Luke Humphries is into the final of the World Grand Prix for the second year in a row. In the semifinals of the 2024 edition on Saturday night, 'Cool Hand Luke' was too strong for Ryan Joyce, 5-0. In the final he will now meet Mike De Decker, who himself dealt with Dimitri Van den Bergh. Humphries won the first major of his career at this tournament last year and is dreaming of another major triumph.
It wasn't until the semifinal match that Humphries showed his top form for the first time. After an absolute masterclass, Joyce was defeated 5-0 in sets. 'Cool Hand Luke' recorded an average of 100.30 in the process, which was only the second 100+ average ever in the semifinals of the World Grand Prix.
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"It felt special - 5-0 is quite flattering and it takes two to tango," said Humphries afterwards, full of praise for Joyce despite the convincing nature of his straight sets success. "It was a performance which was very much needed - Ryan was brilliant himself there. I had to play that well but I am capable of these big performances and I believe in myself in these big moments."
"I think it's a dream final, it really is," continues the world number one, casting an eye towards tonights battle with De Decker. "We've had so many battles and it's going to be a good game. Mike's playing well and I know I'm going to have to be at my best again."
Due to his dominance over the last twelve months, Humphries has been compared to the greatest of all time, Phil Taylor lately. By his own admission however, the current world champion has some way to go before those comparisons can garner real traction.
"I don't need to compare myself to Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen," he insists. "Phil would do this game in game out, I have one out of five of them games so you can't compare me to Phil, never. And he'll always have achieved more than any single player the world has ever seen. No one will ever be able to do what he's done!"