“He will go down as one of the greatest players that’s ever thrown a dart” — Luke Humphries pays tribute to James Wade's incredible longevity

Luke Humphries is looking well beyond the short term. The current world number two believes that health, fitness, and mental balance are the keys to a long and successful career at the top of darts, with the recent winner of Players Championship 1, James Wade, something of a source of inspiration for Humphries.

“Cool Hand Luke” also draws inspiration from another sport: golf. And not just from anyone, but from top golfer Justin Rose. Rose proved last weekend that age is just a number by winning his thirteenth PGA Tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open at 45.

He also broke the 72-hole record, which had stood in Tiger Woods’ name for an incredible 27 years. For Humphries, that is the ultimate example of how true greats set themselves apart.

“He’s going to go down as one of the greatest golfers ever because of the fact of the longevity and how he’s still doing it after so many years,” says Humphries.

The 30-year-old Englishman, who already has eight major titles to his name, sees clear parallels between himself and Rose. “He’s one of my favourite golfers, to be fair. He’s a bit like me, real nice guy. He doesn’t get involved in the antics of that,” Humphries says. “You watch him in the Ryder Cup and it seems like it’s a struggle for him to get angry. He does, but it kind of feels like it’s out of his nature, so I kind of would look up to someone like him, maybe to follow in his footsteps."

According to Humphries, it is precisely that calm, combined with discipline, that delivers long-term success. That is why he increasingly focuses on his physical condition. “I want to look after my health and stuff and keep myself in the best shape possible to be able to cope with these long years because they really do take it out of them.”

That idea of a long career plays a central role in how Humphries views legacy. He cites a familiar name from the darts world: James Wade. “Longevity is definitely something that goes down with legacy. If you’ve had 20 years like James Wade has done,” says Humphries. “He will go down now as one of the greatest players that’s ever thrown a dart for the fact of the longevity he’s shown for 20 years, he’s always been in that top 16 bracket.”

“To me that shows a really good player and that is what I want to achieve, I don’t think me leaving the sport with what I’ve got now would be enough, I have to win more and I think I will win a lot more," Humphries adds. “I feel like I’ve got to achieve a lot more in the next 15 years and stay at the top and have that longevity to really class yourself as one of the best players.”

Although many fans and analysts already label Humphries as an all-time top-10 player, he refuses to beat his chest. Especially in an era where Luke Littler sets the tone, Humphries remains notably modest. “That’s down to everyone else to do that. I’m not here to sort of give myself credit. I’m not going to be glazing myself, saying how great I am."

“I wasn’t sort of saying I’m anything like James, I’m just saying the longevity that he’s shown, I’d like to show it," he adds. “He will always look back on his career probably thinking he should have won more himself. But again, he’s in that era like I’m in a little bit where you’ve got this player who’s dominant, who’s always desperate to win more titles all the time and I’ve got to find a way to oust him a bit more and push Luke [Littler] even further."

He finds cross-era comparisons difficult anyway. “It’s hard because I’ve got the names in front of me, different generations. There’s a lot of players that have won many, like Eric Bristow and John Lowe,” Humphries explains. “We’re in different eras, it’s hard to compare, like it’s hard to compare Luke and Phil [Taylor], isn’t it? Who would have won out of those two in the peaks? You just never know. That’s why it’s always going to be hard to choose who’s the greatest out of them both in the end."

Still, Humphries does not rule out aiming higher than a top-10 spot in the end. “I don’t want to feel like I’m being arrogant or like trying to push this narrative of people putting me in the Top 10," he concludes. “If you were saying I am and this other person said I am, then I’ll probably say, okay, but my career isn’t finished yet, so I want to see if I get to the top five.”