"I think the neutral viewer definitely enjoyed this match" – Jermaine Wattimena can live with defeat to Luke Humphries in front of his home crowd
PDCFriday, 18 September 2026 at 16:00
Jermaine Wattimena was unable to produce an upset on Thursday evening at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. The Dutchman pushed Luke Humphries all the way, but ultimately went down 6-4 to the Englishman. Despite the exit, Wattimena left the stage with a reasonably good feeling.
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‘The Machine Gun’ even made a blistering start. A superb 160 checkout gave him the opening leg. In leg two he had chances to hurt Humphries straight away. After the Englishman missed a shot at a 170 finish, Wattimena squandered two darts at doubles to move 2-0 in front.
“That’s not where you lose the match”
“Maybe you just want it a bit too much there,” Wattimena analysed afterwards on Viaplay. “You could see they weren’t that close. It was that little bit of forcing it, feeling you must hit the double. But you can’t blame that for losing the match. You might have gone 2-0 up, but he also missed two darts to lead 1-0.”
The match stayed finely poised for a long spell. At 2-2, though, Wattimena took another hit. Waiting on a double himself, he watched Humphries strike with a classy 132 checkout on double 16.
“I leave myself on a double again and he goes bull, bull, double 16,” said Wattimena. “Then I’m chasing it again. A cracking finish, mind.”
A curious scene followed in the ninth leg. Both players had multiple darts at doubles, but nothing would land. Whether nerves played a part, Wattimena found hard to say. “I’ve no idea. I felt they were sitting pretty tight on the wires, but honestly, I’ve no idea.”
With a wink it was even suggested the board might have been slightly off level, as several darts kept landing in almost the same spot just outside the double. “Yeah, couldn’t they have shifted it a little?” joked Wattimena.
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Despite the missed chances, the Dutchman was reluctant to blame himself. Against a player of Humphries’ calibre he held his own and, above all, Wattimena enjoyed the atmosphere in Amsterdam.
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“I don’t blame myself for anything. It was a good match. In that leg where we both missed doubles, we both did it in the same leg. And besides: he just takes out the 132. That did sting for a moment. I was waiting on a double myself, but earlier I did that to him as well.”
Wattimena also felt the crowd got a good show despite his defeat. “I think the neutral viewer definitely enjoyed this match. The scoring was strong. I think Luke and I gave the fans something to enjoy.”
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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