Sky Sports Darts pundit Wayne Mardle has made some telling comments about Luke Humphries ahead of the World Matchplay final. The 2024 PDC world champion has the opportunity to add another title to his name in Blackpool tonight, as he takes on Michael van Gerwen in the World Matchplay final.
Humphries has been in sublime form for much of the tournament and caught the imagination of the crowd during his quarter-final win over Dimitri van den Bergh.
His Belgian rival goaded him after nailing a 180, hunching his shoulders repeatedly while grinning at the crowd.
It backfired though, with the 29-year-old responding with a checkout. And he instantly mimicked the celebration of Van den Bergh, who had said pre-match that Humphries was in the “shadow” of teenage star Luke Littler.
And speaking just minutes before Humphries and ‘MVG’ took the oche, Mardle referenced his act of mockery. However, he also argued that ‘Cool hand Luke’ had the quality to back-up his actions.
“It is a bit of cockiness and a bit of arrogance and a bit of what you need to be an absolute champion,” he said. “Some people have got it and some people haven’t. The way he carries himself is probably the best he has ever carried himself on the stage.”
And Mardle added that Humphries was showing the traits of an all-time great. “There are a lot of players that have the game but don’t have the personality that goes with that game,” he said. “We are used to watching Michael van Gerwen, who was the best, and he was telling everyone on a daily basis that ‘I’m the best’.
“Now Luke Humphries is like ‘if somebody says anything I’ll just answer them back’. Whereas he was letting his darts do the talking. Now his darts are guaranteed to do the talking, he is now talking himself with the shoulder shrug and everything else.”
After his 16-10 win over Van den Bergh, Humphries was equally dominant against James Wade. He beat his compatriot 17-10 to set up a final with the three-time winner.
And during that clash, he was also seen having fun with the crowd. Humphries flexed his muscles in celebration, and at one point cupped his ears in a bid to generate more crowd noise.
Van Gerwen however, has also been in formidable form. After taking out Littler in his opening match, he beat Michael Smith 17-13 in his final four clash and immediately vowed to teach his final opponent ‘a lesson’.
