Luke Humphires made to eat his own words by Michael van Gerwen after jibe at rival
There was a thrilling finish in Holland between Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen.
Luke Humphries was left to regret taking a dig at rival Michael van Gerwen after the Dutchman beat him in a thrilling World Series of Darts quarter-final. Despite missing nine match darts, ‘MVG’ prevailed 10-9 against the world No.1, setting up a semi-final clash with Luke Littler.
Humphries arrived in Amsterdam as the favourite for the title following a stellar year that has seen him crowned world champion and cement his place as the world No.1
And before his clash against Van Gerwen, he implied facing the three-time world champion was no longer a concern following his drop in form.
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"If you're someone that's not playing Michael on the regular, you might fear the name and I probably would have done four or five years ago, when he was on his peak,” he said. “But you know, he's not as dangerous as he was then many years ago. That's no disrespect, he just isn't. The stats would back that up."
His words seemed set to backfire spectacularly when his opponent nailed a 170 to open up a 9-6 lead, leaving him one leg from victory. But Van Gerwen then appeared to unravel as Humphries fought back to 9-8, and after five missed match darts left the door open for the Englishman, he took out 75 to force a decider.
Both players then misfired with the match on the line, Humphries missed double five for victory. At the 10th time of asking, Van Gerwen sealed victory and celebrated wildly, lifting both arms to his home crowd in a moment that signified relief as much as it did joy.
The finishing stats of both players was telling however. Van Gerwen hit just 31.3 per cent of his chances, with Humphries even lower at a paltry 26.5 per cent.
Prior to the clash, he’d spoken candidly about needing to address his poor head-to-head record against Humphries, saying: “I need to change it. I feel good, I feel comfortable. I think I can do a lot of damage tomorrow, especially if I keep playing like this.
“He’s been the better player in the last few months over me but if we both play our top game, I’m still the better player, and he knows that and that’s why he’s afraid of me. But I need to show that. I can say all I want but I need to show it on the dartboard. I need to keep biting him in the ankles to make sure he falls down.”
Although he backed up his words, the 35-year-old was then duly well beaten by Littler in the final four. The teenager delivered a relentless display in his 11-4 win, throwing an 11-dart leg to silence the crowd at the AFAS Live arena and make it through to another major final.
Despite his status as one of the all-time greats, Van Gerwen has struggled in 2024 amid the emergence of Humphries and Littler. Indeed, his only significant title came at the Dutch Masters in January, where he beat Littler 8-6 in the final.
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The finishing stats of both players was telling however. Van Gerwen hit just 31.3 per cent of his chances, with Humphries even lower at a paltry 26.5 per cent.
Prior to the clash, he’d spoken candidly about needing to address his poor head-to-head record against Humphries, saying: “I need to change it. I feel good, I feel comfortable. I think I can do a lot of damage tomorrow, especially if I keep playing like this.
“He’s been the better player in the last few months over me but if we both play our top game, I’m still the better player, and he knows that and that’s why he’s afraid of me. But I need to show that. I can say all I want but I need to show it on the dartboard. I need to keep biting him in the ankles to make sure he falls down.”
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Although he backed up his words, the 35-year-old was then duly well beaten by Littler in the final four. The teenager delivered a relentless display in his 11-4 win, throwing an 11-dart leg to silence the crowd at the AFAS Live arena and make it through to another major final.
Despite his status as one of the all-time greats, Van Gerwen has struggled in 2024 amid the emergence of Humphries and Littler. Indeed, his only significant title has come at the Dutch Masters in January, where he beat Littler 8-6 in the final.
