Humphries feels sorry for Van Duijvenbode: "I know how much that hurts"

Luke Humphries successfully defended his title at the European Darts Matchplay. 'Cool Hand Luke' defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-7 in the final.

For Humphries, it is the fifth title on the European Tour, the first this year. "To pick my fifth one up is a big feeling," said Humphries. "Overall I think I played well, but I was very lucky."

In the final, Van Duijvenbode missed four match darts, which Humphries was eventually able to take advantage of. "I'm so delighted but I'm struggling to celebrate this one - I feel so sorry for Dirk and I know how much that hurts."

"He had the chances there and didn't take them. It's horrible for him to lose that - Dirk's a fantastic player and there's no doubt he's going to win five, six, seven, eight in the next couple of years because he's an incredible player."

Happy

Humphries already lost four finals on the European Tour this year. "I know how Dirk feels because I've lost four this year - it's very hurtful and if I'd lost a fifth it probably would have crushed me a little bit more," he explains. "I'm over the moon - I don't want to be too down on myself, that's my fifth title in less than a year so I'm really happy."