Luke Humphries marked his electric recent form by piling in a nine-darter against Rob Cross in Sunday’s Baltic Sea Darts Open final. ‘Voltage’ not only reacted with a classy round of applause, he also took Humphries’ rare feet as his cue to begin a fantastic comeback and snatch the title for himself.
Humphries was 4-3 up by the time Cross threw first in the eighth leg of the first-to-eight final in Kiel, Germany. And a disappointing 77 from Cross opened up a window of opportunity, which ‘Cool Hand’ grasped emphatically.
Peppering the treble 20 with ease and accuracy, Humphries left the customary 141 finish after six darts. The break of throw was virtually wrapped up already as Cross sat way back on 267, but Humphries banked the style points anyway by nailing three more perfect darts to the delight of those watching on.
With arms spread wide as he embraced the rampant German crowd, Humphries was also given a warm reception by Cross, who immediately put down his darts to applaud the reigning world champion once the double 12 found its mark.
A warm hug and a handshake followed as Humphries built up a two-leg buffer to go 5-3 ahead. But just when it looked as though the 29-year-old was ready to capitalise on Thursday’s Premier League Darts triumph in Leeds, he capitulated.
Winning five of the next six legs, Cross eventually came out an 8-6 victor to clinch his second PDC European Tour title. ‘Voltage’ beat the likes of Madars Razma and Stephen Bunting en route to the final after Luke Littler crashed out on the opening day.
Following his Baltic Darts Sea Open triumph, Cross said: “To hit back-to-back 12-darters to win was great and I’m happy that I’ve won something – it’s been a while! It’s an amazing experience to come up and win something again.
“I’ve got a new regime at the minute and it’s working. I feel much better, much fresher in the longer days and long may it continue. Me and Luke always have good games and I really enjoyed it. He’s number one for a reason – he’s the best player on the planet.
“I like playing Luke and he likes playing me – he’s probably got the upper hand of late. He’s got the world at his feet and we have a great friendship.”
Cross, who has no hope of making the semi-final play-offs, will be back in Premier League action against Michael van Gerwen in Sheffield on Thursday. Humphries, who has already sealed his final-four spot, takes on Gerwyn Price.
