World champion Luke Humphries has pledged to donate some of his prize money to Prostate Cancer UK as over £1million was raised for the charity during the World Championships.
Humphries lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time after a thrilling 7-4 win over teenage star Luke Littler on Wednesday night, picking a £500,000 cheque.
Tournament sponsors Paddy Power pledged to donate £1,000 every time a player hits 180 throughout the flagship event at the Alexandra Palace, with Humphries contributing 73 to a final total of 914.
The bookmaker has rounded it up to £1million, with Humphries also adding some to the pot as it is a meaningful cause as his father-in-law recently suffered from the disease.
“My father-in-law has battled prostate cancer, he went and got it checked out early, so this is a close thing to my heart,” he said. “I will be dedicating that one to him.
“For me to have added £73,000 is just fantastic. It is very, very close to my heart and as a collective the players have added quite a lot of money, I won’t say the figure, but I am going to donate a bit from my prize money as well.”
The money raised will fund lifesaving research to diagnose men sooner and improve the lives of men affected by the most common cancer in men, with one in eight suffering.
Prostate Cancer UK chief executive Laura Kerby added: “It’s been a magical few weeks at the World Darts Championship and we were absolutely thrilled this morning when Paddy Power agreed to round up the £914,000 to a million pounds.
“With every maximum thrown by both Lukes and the world’s top players; with every iconic shout of ‘180’ we have made a huge difference to men affected by this disease – and their loved ones too.
“We’re thrilled at the success of the campaign to date and as well as some sharp shooting from the players, it’s hugely encouraging that more than 90,000 people have completed our online risk checker.
“One in eight men will be affected by prostate cancer. It’s a disease that is curable if caught early, but early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms, so it is vital that men know their risk. This online tool is the first step.”
:: It takes 30 seconds to answer three questions to check your prostate cancer risk. Do it now by clicking on the following link: prostatecanceruk.org/180-risk
