“The sixth dart was really unlucky” – Luke Humphries comes closest yet to $200k golden dart in Riyadh

Luke Humphries produced the closest brush so far with the $200k “golden dart” moment at the 2026 Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, part of the World Series of Darts, as he opened his campaign with a 6-2 win over Ryusei Azemoto in Riyadh.

Five perfect darts at the start of leg three did not mean a nine-darter was suddenly “on”. But in this event, where perfection would open the door to a life changing bonus, the pressure and meaning of going that deep into a perfect leg is magnified.

“The sixth dart was really unlucky,” Humphries said afterwards. “There was a fine line it could have gone through and it just caught. I guess that’s because I threw it so well."

“If that goes in, then you’re thinking about it. In a normal game I probably wouldn’t be thinking about 141, but when there’s a lot on the line, you would be," he added. "It would have been nice to give the crowd that excitement, that everything’s on the line and someone has a shot at 141. I was hoping it was me. You can be nervous and still hit big shots, I’ve done it many times. So it could have happened, but it’s a bit disappointing it didn’t go in.”

The moment came early, but the match itself was anything but straightforward.

Azemoto, throwing first, opened with a 180 and took the first leg on double top. Humphries levelled, but then found himself punished for missed doubles as Azemoto nailed a two-dart 100 checkout to move 2-1 ahead.

Leg three brought the golden dart drama. Humphries started with five perfect darts before the sixth slid out, ending any immediate chance of a shot at the huge bonus. He still went on to break throw moments later and take control.

Azemoto missed two darts to regain the lead in the next leg and Humphries made him pay on double top. Another missed dart at bull from the Japanese then allowed Humphries to break again and open up a 4-2 lead.

From danger to daylight, Humphries closed out the match with clinical finishes, including a 64 checkout and then a 96 to seal the 6-2 win and move into the quarter-finals.

Humphries admitted the performance was not perfect. “It was a bit up and down to be honest,” he said. “There were a couple of moments where the treble would go in and then slide off into the five. Overall I think it was a solid performance, but a lot to build on and I’ve got to be better tomorrow.”

He pointed to his finishing as the key difference when the match was still in the balance. “The finishing really pulled me out of trouble,” he said. “The 78 turned the game around again for me. Then the 66 was another good finish. The 96 was decent too. If I can match the scoring tomorrow, you’ll see that 100 average like I usually hit.”

He added: “My scoring power can be one of the best in the world, definitely top two when it’s there. Sometimes when it’s not at its best, it’s nice that you can find something else.”

Riyadh has delivered a very different feel to the Premier League and major UK events. “A lot of people are just glued to watching it and not really shouting out stuff,” Humphries said. “It’s a different environment for us all, but I’m sure we can get used to it for a couple of days of the year.”

But he insisted the crowd rarely enters his thinking mid-match. “Even when I play in the UK and Europe, I don’t really watch what the crowd are doing,” he said. “I’m focused on what I’m doing. You have to be fully focused on playing darts. When you walk out, you notice the atmosphere is a little bit different, they’re not shouting with the walk-on songs and stuff, but apart from that I’m fully focused on what I’m doing. I’m very good at blocking those things out.”

Humphries also reflected on how quickly darts has gone global. “Six or seven years ago, Saudi wasn’t a big hotspot for sport,” he said. “If you’d said would you be part of the World Series in the future, I’d have said yes, but being here is different. It’s not what we would have expected two or three years ago."

“These things come about quickly. You don’t really get chance to process that you’re in Saudi and this is the country that wants you to come and play darts. There might be a brand new country next year that we don’t expect either. I’ve always said Africa would be a good place to go. You never know where you’re going to play in the future.”

Asked whether players feel pressure to justify darts being brought to new markets, he said: “I see it like trial and error. You try a sport. If they really like it, they’ll continue it. If they don’t think it’s working, they won’t.

“I don’t feel pressure to go out and perform just to impress them. But of course if you do, it’s not just good for you, it’s good for the sport of darts, to help them understand how great it is.”

There was even an unusual interruption during the match. “One of the staff was waving his arms around,” Humphries explained. “There’s no left drop there, so you can see people walking past, and that’s fine. But someone was being animated, throwing their arms around, and I could completely see that when I was throwing. I was just trying to say, look, stop doing that really.”

Off the stage, Riyadh has been a quieter stop than Bahrain. “There ain’t no karaoke bars over here, so no karaoke,” he laughed. “We got here quite late yesterday. We actually went to the British Embassy and met some of the diplomats. Today not really doing much. There’s not loads you can do. You can go by the pool. Hopefully tomorrow I can get up early, maybe go to the pool and hopefully not get as sunburnt as Nathan Aspinall did today.”

For all the side stories, Humphries left Riyadh as the player who has come closest so far to opening the door to a moment that would be remembered far beyond this tournament. Five perfect darts did not make history, but in a format where perfection carries life-changing stakes, they showed just how quickly one throw can turn an ordinary leg into something much bigger.