'It's the best feeling in the world' - Luke Humphries speaks after confirming World Championship debut

Luke Humphries has ended a brilliant year on the PDC circuit by qualifying for the World Championship. Plying his trade mainly on the Development and Challenge Tour, Luke won 5 out of the 20 events on the Development Tour and came close to also winning a card through the Challenge Tour.
Humphries as a result gets his place starting in the Preliminary Round where the Newbury ace will have the test of Jeff Smith, a former Lakeside finalist before going on to play Gary Anderson. He spoke to the Reading Chronicle in an interview ahead of the world's.
“It’s the best feeling in the world for me and all darts players to qualify as it’s the biggest competition you can play in. I’m over the moon.
“It will be a mix of excitement and nerves when I get on stage and it will be the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of.
“I once did an exhibition in front of 500 people and now I’ll be in front of thousands. I’ll go out to enjoy it though, as you never know if you’ll get the chance to do it again.”
Reflecting on the draw, Humphries continued: “I’ve never played Jeff, but he’s reached a semi final and final at Lakeside (BDO World Championships) so his record speaks for itself. But I’m not just going to turn up expecting to lose and if I can start well, I think I can beat him.
“To then potentially have Gary is a dream draw for me as when I was growing up he was one of my favourite players.
“If I can get past Jeff and play Gary on the big stage it would be a great experience, but again, I wouldn’t just go up there thinking I’m going to lose – I’d be trying to beat him.”
Aside from qualifying for the World Championship, Humphries’ success on the Development Tour has secured him a Pro Tour card for the next two years.
He said: “It’s been very satisfying to do as well as I have on the development tour and to win the tour card is massive.
“It’s exciting that in the next two years I can play the top 128 players in the world and be part of that group.
“After the worlds, it gives you the chance to qualify for the other majors like the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, which would be targets.”
He continued: “Now that I have the tour card the big aim is to reach and stay in the top 64 and gain as much experience as I can.
"I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m still young and in five to 10 years time I’d love to be in the top 32.”
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