World Grand Prix: Luke Humphries vows to become number one and win the world title
Having won the World Grand Prix, 'Cool Hand' Luke Humphries vows to become No 1 and win the worlds at Ally Pally; Next up on the Sky Sports Darts calendar is the seventeenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the Aldersley Leisure Village
Last Updated: 10/10/23 12:37pm
![Luke Humphries claimed the World Grand Prix title in Leicester at the weekend](https://e2.365dm.com/23/10/768x432/skysports-luke-humphries-world-grand-prix_6316569.jpg?20231010120115)
Luke Humphries has vowed to become No 1 and win the world title at Alexandra Palace following his sensational World Grand Prix title success in Leicester.
The 28-year-old Newbury-born star produced the performance of his life in upsetting Gerwyn Price to claim his maiden televised ranking title and scoop the £120,000 top prize.
Humphries sealed a landmark triumph with a magnificent 138 checkout as he averaged 100.47 across the last six sets of the double-start showpiece to record a 5-2 success.
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"I've imagined this moment for my whole career," said an emotional Humphries. "That 138 finish is going to live with me for the rest of my life. I couldn't have picked a better ending for my first major title.
"I think a lot of people wrote me off; they thought Gezzy would steamroll me, but I've got a bit of bottle about me, I have got the ability to play well.
"Sometimes in my career, my Achilles heel has been my doubles and it's quite funny that the major championship I pick up is the double-start!
"Regardless of anything else I've done in my career, that was the greatest game I've ever played in my life."
Different winners of PDC TV events
There have been 13 different winners of PDC premier TV events in two years, while Humphries is the seventh new champion in 2022/23.
Rob Cross
Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright
Joe Cullen
Danny Noppert
Michael van Gerwen
Ross Smith
Michael Smith
Chris Dobey
Andrew Gilding
Nathan Aspinall
Luke Humphries
The former World Youth Champion has overcome considerable adversity in his young career. The man nicknamed 'Cool Hand' has endured a well-documented battle with a panic and anxiety disorder that left him considering his future in the sport.
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2021, he said: "I am very open and honest about that and it is something I am very proud of because it was a time in my life where I wasn't enjoying darts and I contemplated giving it up because it was just affecting me so badly.
"I knew I was in a privileged position to be a professional dart player but it's just so hard when you are just not mentally or physically there, and I just could not perform.
"Now it has all changed and I feel in such a great place. It has taken a lot of time to get me into this headspace, but I am very proud of the way I have conducted myself to get myself back in the game, get my head straight.
"It has proven that you don't have to give up on things just because of anxiety, it is beatable. I still get it, but I manage it much better now and it doesn't affect me much in darts anymore which is the key thing for me. It allows me to play at my full potential."
Humphries' World Grand Prix victory moves him above Price to a career-high of fourth on the PDC Order of Merit, as he continues his rapid rise at the elite level.
He has made sustained progress over the last 18 months, winning five European Tour titles and reaching the semi-finals in five of his last seven televised events.
Humphries, a UK Open runner-up in 2021, is the 13th different winner of a premier televised event within the last two years, and he believes his maiden title can provide the platform for further success.
![](https://e1.365dm.com/23/10/768x432/skysports-grand-slam-of-darts_6316607.jpg?20231010122301)
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"The world is my oyster. It's up to me now. I will probably work even harder, because when you get the taste of it [winning], you want more and more," Humphries said.
"When you make the top 32, you think: 'This is amazing'. Then you break into the top 16 and top eight and you think: 'It can't get any better'. You have to keep pushing and pushing.
"Now I'm in the top four of the world. I have exceeded all my expectations on how I saw my career going, but there's one place left for me, and it's at the top.
"Winning titles like this - it gives you that momentum and confidence to win anything, because I know I can win under the most intense pressure.
"The next goal for me now is to be world number one and win the world title. They are the two things left for me to accomplish in my career."
Watch the seventeenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the Aldersley Leisure Village. Stream your favourite sports and more with NOW for £21 a month for six months