Damon Heta humorously suggested that Luke Humphries should “take a gap year” following his World Masters victory.
The 29-year-old darts star has secured seven major titles within two years and is now nearly £800k ahead of young sensation Luke Littler as the world’s top-ranked player. Despite a surprising exit at Ally Pally at the hands of Peter Wright in the World Championships, Humphries’ grip on the sport remains tight.
Last week, he effortlessly claimed his first World Masters title, defeating Joe Cullen, Josh Rock, Danny Noppert, and Jonny Clayton – cruising through matches with ease. Heta, known as ‘The Heat’, expressed his playful exasperation by taking to social media platform X on Monday afternoon, sharing an image of himself on a golf course holding a ball featuring Humphries’ face.
His caption jokingly congratulated ‘Cool Hand’ on his win but hinted that perhaps Humphries should enjoy a break to savour his earnings. He wrote: “Taking out some frustration on my new golf balls. Well done @lukeh180 on the win but I think it’s time you have a gap year and go and enjoy your winnings.”
Many fans took to the comments section of Heta’s post to lap up the subtle jab, with one writing: “brilliant Damon” while another added: “Ya tinker ya damo,” with a laughing emoji. A third added: “Hahaha brilliant,” while a fourth wrote: “Hahahahahaha.”
However, one social media wasn’t impressed by Heta’s antics, writing: “If you want Premier League spend less time spanking golf balls and more time practicing darts. Oh and lose the p***star ‘tache.”
Never one to pass up a moment of hilarity, Heta responded to the user with: “Sound advice mate! I’ve never thought about practicing maybe it’s something I’ll look into.” Another user replied to Heta’s reponse with: “Gonna be unstoppable if you can keep up this practice thing for 2-3 month.”
As Heta jokingly encourages Humphries to savour his earnings, Humphries is on the cusp of surpassing the once elusive £2m mark. Victory at the UK Open, which boasts a hefty £110k for the winner, would see him hit that milestone, and he’s openly expressed his desire to be the trailblazer in this regard.
“I better win the UK Open now, hadn’t I,” Humphries said in interview with Sports Boom, adding: “It obviously would be really nice to do that. It’s not like a goal that you’re looking at and thinking I need to do that.
“The prize money in the world of darts is just going to go up and up over the next few years. Soon it will be a common thing, so someone is going to reach £2million whether I do it or not. But I’d like to be the first one to do it.” Humphries is set to take on Nathan Aspinall in night one of the Premier League come Thursday.