World No.1 Luke Humphries admitted he was playing for the crowd rather than himself during his crushing 6-1 defeat to Luke Littler at the World Grand Prix. The final had been billed as a close contest between the world’s top two players.
However, Littler was in a league of his own from the start, quickly establishing a 4-0 lead. During the match, ‘The Nuke’ came within one dart of becoming only the fourth player in history to hit a nine-darter in the World Grand Prix.
Despite this near miss, he remained unfazed and sailed to a 6-1 victory, securing the £120,000 prize money for winning the tournament. Runner-up Humphries received £60,000 but was visibly disappointed by the loss.
In his post-match interview on Sky Sports, ‘Cool Hand’ demonstrated his sportsmanship and explained how he was playing for the spectators towards the end. “It was one of those games,” Humphries explained.
“He was so clinical in the first four sets.Double 16 was my friend in the last three years, but it wasn’t my friend tonight – very unfortunate.
“When I was 4-0 down I just wanted to give the crowd something. I wasn’t playing for myself, I was playing for the crowd because the game had got away from me.
“It’s hard to take. It’s disappointing because I felt I was going to give him a better game than I did.
“I have to just get better. I have to work harder.
“If I don’t he’ll walk away with it all the time. I need to work harder than I ever have because I want to match him.”
While Humphries is determined to improve, Littler isn’t taking a break. He confirmed after the match that he will be participating in the World Youth Championships tomorrow (Monday) in Wigan.
Littler stated: “It’s true, I’ll go to the world youths tomorrow and just have a bit of fun, see everyone. I don’t think anyone is going to be my friend tomorrow but it’s 20 minutes up the road and I’ll try my best.”