Luke Humphries facts for kids

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Luke Humphries
MBE

Humphries in April 2025

Personal information

Nickname

"Cool Hand Luke"

Born

11 February 1995 (age 30)
Berkshire, England

Home town

Crewe, Cheshire, England

Darts information

Playing darts since

2010

Darts

22g Red Dragon Signature

Laterality

Right-handed

Walk-on music

“I Predict a Riot” by Kaiser Chiefs

Organisation (see split in darts)

PDC

2011–
(Tour Card: 2018–)

Current world ranking

(8 July 2021)

PDC premier events – best performances

World Ch'ship

Winner (1): 2024

World Matchplay

Winner (1): 2024

World Grand Prix

Winner (1): 2023

Grand Slam

Winner (1): 2023

Premier League

Winner (1): 2025

European Ch'ship

Quarter Final: 2022, 2023, 2024

UK Open

Runner Up: 2021, 2024

Players Ch'ship Finals

Winner (2): 2023, 2024

Masters

Winner (1): 2025

World Series Finals

Semi Final: 2023

Other tournament wins

PDC World Cup of Darts (team event)	2024
PDC Home Tour Event 2	2020

European Tour Events (x7)

Czech Darts Open	2022, 2024
European Darts Grand Prix	2022
European Darts Matchplay	2022, 2023
German Darts Grand Prix	2022, 2024

Players Championships (x4)

World Series of Darts (x2)

New Zealand Darts Masters	2024
US Darts Masters	2025

Youth Events

World Youth Championship	2019
Development Tour (x11)

Challenge Tour

2017

Luke Humphries (born February 11, 1995) is a professional darts player from England. He plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and is currently ranked as the best player in the world. He won the PDC World Championship in 2024, beating Luke Littler in the final. He is also the current champion of the World Matchplay, Premier League, Players Championship Finals, and World Masters.

Luke is known by his nickname "Cool Hand Luke". This name comes from a 1967 movie. He has won eight major PDC titles since his first big win at the 2023 World Grand Prix. He also won the 2024 World Cup of Darts for England with his teammate Michael Smith. Luke Humphries has won a total of twenty-three PDC titles in his career.

He is one of only four players to achieve the Professional Darts Corporation Triple Crown. This means he has won the World Championship, World Matchplay, and Premier League. The other players who have done this are Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor, and Michael van Gerwen.

When he was younger, Luke won the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship. He also won eleven PDC Development Tours. This makes him one of the most successful young players in PDC history.

Early Life and Darts Beginnings

Luke Humphries was born on February 11, 1995, in Berkshire, England. He grew up there before moving to Crewe, Cheshire. His family has Irish roots through his mother's side.

His father was a big fan of the Leeds United FC football team. He even named Luke as an acronym for "Leeds United, Kings of Europe." Luke is also a fan of the team. His father played darts for their county, which inspired young Luke to follow in his footsteps.

Luke's Darts Career Highlights

Starting Strong: 2017–2018

Luke Humphries won five PDC Development Tour titles in 2017. This meant he finished at the top of the Development Tour rankings. Because of this, he got to play in the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. He also received a special card that allowed him to play in PDC events for 2018 and 2019. He won another PDC Challenge Tour event in 2017. At the 2018 World Championship, he lost in the first round. He continued to do well in 2018, winning three more Development Tour titles.

Becoming a Youth Champion: 2019

At the 2019 World Championship, Luke really showed what he could do on TV. He beat several top players, including the defending champion Rob Cross. He made it all the way to the quarter-finals before losing to Michael Smith.

Later in 2019, Luke was chosen as a 'contender' for the Premier League. He played one match against Gerwyn Price which ended in a draw.

At 24 years old, Luke won the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship. He beat Adam Gawlas with a perfect 6–0 score in the final.

Continuing Success: 2020

In the 2020 World Championship, Luke reached the quarter-finals again. He lost to Peter Wright, who went on to win the tournament. Luke was again a 'challenger' in the Premier League. He became the first challenger to win his match, beating Gary Anderson. Luke also won the PDC Home Tour 2 by winning most of his matches in the final group.

First Major Final: 2021

The 2021 World Championship saw Luke lose in the first round to 66-year-old Paul Lim. However, he reached his first major TV final at the 2021 UK Open in March 2021. On his way to the final, he defeated top players like Dave Chisnall and the reigning champion Michael van Gerwen. He lost the final 11–5 to James Wade.

European Tour Wins: 2022

At the 2022 World Championship, Luke reached the quarter-finals for the third time in four years. He lost to Gary Anderson. He won his first PDC ranking title at the first Players Championship event of the year. He beat Ryan Searle 8–4 in that final.

Luke reached his first PDC European Tour final at the German Darts Grand Prix. He won that final against Martin Lukeman 8–2. He then won two more titles in a row: the Czech Darts Open and the European Darts Grand Prix. He finished the year with four European Tour titles after winning the 2022 European Darts Matchplay.

His great year ended with him reaching the semi-finals of two major tournaments: the Grand Slam and the Players Championship Finals.

Winning Major Titles: 2023

In the 2023 World Championship, Luke reached the fourth round. He won a European Tour title and two Players Championship titles in 2023. He successfully defended his European Darts Matchplay title. He also won Players Championship 15 and Players Championship 20.

In October, Luke won his first major title at the 2023 World Grand Prix. He beat Gerwyn Price 5–2 in the final. This win helped him move up to a career-high fourth place in the world rankings. Just 42 days later, he won his second major TV title at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts. He defeated Rob Cross 16–8 in the final.

Luke won his third TV title at the 2023 Players Championship Finals. He made an amazing comeback from being 9–5 down to beat Michael van Gerwen 11–9.

Becoming World Champion: 2024

Humphries playing darts with then-UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Luke Humphries was considered a favorite to win the 2024 World Championship. He won his first match easily. In the third round, he came back from being 3–1 down to win 4–3. He then won a very close match against Joe Cullen. Luke beat Dave Chisnall and Scott Williams to reach the final. On January 3, 2024, Luke won the World Championship! He won five sets in a row to beat fellow young talent Luke Littler 7–4 in the final. After his big win, he was invited to meet the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In March, Luke reached the final of the UK Open for the second time. He had chances to win but lost 11–10 to Dimitri Van den Bergh. He won his first European Tour title of the season at the German Darts Grand Prix. He beat Michael van Gerwen 8–1 in the final. In June, Luke played for England for the first time in the World Cup of Darts with Michael Smith. They were the first English team to win the tournament since 2016.

Humphries (right) with Michael Smith after their win in the 2024 PDC World Cup of Darts

In July, he won the World Matchplay. He beat Michael van Gerwen 18–15 in the final. This made him only the second player ever to win both the World Championship and the World Matchplay in the same year. In August, Luke won his first World Series of Darts title, the New Zealand Darts Masters.

In October, Luke tried to defend his World Grand Prix title. He reached the final again but lost to Mike De Decker. He also won two more Pro Tour titles that month. In November, Luke successfully defended a title for the first time at the Players Championship Finals. He beat Luke Littler 11–7 in the final. He became only the third player to win this title two years in a row.

Premier League Darts Debut

Luke lost his first full-time match in the 2024 Premier League to Luke Littler. He later said he felt "gutted" because of whistling and heckling during the match. He won his first Premier League night on night six. He then won two more nights in a row, setting a record for most consecutive nightly wins. His winning streak ended on night nine when he lost to Luke Littler. Luke changed his walk-on song to "I Predict a Riot" by Kaiser Chiefs. He won another night in Leeds. Luke finished second in the Premier League table. He reached the final but lost to Luke Littler again.

Recent Achievements: 2025

Humphries on night nine of the 2025 Premier League

At the 2025 World Championship, Luke started his title defense with two easy wins. However, he lost to Peter Wright in the fourth round. This ended his time as world champion.

In February, he won the PDC World Masters, his seventh major title. He then won the first night of the 2025 Premier League. He secured his second nightly win on night four, beating Luke Littler for the first time in the Premier League. He also achieved his first perfect nine-dart finish on TV during a match he lost to Rob Cross. After winning a third night in Leeds, he qualified for the play-offs. On Finals Night, he beat Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals. He then faced Luke Littler in the final, a rematch from the previous year. Luke Humphries won 11–8, claiming his first Premier League title. This made him the fourth player to achieve the Professional Darts Corporation Triple Crown. He played with Luke Littler for England in the World Cup of Darts, but they lost in the second round.

Luke won his second World Series of Darts title at the US Darts Masters. He defeated Nathan Aspinall 8–6 in the final.

Personal Life

Luke Humphries used to work as a roofer. He stopped in 2018 to focus on darts full-time.

During a match in 2019, Luke had an anxiety attack. He even thought about quitting darts because of it.

In 2021, Luke started a journey to lose weight to improve his fitness. He lost about 56 pounds. He believes losing weight has helped him become a better player. He says it made him stronger and gave him more energy for long days of playing.

Luke and his fiancée, Kayley, live in Crewe. They had a son in October 2022. In May 2024, while in New York, Luke proposed to Kayley at the top of a skyscraper called The Edge.

In June 2025, Luke Humphries was given a special award called a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This was for his great contributions to darts.

World Championship Results

PDC World Championship

2018: Preliminary round (lost to Jeff Smith 0–2)
2019: Quarter-finals (lost to Michael Smith 1–5)
2020: Quarter-finals (lost to Peter Wright 3–5)
2021: First round (lost to Paul Lim 2–3)
2022: Quarter-finals (lost to Gary Anderson 2–5)
2023: Fourth round (lost to Stephen Bunting 1–4)
2024: Winner (beat Luke Littler 7–4)
2025: Fourth round (lost to Peter Wright 1–4)

Career Finals

PDC Major Finals: 12 (8 Titles)

Legend
World Championship (1–0)
World Matchplay (1–0)
UK Open (0–2)
Premier League (1–1)
World Grand Prix (1–1)
Grand Slam (1–0)
Players Championship Finals (2–0)
World Masters (1–0)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	2021	UK Open	Wade, JamesJames Wade	5–11 (l)
Winner	1.	2023	World Grand Prix (1)	Price, GerwynGerwyn Price	5–2 (s)
Winner	2.	2023	Grand Slam (1)	Cross, RobRob Cross	16–8 (l)
Winner	3.	2023	Players Championship Finals (1)	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	11–9 (l)
Winner	4.	2024	World Championship (1)	Luke Littler	7–4 (s)
Runner-up	2.	2024	UK Open	Van den Bergh, DimitriDimitri Van den Bergh	10–11 (l)
Runner-up	3.	2024	Premier League	Luke Littler	7–11 (l)
Winner	5.	2024	World Matchplay (1)	Michael van Gerwen	18–15 (l)
Runner-up	4.	2024	World Grand Prix	Mike De Decker	4–6 (s)
Winner	6.	2024	Players Championship Finals (2)	Luke Littler	11–7 (l)
Winner	7.	2025	World Masters (1)	Jonny Clayton	6–5 (s)
Winner	8.	2025	Premier League	Luke Littler	11–8 (l)