Humphries changed his walk-on song in homage to Leeds United, blasting Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘I Predict A Riot’ anthem that has become synonymous with the Championship football team in their promotion bid, proving very popular with the crowd on Thursday.
Spurred on by the Yorkshire fans, Humphries recorded his fourth nightly win of the season and could become the first player in the competition’s history to win five in a single year.
After defeating Van Gerwen in a deciding leg, getting one over on the Dutchman following his 6-1 semi-final win over Littler, Humphries dispelled any notion of animosity between himself and the teenage sensation.
“I love him to be honest, I think Luke is fantastic,” Humphries said. “I get on really well with him. A lot of media outlets paint a different picture, me and Luke Litter are fanatic friends. We get along really well.”
The world champion went on to explain that he and Littler would take time out of their preparations for each event to discuss their weeks on stage, sharing a rare insight into their relationship.
Humphries added: “Every time we walk in this arena we always have a little thing together, we get up on the stage and have a practice, have a chat for 20 minutes or whatever, have a little talk about what’s gone on in the week and that’s our thing. Everyone can paint the picture of ‘we’re rivals’, nah. We are rivals, we want to beat each other, but you will never get the negativity between us both because we get on really well and that’s it.
“He respects me and I respect him as an unbelievable talent up there, but the way he has dealt with himself this year has been absolutely amazing. His family should be very proud to be honest, because he has shown a lot of grit, a lot of determination and shown a lot of people that he deserves to be here.
“My dream would be to play him in the final because whoever won out of us two, I would be happy for him and if I won I am sure he would be happy for me.”
Humphries and Littler’s places in the play-offs had already been confirmed, with Van Gerwen now joining them following his run to the final in Leeds, with the final spot to be decided in the last week of the regular season between Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith.
