Reigning US Darts Masters champion Luke Humphries swatted aside Leonard Gates 6-1 to reach the final day of action in New York. Humphries didn't need to be at his swashbuckling best, but he still managed to surge over the line quite successfully. Gates only averaged late 70's as Humphries eased through 6-1.
He won last year and of course will be wanting to regain the title ahead of an important run-in as he mooted with the World Matchplay very much on the horizon as Humphries sets out a no days off plan to try and maximise his hopes of Blackpool success. “This is a really prestigious event and one of the best venues in the world,” said the World Number Two post match. “My brother told me in the last eight events I’ve played in - including the Premier League - I’ve made eight finals on the trot, so that’s given me a lot of confidence. I’ve been a really tough player to beat in the last few weeks, and it’s nice to have that winning feeling back.”
Humphries has been taking in the real sights and sounds of the sport, going on ITV and being part of the moment that saw Laura Woods hit a treble 20 to win against Humphries and Duncan Ferguson alongside Luke Littler. “Yeah, it's a great position to be in for the sport because, when you get invited to things like that, it's kind of surreal. When you're there, you feel like it's where you should be, but then you look across and you've got amazing people like Patrick Vieira, Ian Wright and all these superstars of the football world. Ian Wright was shouting, 'Luke! Luke! Luke!' He knows all about it and us, which was kind of surreal. It's really good that we get to go on there, talk a little bit about what we do and show people a little bit about darts. I think Laura Woods stole the show in the end with the great triple 20. It's great that we get to do these crazy things that we probably never would have dreamed of five years ago, and it just shows where the sport is right now.”
But also he touched upon his World Matchplay preparation or lack thereof last year and said that he paid the price and this year he won't be leaving no stone unturned in his mission to regain the title in Blackpool. “I think I got it all wrong last year. I can't remember exactly what I did, but I remember not practising very much. I think I took things a little bit for granted and I fell away a bit. I was not playing so good for a few months it took me a long time to get back. Of course you learn on that experience and I'll make sure that in the run-up to the World Matchplay, I won't be slacking with my practice. I haven't really slacked over the last eight or nine days, but I probably haven't put in the effort I should have.”
“We're all guilty of it sometimes. You don't practise enough, then you come to a tournament, you don't play as well as you'd hoped and you regret it. I needed a little bit of a break, but maybe I took a couple of extra of days too extra. When it comes to the Matchplay, I learned my lesson from last year, the one or two weeks before I'll make sure there is no days off. I'll be on the board practicing because if you want to win these titles and be World Matchplay champion, you've got to put the effort in.”
