Humphries won a host of majors) and me and Luke in 2024. Can we do it again? Yeah, possibly,” said the 29-year-old, who will team up with Littler for England at June’s World Cup of Darts.
“But there is a lot more incentive in darts now, with a lot more to play for with these new [TV] deals. The prize money is going to get bigger and there’s going to be a lot more pressure on certain moments.
“I think a lot more players are going to practice harder to try and reap the rewards. I’m expecting it to be a lot tougher this year for myself and Luke. We’ve got massive targets on our backs now. People want to beat us, and why wouldn’t they?”
One of Humphries’ big targets for 2025 is to win the for the first time, having reached the final on debut before losing to an inspired Littler at the O2 in front of 14,000 fans.
Luke Humphries faces Joe Cullen in the first round of the World Masters on Thursday (Image: Getty)
The 17-week darting tour of the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe isn’t loved by every player, but Humphries enjoyed his first taste of it. He said: “You’re away from home a lot and the travelling can be tough but it’s a cool thing to be involved in. No arguments from me, I loved playing in it.
“I would really like to win it, it would match up with the Worlds and the Matchplay. Not many people have won all three in their careers. It’s a great field with a lot of class and talent. It would be really special to win it.”
Before that though, Humphries is set for his first ranking event of the year at the revamped World Masters in Milton Keynes. He plays Joe Cullen in the first round on Thursday night.
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