Preview Final World Grand Prix 2024: Luke Humphries and Mike de Decker battle for double in double out supremacy on Sunday

Sunday night at 9 p.m. the final of the 2024 World Grand Prix begins. This year it is Luke Humphries and Mike de Decker who will compete for the overall victory at the double-in double-out tournament in Leicester.

This tournament is a unique event on the PDC calendar. The World Grand Prix is the only tournament where the legs are started and ended with a double. Because of this format, the World Grand Prix is known for its surprises, with often early eliminations of big names.

The World Grand Prix is, for now, the tournament of the great breakthrough of Mike de Decker. After he already eliminated Damon Heta in the first round, darts legend Gary Anderson was floored in the last sixteen. The two-time world champion was dismissed 3-0 in sets by 'The Real Deal'. Then De Decker also proved too strong for James Wade 3-0 in sets. 

It led to a historic encounter with Dimitri van den Bergh, the first ever Belgian semifinal at a PDC major. It was De Decker who was then too strong for his compatriot 5-2 in sets.

Luke Humphries was actually the last major title favorite remaining in the tournament as of the second round. 'Cool Hand Luke' saw rivals Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price, Luke Littler and Gary Anderson fall away early on. Humphries was not far off either, as the Englishman survived a matchdart in his first round match against Stephen Bunting (2-1). In the second round, Humphries dealt with Ricardo Pietreczko (3-1). Humphries did not have an easy time in the quarterfinals either, beating Jonny Clayton 3-1 in sets.  

It wasn't until the semifinal match that Humphries showed his top form for the first time. After an absolute masterclass, Ryan 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.

The contrast in experience between the Humphries and Decker is immense. Humphries already played his first major-quarterfinal at the 2019 World Darts Championship and stood in a major final for the first time at the 2021 UK Open. But the current world number one only broke through for good in 2023 by winning the World Grand Prix. After that, the Englishman won almost all ranking majors. Afterwards, Humphries also took the title at the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals, the World Darts Championship and the World Matchplay.

De Decker only played his first major-quarterfinal earlier at this World Grand Prix. On the floor, "The Real Deal" had made some strides in 2024, though. After losing a Players Championship final last year, he did manage to win a PDC ranking title for the first time this year. However, the final of a Players Championship title is dwarfed when compared to the allure of a major final. Darts-loving Belgium will be glued to the tube to see if their countryman can take his first major title.

Humphries and De Decker have already met thirteen times on the PDC circuit over the years. From 2016 through 2019, they first met ten times on the Development Tour. Then De Decker managed to win three times from Humphries, while 'Cool Hand Luke' won six times.

In the years that followed, they met another three times, including at the Players Championshuip Finals in 2022, their only meeting at a televised tournament. Then the win went 6-4 to Humphries. However, the last meeting between these two players was won 6-4 by the Belgian.

In the UK, the event will be broadcast by Sky Sports. On Oct. 7 and 8, broadcasts begin at 6 p.m.. The start times advance to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9, 10 and 11. On Saturday, Oct. 12, the semi-finals begin at 7:30 p.m. and the finals on Sunday, Oct. 13, start from 8:00 p.m. 

All participating players are guaranteed £7500 in starting money. Second-round losers receive £15,000. The quarter-finalists go home with at least £25,000, the semi-finalists almost one and a half times as much (£40,000). The losing finalist receives a check for £60,000 and the winner receives the grand prize of £120,000.

First round: Best of 3 sets

Second round: Best of 5 sets

Quarterfinals: Best of 5 sets

Semifinals: Best of 9 sets

Final: Best of 11 sets

Luke Humphries v Mike de Decker