"There's many people that slate me online who'll be very happy with what I'm playing like": Luke Humphries aims to prove doubters wrong

Luke Humphries admitted he is going through a difficult spell but insists his career is far from over, as he looks to bounce back at the 2025 New Zealand Darts Masters. Humphries saw off Haupai Puha 6-3 despite averaging only 89 in what was a pretty comfortable win against a player who on his day can threaten. But it is also the words of others that are affecting him and giving him impetus.

“There’s many, many people that slate me online who’ll be very happy with what I’m playing like and enjoying the fact it’s not going great for me,” Humphries said during his post match press conference. “But I don’t think it’s the end for my career. I don’t think it’s going to dwindle out and that’s going to be it. I’m not being too hard on myself. Everyone can see the last couple of months since the Premier League, it’s not been there for me. You have to accept that sometimes in life and in sport, it doesn’t go the way you want it to. For me, it’s important I buck up my ideas, maybe practise harder and work harder, and try to get myself out of what is a rut at the moment.”

Having lifted every major title he dreamed of, including the World Championship, World Matchplay, Premier League, Grand Slam, Grand Prix and World Cup, Humphries admits finding fresh motivation can be challenging. “In my opinion, there’s nothing left on my CV where, if I retired without winning it, I’d be devastated,” he explained. “Sometimes it becomes a mental challenge when you win a lot – you can become complacent and think everything’s just going to keep going your way, but it doesn’t work like that. For me, I know I have to work harder than ever to get back to playing the way I want to.”

Last week’s heavy defeat to Mike De Decker in Australia came amid illness, and Humphries revealed that, given the circumstances, he was actually pleased with his performance. “Even though I wasn’t feeling great, losing 6–0 knocks you for six,” he said. “Looking back, I’m actually kind of proud because I averaged 91, and given how I felt, if I’d averaged over 70 I’d have been happy. So it was a good performance really. But when you lose 6–0, no matter how bad you feel, you can’t walk off happy. A lot’s happened, but that’s my own problem. I’m just trying to find something and give something back to the fans, which is why I came out here.”

After travelling to New Zealand on the Sunday, Humphries visited a doctor on Monday and was prescribed antibiotics for a throat infection. “I had a high temperature and didn’t know if it was flu or just the throat,” he said. “The main aim was to be okay to fly home on Sunday. I haven’t done much – played a bit of golf yesterday, which made me feel better, and did media day. Mostly I’ve just been trying to get myself right to compete this weekend.”

With several big events on the horizon, Humphries is aware of the rankings implications but says the World Championship will be decisive. “It’s important because I’m defending a lot if I want to stay world number one, but I’d rather be defending them than not – because if I’m not, it means I never won them. If I don’t win at least one of the three or four big majors coming up, I probably won’t be world number one.

"But the World Championship is the big one – if I win that, I’ll be world number one again for another 12 months, even if Luke Littler takes it for a while. Being world number one is amazing, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. If I can hold it for the next couple of months, I think I’d be the fifth or sixth longest-ever reigning world number one, which is a great stat. Luke’s the best player in the world right now, but I’m trying to stick in there and maybe have another year if I can win the Worlds. If I’m not number one, I’ve still had a great reign – and it’s not over yet.”

Although he rates Littler as the sport’s top performer, Humphries remains confident in his own ability. “Of course I have confidence. I can be as good as Luke, but it’s not up to me to say – look at the stats. People might think that’s defeatist, but it’s a fact. The stats show he’s the best player in the world. That doesn’t mean I can’t be world number one – if I win the Worlds, I will be again. But the best player doesn’t always end up world number one. I’ve got one big tournament to make it count, and I’ll give myself the best chance.”

Reflecting on the current dominance at the top of the sport, Humphries said: “I think we’ve both done fantastically well. Everyone rates Luke as one of the greatest ever, and I’d agree, but I’ve won four or five majors in his presence, which is a good stat for me too. This season we’ve pretty much won everything – I’ve won two majors, he’s won two; I’ve won one World Series, he’s won one. We’ve been quite similar. There’s a lot of talent out there ready to have a piece of the pie, but over the last couple of years it’s been me and Luke winning most things. That won’t last forever – others will want in – but recently it’s been just the two of us.”