''Last year was a great experience, but this year I want to win it" - Luke Humphries returning to Madison Square Garden with different mindset

World champion Luke Humphries is determined to add another trophy to his collection this coming weekend as the World Series of Darts takes the PDC to the US Darts Masters in New York.

Humphries is one of the star attractions at the World Series tournament in the United States, when the sport's biggest names take on eight North American representatives at the Hulu Theater inside the iconic Madison Square Garden.

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The 29-year-old Englishman made his debut 12 months ago with a semifinal finish at the US Darts Masters. At the time, "Cool Hand Luke" did not yet have a major title to his name, but Humphries has since won four majors, including most notably, the world title. In addition, he has been the number one player in the world since January.

"Last year was a great experience, but this year I want to win it," stressed Humphries, who hopes to add a World Series of Darts title to his growing record. "I’m still going to enjoy the experience, because these are fantastic opportunities that we’re very lucky to have, but my headspace is more about winning nowadays than it was last year.”

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This weekend marks Humphries' first appearance since the Premier League Darts playoffs, where he was defeated in a high-stakes final by teenage sensation Luke Littler. "My main goal was to make the top four and then make the final, and you can’t ask much more of yourself than that," said Humphries, who averaged 102 in his defeat to Littler. "I’ve been in six of the last seven major finals which is absolutely fantastic. It would have been lovely to win it, but I lost to a fantastic performance from Luke. I think Luke deserved to be the Premier League champion. It’s 1-1 between us in major finals now and it’s an exciting rivalry to look forward to in the future."

Humphries spoke to the PDC after a morning full of media commitments, in which he appeared with two-time world champion Peter Wright on CBS New York. "This is a tournament I would love to win," Humphries continued. "Madison Square Garden is such an iconic venue, so it would be really special to add this title to my mantelpiece. We have a lot to play for over the next two to three months so I want to get back to winning ways, and this is the title out of all the World Series events that I’d love to lift.”

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