Luke Humphries joked that his partner will be ‘happy’ he is not bringing another trophy back to an already crowded mantelpiece after losing Sunday’s World Grand Prix final to Mike De Decker.
‘Cool Hand’ Humphries has been on a tear since winning his first major title at the World Grand Prix 12 months ago. Victories at the Grand Slam of Darts, the Players Championship, the World Darts Championship and the World Matchplay followed, with the 29-year-old shooting to the top of the world rankings.
He looked all set to continue his dominant streak on Sunday, having dropped only three sets across four matches en route to the final, including a 5-0 trouncing of Ryan Joyce in the semis.
But De Decker, who came into the tournament as a 150/1 shot ranked outside the world’s top 30, produced an almighty shock to win 6-4 and clinch his first televised darts title, along with the £120,000 top prize.
“I’m obviously gutted to lose,” Humphries told Sky Sports. “I felt like I was really on the wire through everything, he frustrated me. But I told him at the end I’m so proud of him because he showed so much bottle. He really did.
“I know how it felt to be in that position a year ago – I felt my heart racing, my hand shaking. He looked cool as anything. Tonight it wasn’t my night and sometimes you have to accept that.
“We’ve got a great champion and now he’s got a target on his back, like I’ve got. All credit to him. He’s a fantastic guy and a great player. I think Kayley will be happy I’m not bringing that [trophy] home!”
De Decker had never previously been beyond the last 32 of a major tournament and the relief was etched on his face when he took out 55 for the match. The 28-year-old, who has been on and off the PDC tour since 2014, earned the biggest pay day of his career and rose to 25th in the world as a result of his upset in Leicester.
“I’m so proud,” he told Sky Sports. “It feels amazing – I’m over the moon; I’ve been really happy with my performance all week, but this tops it off. The way Luke has been playing since last year is just brilliant and being the person that beats him this weekend, in a final, picking up this trophy; I’m so happy!”
