It's been a whirlwind year for World Number 1 Darts player Luke Humphries, starting off with winning the World Champs.
He's in New Zealand for the Hamilton Darts Masters, and stopped in for a chat with Piney about his ascent to the top of the World.
He told Piney that to win the three biggest tournaments he’s always dreamed of winning, all in the space of about 6 or 7 months, is unbelievable.
“I’ve achieved a lot already in this game, but I wanna keep striving for more.”
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from newstalk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Come on, shall we? The Hamilton Darts Masters are on
next weekend. Among those coming, reigning world champion Lou Humphreys,
says jumps Low Comphries, He's the greatest darting force of
the plenty right.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Now, the world number one for.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
The first time. He is war than champion.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Incredible stuff to come from.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Four to down a rattle off five.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Consecutive sets because this teenage prodigy did not let up,
did not give it him easy.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
He went out and earned it. So Low Humphreys is
with us. Luke, here's the list I've gone in front
of me. World Champion, World match Play Champion, only the
fourth man to win both events in the same year,
after Michael van Gouin, Peter Wright, Phil Taylor. Pretty good
company there, Grand Slam Champion, Grand Prix Champion, Players Championship Champion,
(01:10):
World Cup champion and world number one. Have I missed anything?
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I'm not sure anymore. So many titles in I don't
know if you've missed anything or not.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
All right, well, let's just say it's plenty. How do
you reflect on your last twelve months.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, it's hard to reflect on it in a way
that you can believe it's all possible. To be honest,
it's been the most extraordinary twelve months, you know, like
you just read or them toments off when people sort
of do that kind of makes you realize, you know,
what you've achieved in such a short amount of time.
You know, three of the biggest tournaments in my eyes,
that I've dreamed of winning. It was obviously the World Championships,
(01:46):
the Max Player in the World Cup. And to do
them more than the space of six seven months, obviously
it's unbelievable. So you know, I've achieved a lot already
in this game, but I'll want to keep striving for more.
I want to keep pushing. I want to win more titles.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Look, what do you put it down to? What's been
behind this incredible run of form?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
I think I don't really know I could pinpoint, but
I think the game's always been there last two to
three years. You know, that game's been there. I've been
showing glimpses of it. It's just the you know, the
consistency level that lacked. But you know, since I won
my first major title back in last October. It give
me that belief and that confidence to go on and
keep repeating the feet And you know, since that moment,
(02:23):
I feel like I've not looked back, and I've been
you know, much more mentally strong and more consistent. And
I feel like the more I play, the better I'll get.
So the amount of darts I've thrown over the last
twelve months is obviously helping me and keep playing all
the time.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
It's just building my game to bigger and better levels.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Is that also part of the sacred or not so
much the sacred, but just the reason that you're just
spending hours and hours and hours just throwing darts at
the board, the prip that you're putting in.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Yeah, and it's also a few facts of experience.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
You know, when you're putting to these positions of you know,
close games, and you know, if you're not really used
to playing in many you can kind of feel a
bit nervy and they sometimes mostly don't go your way.
But when you've experienced being in their moments so many times,
they kind of feel natural to you. So when you're
involved in these games like my last May final that
I won, which a couple of weeks ago in the
(03:09):
match play. It was a close sort of game between
Michael Vango and me, but you know, I managed to
pull out the bag in the end because I laid
on that experience of matches that I've been in major
finals and them sort of scenarios, and I just think
it's little moments like that that, you know, them bits
of experience you gained through the years that they do
help you through, and obviously it's helping me through at
the moment.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I guess when we look at the titles you've won,
the World Championship must be big. But how much did
winning the World match Play mean to you?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
It meant, you know, an incredible amount, and it felt
that way for me once once. I then, you know,
two double tops to lift that trophy. It is the
second biggest major in our sport after the World Championships.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
It's the most prestigious one. You know.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
It's the same trophy that was held in nineteen ninety
four by Larry Butler. You know, so that's a very
prestigious one for us all to have. Every other trophy
in the PDC has been changed or differentiated, the one
for the match player has always stayed the same, So
it's very prestigious and an amazing venue in the winter gardens.
It's just if you ask any player except for the
world that they will tell you that's the most exciting event.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
And that every really wants to win.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So for me to do the same in one kind
of year, it's it's something beyond my world as streams.
But I've worked incredibly hard over the last sort of
four to five years, so I'm reaping the rewards now,
which is which is fantastic for myself.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Have you watched back the Double Double Tops a few times?
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Yeah, Funnily enough, I watched it back a few times.
It's it's one of them moments. I think it's a
pinch me moment.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
You got to watch it back a few times to
really understand how, you know, how it feels to see
that moment and relive it. And yeah, I watched that
that night. I watched it back quite a few times
because I couldn't really believe how how I achieved such
a great touriament on such a crazy sort of finish.
But you know, I played a fantastic tournament. You know,
I think I had five hundred averages throughout the whole
(04:51):
only feel Taylor's ever done that and won it. So yeah,
I've put myself in some great company over the last
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You certainly have when you're throwing like that look when
it's when it's going in all the time. Are you
in some sort of flow stata talk about be going
to flow state where it just happens automatically or are
you still consciously throwing each and every dart.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
No, you're right, you do get in this flow state,
and I think that I'm one of them top players
that do. You know in a way, when it starts
to feel like you can't miss, that's when you feel
like you're in your flow state.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
You know, you feel like you're not going to miss
a trouble.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And when you feel that confident when you walk up
to the board that you're not going to miss nine
times out of ten, you don't. You know, your bodies
must be at a comfortable stage and a free flowing
throwing stage.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
That that's what makes you feel like it. Where sometimes
if you're not going to.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
There thinking you can't miss, you're a bit more uptight
and your body's more tight, and you know you're not
throwing your natural game.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
But You're right what you say.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
When you're in that free flow and natural ability feeling, Yeah,
sometimes you just don't feel like you can miss.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
And that's when I put in my best performances.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Must be a nice feeling. Take a speck Luke to
the World Championship final against Luke Littler. What stands out
most when you think back to that night.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Just the spectacle I felt like it was, well, it
was the youngest combined age in any World final in history.
You know, the attention was obviously on Luke Littler as
well because he was doing crazy things when it at
such a young age. And you know the pressure might
have been not on my shoulders as much it would
have been FORO to play someone else because I've just
become the world number one then to get the game before.
(06:25):
But I just you know, I just remember thinking to myself, well,
File plays, you know, this is your chance to really,
you know, go on and a chieve your dream and
just leave everything out on the dart.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Well, don't don't don't walk.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
I don't want to be walking off the stage and
regretting it if I'd lost that I didn't you know,
try my hardest, or didn't put that effort in that
I needed. And you know, when I was four to
two down, I just in my mind, I just thought,
just give it everything. Now you've got nothing to lose,
and I reeled off the next five sets in unbelievable fashion.
And you know it was a great party at in
the nighttime as well. It was just the most incredible
twenty four hours. And you know, it's just something that
(06:55):
you want to relive again. So you know, goals for
me is now, is the red say in that World
Championship this year?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Or should I say it will be next year in
twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Look littler you mentioned and there he's got a lot
of attention this past year or so, hasn't he having
burst onto the scene at such a young age. Does
sometimes given the all the titles you've won, do you
sometimes thing a on guys, you're looking at the wrong look.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Not not really, because we both have our own sort
of different things about the world. Obviously, I've dominated the
sport for the last twelve to eighteen months on the
board and Luke's dominating the sport off the board in
you know, the popularity, and you know he will do
that and I'll never match his popularity. But what I
can matches is the level of darts. And you know,
I played his sport to you know, to to win
(07:38):
major titles. And Luke's obviously new to everything, but he's
got this incredible amount of popularity that you know, if
I had at.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Seventeen, I'd be enjoying it as well.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So, you know, fair plage and hope he goes on
and you know, mixes with the you know, the top
celebrities because you know that's where he is at the moment.
But he's also a fantastic player as well. But my
mind is just fully set on you know, being the best,
best version of myself in darts. I's got a family
at home, I have, you know, a lot more commitments
than he has. His commitments you non exist and he
can just enjoy himself play darts and meet less celebrities
(08:07):
and the man's completely different.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
But we're both doing really well.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
We I think over the last sort of seven months
we pretty much dominate to just sport together.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
You know, he's won loads of titles.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I've won thodse of titles and you know, if the
rest of them behind us don't start getting better, then
you know, we will carry on doing it ourselves.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Were you aware of him? We've only just become aware
of him really last yeah, twelve months or so since,
as I say, he's burst onto the scene. Were you
aware of him before? We all were?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Yeah, Yeah, I knew. I met Luke about four years before.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
We played in a local competition and he was twelve
years old at the time, and I beat him three too,
and my god, he gave me a fright. He played unbelievable.
I think he took out a one six four, and
I think I had to take out a decent finish
while he was sat on a decent finish to win
three too. Now that was when he was twelve, and
I was a professional then and I won that competition,
but he was my toughest challenge. So I knew about
(08:56):
him then, and I sort of followed what he'd been
doing over the years. You know, when he was like
thirteen forteen, he was winning a lot of youth competition,
so I'm thinking, I keep my eye on him, and
then you know, at the back end of last year,
he was winning Mode of Series Super Series this which
is a smaller organization that helping the amateurs game, and
(09:16):
he was winning them against great players, and I knew
he was going to play well in the World. I
didn't expect him to make the final, I must admit,
but I expected him to, you know, to have a
good run.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
But he exceeded all expectations.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
And theres no fear that he showed it throughout that
World Championships is what was most admirable to me.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I thought it was just unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
And I can imagine if I was sixteen walk up
on that big stage, I would have felt a bit apprehensional,
a bit nervous, but he didn't show that. So that's
a side of him, regardless of his ability, that's absolutely
insane as well.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
You talk before look about big checkouts in one hundred
plus checkouts, Is that something that you work had on?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Yes, I do. I work on that, not loads, but
I do work. And I think that one thing that's
improved in my game the last two years is my finisher.
My scoring power has always been there, but unfortunately my
doubles are let me down in the wrong times, and
that is what separates the best from you know, the
lower rank players.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
And for me, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
That I've managed to work hard on my finishing and
my high finishing and hitting the right checkouts at the
right time, you know, if you if you need a
big checkout here and really hurts the player if you
take it out in that most annoying time and if
you're three or four all to get to get away,
get a lead, you know. So I've really worked on
that in my game and I feel like that's that's
something that I'm excelling in now. But like you said, yeah,
(10:32):
I have been working harder my you know, my big
finishes because they do get me out of trouble sometimes.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Well, you're going well at the moment. But being a
journey hasn't it Like a lot of top sports people,
This hasn't just happened overnight for you. Your journey hasn't
been without its challenges along the way. Did you always believe, though, Luke,
you could you could do what you've done.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Yeah, My journey was really the nice way to do it.
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
It started off here and it sort of gently went up.
And I started off as a as a youth playing
on the development tool on the PDC and I earned
my right through when in that in I think it
was twenty eighteen, so it's about seven years ago now
nearly obviously played fantastic on that. You know, there was
the likes of who you know in this competition as well,
Dmiti Vanderburgh was in that and I managed to do
to beat him to the top spot, and that so
(11:16):
I knew the.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Potential was there.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
And then obviously first year I made the court finals
of the World Championship. Second year I made the court
finals of the World Championship, and obviously COVID hit and
that that made you take a bit of a step back,
to be honest, because I couldn't play regularly.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
But but for me it helped. I lost a lot
of weight in COVID.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
After in between COVID and I come back a much
more fresher, better player and obviously made my first major
final just as we were sort of coming out of
COVID a little bit.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
And then, you know, I never looked back from that moment.
That was the key.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
In twenty twenty one when I made the ukpen final,
you know, that was that was when the surge of
me going on upwards curve really did start. And you know,
I look back to that moment I think that was
that was the making of me all right.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Favorite double. Let's say on and you've got a million
dollars to head a double? What what are you aiming
for on the board?
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Definitely double sixteen. Yeah, it's it's always been, you know,
my go to double. I always try and leave it,
but you know, I feel pretty comfortable in tops, tens, twelves, eighteen, sixteen,
eighty fourth. You know, all these doubles, and that's a
key thing you do need to feel comfortable on most important.
But if used to, you know, give me three darts
at double for a million dollars, it would definitely be
double with sixteen because I think I hit that the most.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
All right, fair enough, Luke. Congratulations on a wonderful last
twelve to eighteen months, a raft of titles and many
more to come. We can't wait to see you at
the Hamilton Darts Masters next weekend. Really appreciate you chatting
to us.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah, really looking forward to next week. Thank you very
much for having me.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
No, thank you for joining us, Luke. Luke Humphrey's world
number one darts player, going to be at the New
Zealand Darts Masters next weekend Globbox Arena in Hamilton, along
with a host of really well known names for those
who follow the sport. Luke Humphreys, Michael Smith, Girwin Price,
Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Luke Littler is going to be there,
Dimitry Vandenburgh, Damon Hitter and leaving the Oceania charge is
(13:01):
New Zealand number one Hope by Pooha, who's going to
join us on the show tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
For more, We Can Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to News Talk Set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from newstalk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Come on, shall we? The Hamilton Darts Masters are on
next weekend. Among those coming, reigning world champion Lou Humphreys,
says jumps Low Comphries, He's the greatest darting force of
the plenty right.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Now, the world number one for.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
The first time. He is war than champion.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Incredible stuff to come from.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Four to down a rattle off five.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Consecutive sets because this teenage prodigy did not let up,
did not give it him easy.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
He went out and earned it. So Low Humphreys is
with us. Luke, here's the list I've gone in front
of me. World Champion, World match Play Champion, only the
fourth man to win both events in the same year,
after Michael van Gouin, Peter Wright, Phil Taylor. Pretty good
company there, Grand Slam Champion, Grand Prix Champion, Players Championship Champion,
(01:10):
World Cup champion and world number one. Have I missed anything?
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I'm not sure anymore. So many titles in I don't
know if you've missed anything or not.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
All right, well, let's just say it's plenty. How do
you reflect on your last twelve months.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, it's hard to reflect on it in a way
that you can believe it's all possible. To be honest,
it's been the most extraordinary twelve months, you know, like
you just read or them toments off when people sort
of do that kind of makes you realize, you know,
what you've achieved in such a short amount of time.
You know, three of the biggest tournaments in my eyes,
that I've dreamed of winning. It was obviously the World Championships,
(01:46):
the Max Player in the World Cup. And to do
them more than the space of six seven months, obviously
it's unbelievable. So you know, I've achieved a lot already
in this game, but I'll want to keep striving for more.
I want to keep pushing. I want to win more titles.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Look, what do you put it down to? What's been
behind this incredible run of form?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
I think I don't really know I could pinpoint, but
I think the game's always been there last two to
three years. You know, that game's been there. I've been
showing glimpses of it. It's just the you know, the
consistency level that lacked. But you know, since I won
my first major title back in last October. It give
me that belief and that confidence to go on and
keep repeating the feet And you know, since that moment,
(02:23):
I feel like I've not looked back, and I've been
you know, much more mentally strong and more consistent. And
I feel like the more I play, the better I'll get.
So the amount of darts I've thrown over the last
twelve months is obviously helping me and keep playing all
the time.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
It's just building my game to bigger and better levels.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Is that also part of the sacred or not so
much the sacred, but just the reason that you're just
spending hours and hours and hours just throwing darts at
the board, the prip that you're putting in.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Yeah, and it's also a few facts of experience.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
You know, when you're putting to these positions of you know,
close games, and you know, if you're not really used
to playing in many you can kind of feel a
bit nervy and they sometimes mostly don't go your way.
But when you've experienced being in their moments so many times,
they kind of feel natural to you. So when you're
involved in these games like my last May final that
I won, which a couple of weeks ago in the
(03:09):
match play. It was a close sort of game between
Michael Vango and me, but you know, I managed to
pull out the bag in the end because I laid
on that experience of matches that I've been in major
finals and them sort of scenarios, and I just think
it's little moments like that that, you know, them bits
of experience you gained through the years that they do
help you through, and obviously it's helping me through at
the moment.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I guess when we look at the titles you've won,
the World Championship must be big. But how much did
winning the World match Play mean to you?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
It meant, you know, an incredible amount, and it felt
that way for me once once. I then, you know,
two double tops to lift that trophy. It is the
second biggest major in our sport after the World Championships.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
It's the most prestigious one. You know.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
It's the same trophy that was held in nineteen ninety
four by Larry Butler. You know, so that's a very
prestigious one for us all to have. Every other trophy
in the PDC has been changed or differentiated, the one
for the match player has always stayed the same, So
it's very prestigious and an amazing venue in the winter gardens.
It's just if you ask any player except for the
world that they will tell you that's the most exciting event.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
And that every really wants to win.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So for me to do the same in one kind
of year, it's it's something beyond my world as streams.
But I've worked incredibly hard over the last sort of
four to five years, so I'm reaping the rewards now,
which is which is fantastic for myself.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Have you watched back the Double Double Tops a few times?
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Yeah, Funnily enough, I watched it back a few times.
It's it's one of them moments. I think it's a
pinch me moment.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
You got to watch it back a few times to
really understand how, you know, how it feels to see
that moment and relive it. And yeah, I watched that
that night. I watched it back quite a few times
because I couldn't really believe how how I achieved such
a great touriament on such a crazy sort of finish.
But you know, I played a fantastic tournament. You know,
I think I had five hundred averages throughout the whole
(04:51):
only feel Taylor's ever done that and won it. So yeah,
I've put myself in some great company over the last
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You certainly have when you're throwing like that look when
it's when it's going in all the time. Are you
in some sort of flow stata talk about be going
to flow state where it just happens automatically or are
you still consciously throwing each and every dart.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
No, you're right, you do get in this flow state,
and I think that I'm one of them top players
that do. You know in a way, when it starts
to feel like you can't miss, that's when you feel
like you're in your flow state.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
You know, you feel like you're not going to miss
a trouble.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And when you feel that confident when you walk up
to the board that you're not going to miss nine
times out of ten, you don't. You know, your bodies
must be at a comfortable stage and a free flowing
throwing stage.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
That that's what makes you feel like it. Where sometimes
if you're not going to.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
There thinking you can't miss, you're a bit more uptight
and your body's more tight, and you know you're not
throwing your natural game.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
But You're right what you say.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
When you're in that free flow and natural ability feeling, Yeah,
sometimes you just don't feel like you can miss.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
And that's when I put in my best performances.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Must be a nice feeling. Take a speck Luke to
the World Championship final against Luke Littler. What stands out
most when you think back to that night.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Just the spectacle I felt like it was, well, it
was the youngest combined age in any World final in history.
You know, the attention was obviously on Luke Littler as
well because he was doing crazy things when it at
such a young age. And you know the pressure might
have been not on my shoulders as much it would
have been FORO to play someone else because I've just
become the world number one then to get the game before.
(06:25):
But I just you know, I just remember thinking to myself, well,
File plays, you know, this is your chance to really,
you know, go on and a chieve your dream and
just leave everything out on the dart.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Well, don't don't don't walk.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
I don't want to be walking off the stage and
regretting it if I'd lost that I didn't you know,
try my hardest, or didn't put that effort in that
I needed. And you know, when I was four to
two down, I just in my mind, I just thought,
just give it everything. Now you've got nothing to lose,
and I reeled off the next five sets in unbelievable fashion.
And you know it was a great party at in
the nighttime as well. It was just the most incredible
twenty four hours. And you know, it's just something that
(06:55):
you want to relive again. So you know, goals for
me is now, is the red say in that World
Championship this year?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Or should I say it will be next year in
twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Look littler you mentioned and there he's got a lot
of attention this past year or so, hasn't he having
burst onto the scene at such a young age. Does
sometimes given the all the titles you've won, do you
sometimes thing a on guys, you're looking at the wrong look.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Not not really, because we both have our own sort
of different things about the world. Obviously, I've dominated the
sport for the last twelve to eighteen months on the
board and Luke's dominating the sport off the board in
you know, the popularity, and you know he will do
that and I'll never match his popularity. But what I
can matches is the level of darts. And you know,
I played his sport to you know, to to win
(07:38):
major titles. And Luke's obviously new to everything, but he's
got this incredible amount of popularity that you know, if
I had at.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Seventeen, I'd be enjoying it as well.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So, you know, fair plage and hope he goes on
and you know, mixes with the you know, the top
celebrities because you know that's where he is at the moment.
But he's also a fantastic player as well. But my
mind is just fully set on you know, being the best,
best version of myself in darts. I's got a family
at home, I have, you know, a lot more commitments
than he has. His commitments you non exist and he
can just enjoy himself play darts and meet less celebrities
(08:07):
and the man's completely different.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
But we're both doing really well.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
We I think over the last sort of seven months
we pretty much dominate to just sport together.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
You know, he's won loads of titles.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I've won thodse of titles and you know, if the
rest of them behind us don't start getting better, then
you know, we will carry on doing it ourselves.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Were you aware of him? We've only just become aware
of him really last yeah, twelve months or so since,
as I say, he's burst onto the scene. Were you
aware of him before? We all were?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Yeah, Yeah, I knew. I met Luke about four years before.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
We played in a local competition and he was twelve
years old at the time, and I beat him three too,
and my god, he gave me a fright. He played unbelievable.
I think he took out a one six four, and
I think I had to take out a decent finish
while he was sat on a decent finish to win
three too. Now that was when he was twelve, and
I was a professional then and I won that competition,
but he was my toughest challenge. So I knew about
(08:56):
him then, and I sort of followed what he'd been
doing over the years. You know, when he was like
thirteen forteen, he was winning a lot of youth competition,
so I'm thinking, I keep my eye on him, and
then you know, at the back end of last year,
he was winning Mode of Series Super Series this which
is a smaller organization that helping the amateurs game, and
(09:16):
he was winning them against great players, and I knew
he was going to play well in the World. I
didn't expect him to make the final, I must admit,
but I expected him to, you know, to have a
good run.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
But he exceeded all expectations.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
And theres no fear that he showed it throughout that
World Championships is what was most admirable to me.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I thought it was just unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
And I can imagine if I was sixteen walk up
on that big stage, I would have felt a bit apprehensional,
a bit nervous, but he didn't show that. So that's
a side of him, regardless of his ability, that's absolutely
insane as well.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
You talk before look about big checkouts in one hundred
plus checkouts, Is that something that you work had on?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Yes, I do. I work on that, not loads, but
I do work. And I think that one thing that's
improved in my game the last two years is my finisher.
My scoring power has always been there, but unfortunately my
doubles are let me down in the wrong times, and
that is what separates the best from you know, the
lower rank players.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
And for me, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
That I've managed to work hard on my finishing and
my high finishing and hitting the right checkouts at the
right time, you know, if you if you need a
big checkout here and really hurts the player if you
take it out in that most annoying time and if
you're three or four all to get to get away,
get a lead, you know. So I've really worked on
that in my game and I feel like that's that's
something that I'm excelling in now. But like you said, yeah,
(10:32):
I have been working harder my you know, my big
finishes because they do get me out of trouble sometimes.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Well, you're going well at the moment. But being a
journey hasn't it Like a lot of top sports people,
This hasn't just happened overnight for you. Your journey hasn't
been without its challenges along the way. Did you always believe, though, Luke,
you could you could do what you've done.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Yeah, My journey was really the nice way to do it.
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
It started off here and it sort of gently went up.
And I started off as a as a youth playing
on the development tool on the PDC and I earned
my right through when in that in I think it
was twenty eighteen, so it's about seven years ago now
nearly obviously played fantastic on that. You know, there was
the likes of who you know in this competition as well,
Dmiti Vanderburgh was in that and I managed to do
to beat him to the top spot, and that so
(11:16):
I knew the.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Potential was there.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
And then obviously first year I made the court finals
of the World Championship. Second year I made the court
finals of the World Championship, and obviously COVID hit and
that that made you take a bit of a step back,
to be honest, because I couldn't play regularly.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
But but for me it helped. I lost a lot
of weight in COVID.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
After in between COVID and I come back a much
more fresher, better player and obviously made my first major
final just as we were sort of coming out of
COVID a little bit.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
And then, you know, I never looked back from that moment.
That was the key.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
In twenty twenty one when I made the ukpen final,
you know, that was that was when the surge of
me going on upwards curve really did start. And you know,
I look back to that moment I think that was
that was the making of me all right.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Favorite double. Let's say on and you've got a million
dollars to head a double? What what are you aiming
for on the board?
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Definitely double sixteen. Yeah, it's it's always been, you know,
my go to double. I always try and leave it,
but you know, I feel pretty comfortable in tops, tens, twelves, eighteen, sixteen,
eighty fourth. You know, all these doubles, and that's a
key thing you do need to feel comfortable on most important.
But if used to, you know, give me three darts
at double for a million dollars, it would definitely be
double with sixteen because I think I hit that the most.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
All right, fair enough, Luke. Congratulations on a wonderful last
twelve to eighteen months, a raft of titles and many
more to come. We can't wait to see you at
the Hamilton Darts Masters next weekend. Really appreciate you chatting
to us.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah, really looking forward to next week. Thank you very
much for having me.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
No, thank you for joining us, Luke. Luke Humphrey's world
number one darts player, going to be at the New
Zealand Darts Masters next weekend Globbox Arena in Hamilton, along
with a host of really well known names for those
who follow the sport. Luke Humphreys, Michael Smith, Girwin Price,
Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Luke Littler is going to be there,
Dimitry Vandenburgh, Damon Hitter and leaving the Oceania charge is
(13:01):
New Zealand number one Hope by Pooha, who's going to
join us on the show tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
For more, We Can Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to News Talk Set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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