Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Humphries delights the Leeds crowd
LUKE Humphries delighted the home crowd as he battled to victory over Michael van Gerwen to win night 15 of the Premier League in Leeds on Thursday.
World champion Humphries – decked out in a Leeds Unitedthemed shirt as he revelled in the support of the First Direct Arena crowd – produced a string of impressive displays before edging Van Gerwen in a last-leg decider.
After breaking in the first leg of the final, Dutchman Van Gerwen – who earlier beat Premier League leader Luke Littler 6-1 – opened up a 3-1 lead before Humphries came roaring back to level at 3-3.
There remained little between the two men with a run of lost throws before a missed out shot on 32 handed Humphries his first match darts. He could not take out 78, though, as Van Gerwen levelled up at 5-5.
Both men then missed chances to clinch victory before ‘Cool Hand’, pictured, landed double top with his third dart to secure a fourth nightly win overall.
“When I walked in here, I did feel a little bit of pressure, I can’t lie,” Humphries said on Sky Sports. “I knew it (pressure) was on me. This was a dream for me tonight to perform in front of a crowd like this.
“Tonight was amazing. Going on to win was one of my greatest experiences in darts.
“The crowd were fantastic. It is what dreams are made of. I have played really well, but it is how you peak – being Premier League champion is something that would mean a lot to me.”
Littler remains five points clear at the top of the table, with Humphries and Van Gerwen also having qualified for finals night, while Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith will battle it out for the fourth play-off spot in Sheffield next week.
Earlier, Humphries landed four 180s in his 6-1 demolition of Smith, recording a match average of almost 103, having first beaten Rob Cross 6-1, hitting two 180s and finishing with match average of 109.48,
Littler had earlier coasted past former world champion Peter Wright with a 6-1 win in their quarter-final, while Van Gerwen came from behind to land five straight legs in a 6-3 victory over Gerwyn Price – back after missing last week with a neck issue.