"If England play the Netherlands, there'll definitely be plenty of that going on" - Luke Humphries opens up on football banter between darters amid World Cup

Luke Humphries is a man on a mission. He returns to Madison Square Gardens determined to defend his US Darts Masters title he won last year. With the World Cup also in town, he is sure to keep an eye on the football as well.

'Cool Hand Luke' was not at his spectacular best last year but managed to save his best darts for last. Following wins over Stowe Buntz, Danny Lauby and Gerwyn Price in a comfortable manner, he averaged close to a ton in defeating Nathan Aspinall 8-6 in the final to win a second World Series of Darts title following the New Zealand Darts Masters back in 2024.

He is the only former champion in the field and will return for a fourth time to New York. He has made at least the semi-final stage in his three prior visits and will look to go back-to-back this time round.

When speaking to talkSPORT ahead of his opening round match against Leonard Gates, there was a sense of excitement surrounding the world number two. "I mean, this is the fourth year we've been here now," he began. "To still be coming here and increasing ticket sales year on year is incredible. I think we've sold out Friday and Saturday with around 10,000 tickets. It just shows how much the game is growing."

Humphries continued his praise of the passionate support set to engulf New York over the two days of action. A large number of darts fans will closely follow the proceedings in a huge step forward for American darts.

However, many will also have their eyes on the World Cup. "I know it could have been a lot tougher with it being a World Cup football year as well, but they've done really well to sell it out. It just shows how much darts continues to grow all the time."

This does open the perfect opportunity for English football and darts fans to both get a taste of the footy and darts while in the USA. With England set to play their final group match against Panama on the Saturday, New York is the place to be.

"Yeah, probably. If I was in their situation, I'd have done the same. I'd have tied both in together, gone to the darts and then the football afterwards," Humphries admitted

"But these tickets went on sale ages ago, so who knows how many England fans got in there early? I don't know what the ticket situation is for the football, but maybe we'll get some extra support over here. The crowd has been getting better and better over the last few years, and the atmosphere last year was really great."

The English fans may not make as much of a difference among their North American counterparts. "I don't think it's much different, to be fair. They're very into it," Humphries said, describing the USA darts fans.

"I've been to a few sporting events over here as well. I went to ice hockey a couple of years ago and watched the New York Rangers. The atmosphere they create is unbelievable, so maybe it's even better in some ways. For darts, though, it's traditionally a more English sport. The English fans have more experience and know what to cheer and when. But I think the American darts fans are getting a lot better."

It has been a little bit inconsistent from Humphries in recent times. He sets himself very high standards, and it is fair to say that he has not reached those ultimate heights. He has reached the final in four of the last seven PDC major ranking tournaments as well as the Premier League Darts. Aside from the European Championship where he missed a match dart against Gian van Veen, the rest have been bitter blows against the world number one Luke Littler.

He did benefit from his rival as they teamed up to win the World Cup of Darts, silencing the doubters. It comes in a period where Humphries is finding his feet once more. A turbulent Premier League Darts campaign was timed to perfection. Those earlier matches marred by missed doubles soon sorted themselves out with his power scoring soon matched with some clinical finishing.

When he gets his game right, he is one of the only players who can keep pace with Littler, cementing his spot as the second best player in the world. It is an ominous sign when Humphries states that he is feeling confident again. "The confidence comes from the fact that I'm playing well again and playing consistently well," he commented.

"Over the last four or five months it's been a little bit up and down, but in the last six weeks it's been much more consistent. I've made eight finals on the trot in the last eight competitions I've played in. All those things build confidence, and hopefully I can keep that winning feeling going."

Similar in football when players from rival teams work together for glory: Humphries and Littler put aside their differences to flourish on stage together in Frankfurt. This was not a tricky task for the former world champion who already holds a positive relationship with 'The Nuke.'

"I don't know what Luke would say, but I found it quite easy. If you get on with someone, the job is going to be easy. If you don't get on with someone, then it's going to be hard. But when you're playing for your country in the World Cup, your egos get left at the door. It's all about the team.

"We worked really well together this year. There was a lot of pressure on us, just like there was last year, but we dealt with it and got to a point where we felt comfortable. As you saw in the semi-final and final, we started playing our best darts. We then produced a record average in the final, so we were really pleased to win it. Hopefully we can break more records and win it many more times in the future."

He was then asked what advice he would give to some of England's top players such as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and manager Thomas Tuchel about how to find their best form in the business end of a tournament. "I think they all know better than me, to be fair. They're world-class sportsmen and they know what they're doing," he acknowledged.

"The World Cup is anybody's. There are so many great teams. France, on paper, obviously have an incredible squad, but there are plenty of other nations with fantastic players too. Someone has to lose and only one team can win. England have a great chance, but so do a lot of other teams. If England don't win it, it won't necessarily be because they aren't good enough. It often comes down to those pressure moments. I watched them last night and it was a frustrating game, but it was only a group game. What they need to do is what they've done in previous tournaments: when it gets tight and tense, score that late goal and seize the moment."

Gerwyn Price, who is also competing in the US Darts Masters, can not follow his native Wales at the World Cup after they got knocked out in the play-off stage of qualifying. He has resorted in supporting England instead, putting his rivalries aside.

Humphries was not surprised, and even does the same himself with Scotland. "No, not really. I actually like seeing Scotland do well. I know there's a weird rivalry where sometimes England want Scotland to lose and Scotland, Wales and Ireland want England to lose.

"But I want Scotland to do well. If Wales are in it, I want them to do well too. Obviously, I want England to do better than them, but I still want them to succeed. It's a big game for Scotland tonight against Brazil, so I hope they do the job and get through. My ideal scenario would be to meet them later in the tournament."

As there always is in football, the banter between the players when their nation wins or loses is normally a hot topic of conversation. This was the case in Euro 2024 when England dumped out the Netherlands, two prominent darting nations, to reach the final.

"There'd definitely be some banter," he said, anticipated for a possible re-match. "There was a bit between me and Michael van Gerwen when England beat the Netherlands in the Euros semi-final. If they get their own back this time, I'm sure Michael will be straight on the phone to me. There's always a bit of banter in the darts world when it comes to sport. If England play the Netherlands, there'll definitely be plenty of that going on."