Luke Humphries sets out to become darts’ first-ever £2 million man and leave a lasting legacy on the sport.
It’s the day darts fans have waited for all year as the Paddy Power World Championship gets going at the Alexandra Palace in London. Night one tradition sees the defending champ kick off his title defence, and Leeds Utd fan Humphries will face the winner of the evening’s opening match between Thibault Tricole and Joe Comito. Humphries can smash records over the next 19 days at the big one.
No player in history has ever broken the £2 million barrier on the PDC’s Order of Merit, which is based purely on ranked prize money over a two-year period. Humphries’ current earnings stand at a whopping £1,804,250 and, if the World No.1 lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy once again and pockets another £500,000, he’ll set a new benchmark on January 3.
Humphries said: “If I make that two million mark on the rankings, then it just shows I dominated two years to be honest. That would be exceptional. But I feel I’d have to win two majors or reach a World final to do that.”
Humphries also has the opportunity to become only the fourth player ever to win back to back after defeating teen sensation Luke Littler last year and added: “I think it would just be that absolute dream that you feel like you’re never going to wake up from. When you’re a one-time World Champion, it’s always amazing, but when you’re a two-time champion, it kind of puts you up there in the higher elite of the players that have ever played this sport.
“It’s always nice winning one, but to win a second, it really does put you up there in the legacy of the greatest players there’s ever been. This would be a great statement for myself to be a two-time World Champion before I’m 30. It’s set a good precedent for me to go on and win a lot more in the future, but it’s going to be tough.”
Humphries and Littler are ruling the game with the 17-year-old the biggest name in the game. The champ said: “Luke has got a bigger following, he’s a bigger media star than myself, so he’s going to get more headlines, more people liking posts and commenting on posts because he’s got more fans than I have.
“So I don’t think in a proper darts fan’s eyes or a journalist’s eyes I would be overlooked. I just think when you’ve got a bigger following and a bigger superstar you get more attention.
“It happens in all sports. You see it in snooker where Ronnie O’Sullivan will always be the star no matter who wins the World Championship. So that will be the same with darts now. I could probably win five world titles and he’ll still be the star but rightly so. He’s the biggest we’ve ever seen.
“I’m not too fussed about it. I’m just here to try and battle it out with Luke and have fun and hopefully we can have some great games in the next few years and probably contest more major finals. I just think we’re two young lads at the top of the sport.
“We can’t not enjoy that. We get along well and we enjoy playing each other. It’s always exciting for the fans when we do. And I think that kind of thing allows you to relax and have fun. I know that the rivalry back in the day used to be more fierce than that, but I haven’t got it in me.
“I don’t want animosity and I don’t think Luke does either. We just want to get along with our business and give the fans what they want. A great game. There’s always that element of enjoyment and respect between each other. We look at each other and think we can keep riding this out for another 10 years!”