World No. 1 Luke Humphries achieved a stunning comeback against Luke Littler, securing the New Zealand Darts Masters title. In a highly anticipated rematch of January’s PDC World Darts Championship final, Humphries overcame a 6-2 deficit, winning five consecutive legs to clinch a thrilling 7-6 victory.
The 29-year-old Englishman then dominated the final, defeating Australia’s Damon Heta 8-2, marking his first world series title.
“I’ve been searching for this – I didn’t think I’d win a world title before I won a world series but it happened that way,” Humphries shared.
Humphries had earlier triumphed over Michael Smith 6-4 in the quarter-finals, while Littler impressed with five 180s to beat Dimitri Van den Bergh by the same margin before succumbing in the semi-finals.
Runner-up Heta advanced to the final after a narrow 6-5 win against defending champion Rob Cross and a 7-4 victory over Peter Wright, who had initially triumphed 6-4 over Gerwyn Price.
Upcoming Darts Events
The next major event on the darts calendar is the 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix, set to take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13. The annual £600,000 tournament will feature 32 of the world’s top players vying for the title previously won by Luke Humphries.
Humphries will return to defend his title, having celebrated his first TV ranking victory over Gerwyn Price in last year’s event. Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also expected to compete, alongside rising star Luke Littler, who will be making his double-start debut in the East Midlands.
In a change from last year’s format, the semi-finals on October 12 will be played over the best of nine sets, while the final will consist of the best of 11 sets on October 13.
