"When you get crowds that don’t unfortunately give you that fair game that you want, it’s hard for me to perform": Luke Humphries laments hostile Krakow atmosphere

Luke Humphries scraped through to the next round in Krakow after a charged clash with crowd favorite Krzysztof Ratajski at the Poland Darts Open. The world number two won 6-5, but had to withstand not only his opponent, but also a noisy and hostile crowd.

In the Krakow Expo, Humphries was booed and jeered throughout the match, which further cranked up the tension in the arena. The Englishman looked set for a relatively comfortable win at 5-2, but Ratajski battled back with three legs on the spin to force a decider at the Poland Darts Open.

Humphries, however, kept his composure and still closed out the match in his favor. That silenced the Polish fans and ended the home crowd’s hopes.

Afterwards, Humphries admitted the conditions were anything but straightforward. “Nah, the World Championship final was always going to be tougher than that. It was a great game of darts there. It’s just sometimes, when you get crowds that don’t unfortunately give you that fair game that you want, it’s hard for me to perform."

According to the Englishman, the atmosphere ultimately worked against his opponent as well. “It probably put a lot of pressure on Krzysztof at the end there. He probably tried too hard. The crowd were fantastic to him, but I am just glad to win, to be honest.”

Despite the victory, Humphries was critical of his own display. The Englishman acknowledges he is struggling to sustain his level over an entire match.

“My game at the moment, I am starting off like a train in every game I play, playing the best darts out of anybody. Then, all of a sudden, I am playing the worst darts. It’s just a strange scenario for me. I am playing unbelievably, then playing crap.

He is still searching for an explanation for that inconsistency. “I don’t really know why. I am trying my best. I started off so well on the ProTour when I won it, but then it would drain out. I need to work out why that is happening. But that was really rubbish from myself tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I come back a different player and play like I have been.”