Luke Humphries won his first Players Championship title of the year yesterday evening in Wigan, but admits he’s “lost his love” for the Pro Tour due to the demanding schedule of being a top 16 player.
Luke Humphries became the 20th player to win at least 10 Pro Tour events yesterday after claiming his first Tour title of the year at Players Championship 26, held in Wigan.
The World Number 1 found himself with a tricky matchup in the final, where he played Stephen Bunting who was in his third consecutive Players Championship final of the week.
Humphries mentioned in an interview afterwards that Bunting had been unwell this week which made his run even more incredible!
More – Stephen Bunting makes three consecutive finals only to lose all three!
This final had an added edge because Humphries and Bunting will play each other in the first round of the World Grand Prix next Monday so there was a psychological advantage for the winner.
Humphries managed to come through the final winning 8-7, after finding himself 7-6 behind and secured his third ranking title of the campaign.
HUMPHRIES WINS PC26! 🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 3, 2024
It's a first Players Championship title for Luke Humphries this year, as he narrowly beats Stephen Bunting 8-7, securing the win with back-to-back legs late on.
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #PC26 pic.twitter.com/Gbd48KdPSq
A Players Championship has been a long time coming for the World Champion this year and Humphries admits that he’s struggled with the hectic darts schedule…
SEE MORE NEWS ON DECENT DARTS
👉 “The might just be comfortable in their own little league” – Fallon Sherrock on women darts players
👉 Adrian Lewis reveals “ONLY WAY” he’ll return to professional darts
Luke Humphries on “Losing His Love” for the Pro Tour
Luke Humphries has had one of the best individual campaigns in recent memory (if not up there on the all time list), having won several PDC majors since winning the World Grand Prix this time last year.
When asked if the PC title was important to him or if he had had ‘bigger fish to fry’, Humphries admitted that he’s lost the love for the Pro Tour this year due to a gruelling schedule.
He said:
“I feel like I’ve lost the love on the Pro Tour and I want to regain it next year.
“I was looking at seeing myself through and then go again next year and find the love again.
“This year I did lose a bit of love for being in this room and it does happen.
“There’s no coincidence. You’ve got Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Gezzy, about five of us. There’s only me and Luke [Littler] at one point that was in the top 16 Pro Tour Order of Merit out of the Premier League players.
“I think that it takes its toll on you.
“I’ve played more darts than anybody in the last 12 months, since the World Grand Prix last year and it does tire you out.
This is often an aspect that we don’t often consider as fans. When you’re in the top 16 you get entry to all the major tournaments and the financial incentives are huge for the elite.
What comes with that though is a commitment to more events throughout the season like the Premier League and World Series of Darts which are invitational only and usually reserved for the top 8 players.
Therefore, the travel and pressure to win is high for these players with people like Gerwyn Price and now Humphries admitting this year that the schedule is too much.
See his full post match interview below:
🗣️ “When you’re on the big stage, I feel better than ever!”
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 3, 2024
Luke Humphries reflects on his first Players Championship title of the year, while also looking ahead to his first major title defence that starts Monday.https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #PC26 pic.twitter.com/WSaqoLiESw
➡️ Read next: Gary Anderson put up RIDICULOUS stat line at PC24