Luke Humphries managed to win the World Matchplay earlier in the month of July by defeating
Michael van Gerwen by 18-15 in the final. It was already the reigning world champion's eighth win in a row over "Mighty Mike.
Van Gerwen once held a 12-4 and 13-5 lead over Humphries in the head-to-head between them, but in a few months, "Cool Hand Luke" has been catching up at lightning speed, and the balance is currently balanced: 13-13.
The first meeting between the two players in 2024 was still won by Van Gerwen, who beat Humphries 6-5 in the final of the third round of Premier League Darts play.
They then met five more times in Premier League Darts. Those encounters were all won by Humphries, who also eliminated Van Gerwen in the semifinals of the playoffs. In addition, the Englishman also triumphed twice against the Dutchman on the Euro Tour circuit.
According to Darts Orakel's statistics, few players can say they have won eight consecutive times over Van Gerwen. Three players saw their series end after eight consecutive wins. Colin Lloyd won from the Vlijmen player eight times in a row from 2007-2011, while Mervyn King did the same from 2007-2010. Raymond van Barneveld faced his compatriot eight times from February 2007 to November 2012 and won all these matches, including
in the 2012 Grand Slam final.
In almost the same period, Phil Taylor managed to take victory against his Dutch rival no less than fourteen times in a row. These included two encounters at the World Darts Championship (2008 and 2009 editions), and one at the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship. In the end, Van Gerwen still managed to win 26 of the 61 encounters with 'The Power'. 'Mighty Mike' himself never won against Taylor more than five times in a row.