Finally, Luke Humphries could smash his glass cage of emotion and savour the sensation of achieving his dream. The new world darts champion paid tribute to his beaten opponent, Luke Littler, after winning a pulsating match by seven sets to four, and stated his belief that the rise of the wonderkid from Warrington was a phenomenon unprecedented in the sport.
“All day, in the back of my mind, I’ve been thinking: ‘Get this won now, because he’s going to dominate world darts soon’,” Humphries said after his draining triumph. “Luke has been an unbelievable talent. Not just on the dartboard: he has been fantastic with all the media, and he took defeat so well there. You will never see another 16-year-old kid like him. He’s something else. He’s one of the finest players in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”
That Humphries was able to maintain such equilibrium in the face of such unimaginable pressure was a tribute to the mental strength he has developed over recent years, a fortitude that has now taken him to four major titles and the top of the world rankings. It wasn’t always this way. Earlier in his career he suffered badly with anxiety on stage and seriously considered walking away from the sport.
“There was a time in my life when I was really depressed and I didn’t think this would be for me,” he said. “I couldn’t do it on the big stage and went through a lot of problems. To go on to become world champion and world No 1 has proved a lot about my mental ability. I’m not the only sportsman in the world that goes through it. I’m definitely not the only person in this room that goes through it.”
For Littler, this was also a life-changing experience, as well as the arrival of a prodigious new star of the sport. And in the immense pride in his journey there was also a niggling annoyance at the way he let this match slip from 4-2 up, missing a crucial dart at double two to lead 5-2.
“To lose at that stage, you can’t be angry with yourself,” he said. “The only thing I was angry with was losing a lot of legs on my throw. That one really annoyed me. But fair play to Luke, he deserved it.
“I’m happy: top 32, runner-up on my debut. It’s unbelievable. I might not get to a final for another five to 10 years, we don’t know. But I can say I’m a runner-up. Now I want to go and win it.”
