Dominant Luke Humphries seizes World Series crown in New Zealand
Luke Humphries produced a dominant display to dispatch Damon Heta 8-2 and clinch his maiden World Series of Darts title in Saturday’s New Zealand Darts Masters final.
Newbury-born Humphries has been the sport’s dominant figure throughout the last 12 months, although success on the World Series stage had proven elusive.
The world number one broke new ground in Hamilton, defeating Michael Smith, Luke Littler and Heta to pocket the £20,000 top prize.
Heta drew first blood in Saturday’s showpiece, although Humphries soon seized control, winning five straight legs to establish a 5-1 cushion, featuring a crucial 122 checkout on the bull in leg four.
The Australian number one halted Humphries’ charge with a 13-darter in leg seven, only for the World Champion to reel off the next three legs without reply to prevail with a 102.21 average.
“I’ve been searching for a World Series title, and I felt one was coming,” insisted Humphries, who landed five 180s in the final.
“My performances on the World Series over the last two years haven’t been at the standard I wanted, and I still wasn’t at my best today, but I was good enough.
“I feel so lucky and privileged to be here. The crowds over the last few days have been fantastic, and me and my Dad have really enjoyed our time here.
“It’s been a great journey, I’ve made some great memories and I’ll be looking forward to coming back next year.”
Humphries ran out a convincing 6-3 winner against Kayden Milne in Friday’s first round, before overcoming world number two Smith and top seed Littler to progress to a maiden World Series final.
The 29-year-old defied a 101 average from Smith to win through a high-quality quarter-final clash, winning the last two legs in 13 and 12 darts to wrap up a 6-4 success.
Humphries then launched an astonishing fightback from 6-2 down to stun Littler in the semi-finals, surviving two match darts to triumph in a repeat of January’s World Championship showpiece.