Luke Humphries facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Luke Humphries |
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Humphries in January 2024
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Cool Hand Luke" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 February 1995 Newbury, Berkshire, England |
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| Home town | Crewe, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts | 22g Red Dragon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | “I Predict a Riot” by Kaiser Chiefs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC | 2011– (Tour Card: 2018–) |
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| Current world ranking | 31  (8 July 2021) |
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| 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 | Runner Up: 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Ch'ship | Quarter Final: 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Runner Up: 2021, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players Ch'ship Finals | Winner (2): 2023, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters | Last 16: 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Series Finals | Semi Final: 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European Tour Events
Players Championships
World Series of Darts
Youth Events
Challenge Tour
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Luke Humphries (born 11 February 1995) is an English professional darts player. He plays in events run by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Currently, he is ranked as the world number one darts player.
Luke is a former PDC World Champion. He won the 2024 World Championship by beating another darts star, Luke Littler, in the final. His nickname is "Cool Hand Luke", which comes from a movie made in 1967.
Humphries has won 18 major titles in his career. He is the current champion of the World Matchplay and has won the Players Championship Finals two times in a row. He also won the World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam in 2023. In 2024, he teamed up with Michael Smith to win the World Cup of Darts for England. He also won the 2024 New Zealand Darts Masters as part of the World Series of Darts. In 2024, he was the runner-up in the UK Open, Premier League, and World Grand Prix. He was also a runner-up in the 2021 UK Open earlier in his career.
When he was younger, Luke Humphries won eleven titles on the PDC Development Tour. He also became the 2019 World Youth Champion. This makes him one of the most successful young players in the PDC's history.
Contents
Who is Luke Humphries?
Luke Humphries was born on 11 February 1995 in Newbury, 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 football team Leeds United FC. He named Luke after the team, using the letters L-U-K-E to stand for "Leeds United, Kings of Europe." Luke is also a fan of the team. His father played darts for his county, which inspired young Luke to follow in his footsteps.
Luke Humphries' Darts Journey
Starting His Career (2017–2018)
In 2017, Luke Humphries won five titles on the PDC Development Tour. This meant he finished as the top player on the Development Tour. Because of this success, he got to play in the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. He also earned a special "Tour Card" to play in PDC events for 2018 and 2019.
He also won a PDC Challenge Tour event in 2017. At the 2018 World Championship, he lost in the first round. In 2018, he won three more titles on the Development Tour, topping the rankings again.
Becoming World Youth Champion (2019)
The 2019 World Championship was a big moment for Humphries 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.
After another player, Gary Anderson, pulled out of the 2019 Premier League, Luke was chosen as one of nine "contenders." He played one match against Gerwyn Price, which ended in a draw. At 24 years old, Humphries won the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship. He beat Adam Gawlas 6–0 in the final.
Continuing to Rise (2020)
In the 2020 World Championship, Humphries reached the quarter-finals again. He lost to the player who would go on to win the tournament, Peter Wright. He was also chosen as a "challenger" for the Premier League again. He played against Gary Anderson and was the first challenger to win his match. Luke also won the 2020 PDC Home Tour 2, a special online tournament.
First Major Final (2021)
At the 2021 World Championship, Humphries had a surprising first-round loss 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 beat Dave Chisnall and the reigning champion, Michael van Gerwen. He lost the final 11–5 to James Wade.
Winning European Tour Titles (2022)
In the 2022 World Championship, Humphries reached the quarter-finals for the third time in four years. He then lost to Gary Anderson. Luke reached his first PDC European Tour final at the 2022 German Darts Grand Prix. He won the final 8–2 against Martin Lukeman.
He then won two more titles in a row at the 2022 Czech Darts Open and the 2022 European Darts Grand Prix. He also won the 2022 European Darts Matchplay with a close 8–7 victory. He finished 2022 with four European Tour titles.
Winning Major Titles (2023)
At the 2023 World Championship, Humphries reached the fourth round before losing to Stephen Bunting. 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. Humphries then won his third TV title at the 2023 Players Championship Finals. He came back from being 9–5 down to beat Michael van Gerwen 11–9.
Becoming World Champion (2024)
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Luke Humphries was seen as 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. Humphries continued to win against Dave Chisnall and Scott Williams.
On 3 January 2024, Humphries won the World Championship. He won five sets in a row to beat fellow player Luke Littler 7–4 in the final. After his big win, he was invited to meet the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, at Downing Street.
In March, Humphries reached the final of the UK Open for the second time. He narrowly lost the final 11–10. He won his first European Tour title of the season at the 2024 German Darts Grand Prix. He beat Michael van Gerwen 8–1 in the final. In June, Humphries played for England for the first time in the World Cup of Darts. He and Michael Smith became the first English team to win the tournament since 2016.
In July, he won the 2024 World Matchplay, beating 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, Humphries won his first World Series of Darts title. He beat Damon Heta 8–2 to win the New Zealand Darts Masters.
In October, Humphries reached the final of the 2024 World Grand Prix for the second year in a row. However, he lost 6–4 to Mike De Decker. Humphries also won two more titles on the Pro Tour that month. In November, he successfully defended his title at the 2024 Players Championship Finals. He beat Luke Littler 11–7 in the final. This made him only the third player in history to win this title two years in a row.
Premier League Darts Debut
Humphries lost his first match in the 2024 Premier League Darts to Luke Littler. After the match, Humphries shared on social media that he felt "gutted" because of constant whistling and heckling during the game. On night three, Humphries won his first matches of the season. He lost the final of that night to Michael van Gerwen.
Humphries won his first Premier League night on night six. He then won a second night in a row on night seven. Humphries made history by winning three nights in a row on night eight. His winning streak ended on night nine when he lost to Luke Littler. Humphries changed his walk-on song to "I Predict a Riot" by Kaiser Chiefs on night fifteen. He won that night's final. Humphries also announced he would give away his match-worn shirt to raise money for a charity supporting motor neurone disease. On night sixteen, he lost in the final.
After all sixteen nights, Humphries finished second in the Premier League table. He lost to Luke Littler in the final playoffs.
Looking Ahead (2025)
At the 2025 World Championship, Humphries started his title defense with two easy wins. He then faced Peter Wright. Before the match, both players made comments about each other. Wright said he was ready to beat Humphries and Luke Littler. Humphries replied that he was close to matching Wright's career achievements at a much younger age. In their match, Humphries lost to Wright 4–1, ending his time as world champion. Because he is still world number one, Humphries was chosen to play in the 2025 Premier League.
Luke Humphries' Life Outside Darts
Humphries used to work as a roofer. He stopped in 2018 to focus on darts full-time. During a match in 2019, Humphries had an anxiety attack. He even thought about quitting darts because of it.
In 2021, Humphries started a journey to lose weight. He lost four stone (about 56 pounds). He believes this weight loss has helped him in darts. He says it made him stronger and gave him more energy for long days of playing.
Humphries and his fiancée, Kayley, live in Crewe. They had a son in October 2022. On 30 May 2024, while in New York, Luke proposed to Kayley at a famous skyscraper called The Edge.
World Championship Results
PDC
- 2018: First 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)
Luke Humphries' Major Finals
PDC Major Finals: 10 (6 wins, 4 runner-up)
| Legend |
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| World Championship (1–0) |
| World Matchplay (1–0) |
| UK Open (0–2) |
| Premier League (0–1) |
| World Grand Prix (1–1) |
| Grand Slam of Darts (1–0) |
| Players Championship Finals (2–0) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2021 | UK Open |  James Wade |
5–11 (l) |
| Winner | 1. | 2023 | World Grand Prix |  Gerwyn Price |
5–2 (s) |
| Winner | 2. | 2023 | Grand Slam of Darts | Rob Cross |
16–8 (l) |
| Winner | 3. | 2023 | Players Championship Finals |  Michael van Gerwen |
11–9 (l) |
| Winner | 4. | 2024 | World Darts Championship | Luke Littler |
7–4 (s) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2024 | UK Open (2) |  Dimitri Van den Bergh |
10–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2024 | Premier League Darts | Luke Littler |
7–11 (l) |
| Winner | 5. | 2024 | World Matchplay | 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 |  Luke Littler |
11–7 (l) |
PDC World Series Finals: 1 (1 win)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2024 | New Zealand Darts Masters |  Damon Heta |
8–2 (l) |
PDC Team Finals: 1 (1 win)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Teammate | Opponents in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2024 | World Cup of Darts | England |
Michael Smith |  Austria – Mensur Suljović and Rowby-John Rodriguez |
10–6 (l) |
Images for kids
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Humphries playing darts with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
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Humphries (right) with Michael Smith after their win in the 2024 PDC World Cup of Darts
See also
In Spanish: Luke Humphries para niños
