"I feel a little bit emotional" - Luke Humphries feels dangerous again with hope of kickstarting form with Czech Darts Open win

Luke Humphries completed his hat-trick at the Czech Darts Open on Sunday night in Prague. The world champion defeated Josh Rock 8-5 in the final to take his third title in the Czech capital, following previous wins in 2022 and 2024.

Encouraged by a sold-out PVA Expo, Humphries celebrated his eighth Euro Tour title. It became a final with two faces: Rock took advantage of a lackluster start by the world number one and ran out to 3-1. Humphries recovered with three legs in a row, but Rock showed resilience and evened the score with a spectacular 153 finish in the eighth leg.

The tipping point followed at 6-5: Rock missed three chances to equalize and Humphries struck mercilessly. With a cool 98-finish and then double 10 he decided the game and prolonged his title in Prague.

Afterwards, Humphries showed himself visibly touched. “I feel a little bit emotional to be honest," he said. "I feel like every game I’ve played this weekend I’ve felt the love from the crowd. You don’t win three events in the same venue for no reason, so this is a special tournament for me.”

He had a shaky tournament. Saturday he underperformed against Dirk van Duijvenbode, but on the final day he was there. He started Sunday with a 6-3 victory over Martin Schindler and then fought his way past Wessel Nijman. Humphries turned around a 5-3 deficit, survived two matchdarts and still won with an average of 103. In the semifinals, he steamrolled past James Wade 7-1.

It marked his first major stage title since the US Darts Masters in June. With it, he gives himself confidence for the crucial period toward the end of the season.

“Since I’ve won the Premier League it’s been tough for me. I have been struggling, but it felt so good being up here tonight,” continued the World No.1. "Now I feel dangerous again. This is when you need to be at your best, at the back end of the year.

“I know if I want to stay as world number one I have to put the effort in and work hard. I want to be World Champion again, so it all starts from now.”