Luke Humphries gets revenge on Luke Littler and scoops HUGE cash prize with comeback win in Premier League Darts final
LUKE HUMPHRIES thanked Phil Taylor for golden advice as he sealed the Triple Crown of Darts by stunning Luke Littler to lift the BetMGM Premier League in London.
Yet both the Lukes of Hazards were unhappy with draughty conditions on the O2 Arena stage, claiming a wind was impacting their throws.
Cool Hand Luke, 30, double-fisted the oche in celebration after he nailed double 10 to win 11-8 and then hugged referee George Noble who retires at the end of the year.
The Berkshire-born thrower is the ninth person to win the Premier League in its 20-year existence.
And this success means he has completed a special hat-trick of top majors in the sport – which includes the World Darts Championship and World Matchplay.
Humphries will bank £305,000 in total prize money following his Prem exploits and he said: “That one means the world to me. That’s what I was missing. I have done it now.
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“If I don’t win another title, I’m happy because I’ve done the three hardest ones to do.
“I’ve joined an exclusive group of me, Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
“To Phil Taylor, thank you so much. He has given me so much support. He has given me a lot of advice and an extra boost tonight. If he’s watching, then thank you. I’m really happy with that win.
“I can retire now – I’m done! I want to search for more. This makes me want to be a better player.
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“I’ve won eight major titles. Now it’s important to finish the end of the season well.
“It wasn’t our best game. We struggled. I love Luke to bits. He’s one of my best mates on tour. He wasn’t at his best. It was hard. We struggled to cope with the conditions.”
In semi-final one, Littler, 18, beat Gerwyn Price 10-8 but was lucky not to be hit by a stray object that was thrown by someone in the crowd pre-game.
In semi-final two, Humphries, 30, beat Nathan Aspinall 10-8 with a 105.81 average to set up a ninth meeting of the two Lukes in the 2025 tournament.
Littler, who has earned £185,000 in prize money, led 3-0 in the final but it was 5-5 going into the TV ad break.
The two Englishmen complained to tournament officials about the conditions and thankfully, the standard did improve when they returned.
The final was not the best standard, with plenty of missed doubles, and Littler’s highest checkout was only 83.
Littler, who set a record league points tally of 45, said: “I had a little bit of a thing after the game. Nobody likes losing.
“Glad to say it’s over – it has been a tough 17 weeks. Very happy it’s over. I came runner-up. I will be back next year.
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“I have set many records. Personally I don’t think they will be broken.
“But I will try to break my own records next time. I am looking forward to a little break now.”
