Luke Humphries dominates field to take Czech Darts Open crown
Newbury’s Luke Humphries stormed to his second Gambrinus Czech Darts Open title with a crushing 8-1 victory over Kim Huybrechts in Prague on Sunday.
Humphries produced one of the greatest European Tour campaigns of all-time to clinch the £30,000 top prize, relinquishing just 11 legs across his five matches in the Czech capital.
The 29-year-old began his campaign with a trio of 6-2 wins against Ritchie Edhouse, Gian van Veen and Mike De Decker, posting a hat-trick of ton-plus averages in the process.
Following victory over Edhouse, Humphries reeled off six straight legs to demolish Van Veen with a 106 average, before avenging his defeat to De Decker in last week’s World Grand Prix final.
The world number one later came through a scintillating semi-final against Luke Littler, averaging 108.56 in a contested littered with quality to deny the 17-year-old a third European Tour title of 2024.
Humphries then seized the early initiative in Sunday’s showpiece with back-to-back 16-darters, only for Huybrechts to halve the deficit in leg three.
However, after restoring his two-leg buffer to lead 3-1, Humphries conjured up three consecutive 12-darters to assume total control – including a sumptuous 132 checkout on the bull in leg five.
Huybrechts had no answer to Humphries’ relentless brilliance, and the World Champion powered to victory in ruthless fashion to secure his seventh European Tour title.
“When I beat Ritchie Edhouse on Saturday I felt good, but I felt I needed a spark, and I found it today,” reflected Humphries, who averaged 105.57 and pinned eight of his 12 attempts at double to dispatch Huybrechts.
“When I beat Gian I felt that spark again, but I still know there’s another level in me, and I believe I can get better.
“It’s nice to bounce back [from the World Grand Prix], because when you lose in major finals it’s not easy; it does hurt you, so this is a nice way to finish my ProTour season.
“I’m going to come back next year and I’m going to work harder. I’m going to change things and I’m going to win more – that’s my commitment to the game!”