Luke Humphries has eerily predicted his UK Open run (Image: Getty)
Luke Humphries eerily predicted his UK Open quarter-final opponent correctly – after chaotic scenes in the previous round’s draw sparked calls for a redraw. overcame Beau Greaves in a tough encounter on Friday night before sailing through the fifth round with a .
The world No. 1 enjoyed another comfortable 10-2 win over Ryan Joyce in the last 16. When sitting down with UK Open sponsors Ladbrokes afterwards to discuss who he would potentially play in the next round, Humphries revealed how he’d correctly guessed all of his opponents until that point. And he was adamant that he would draw next – leaving fans aghast when it came to fruition later that night. Showcasing his apparent powers of mysticism, the 2024 world champion said: “It’ll probably be James Wade, because I know I always get the same player all the time [in the UK Open].
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“I’ve played Ryan Joyce in three out of four years, I always seem to draw Ryan Searle… I knew I was going to be the only one to draw Beau on Friday, so it’s going to be James Wade. It’s not the draw I want, but it’s the draw I know is going to happen.”
Half an hour after his interview, ‘Cool Hand’ watched his name come out alongside Wade as predicted. That led stunned fans on social media to comment, one joking: “@lukeh180 lottery numbers for next week mate?” And a second questioning: “’How did he call this before it happened?!?”
Humphries’ sixth sense comes after a bizarre sequence of events that saw his ball controversially put back into the pot during the fifth-round draw. The UK Open draw descended into chaos earlier this week when Searle was pitted against Humphries in the opening pairing.
Humphries’ ball was at the centre of controversy during the UK Open fifth round draw (Image: Getty)
After picking out Humphries’ No. 23 ball, journalist Ned Boulting inexplicably put it back into the drum, rather than on the stand. The ball was therefore mixed in with the other remaining balls.
Host John McDonald alerted Boulting to his error on ITV4 but Humphries’ ball was left in the bowl with the other 30 remaining, with Boulting being stopped from digging the ball out again. Remarkably, the No. 23 stayed in the bowl even after the other 30 balls were drawn.
And darts fans watching the draw were left perplexed as some argued that a redraw should have taken place. One X user wrote: “That UK Darts Open draw has to be re-drawn surely… he’s stuck a ball back in there after drawing it out.” Humphries had survived a scare against Greaves in the fourth round before being set up to face Searle next thanks to the bizarre circumstances.