At the start of 2024, Luke Humphries was crowned world darts champion for the first time in his career. ‘Cool Hand Luke’ defeated Luke Littler 7-4 in the final at Alexandra Palace. Reflecting on the victory during an appearance on the Weekly Dartscast, Humphries described it as a triumph that cost him a night’s sleep — but one he’d relive in a heartbeat.
Humphries entered the 2024 World Championship as the third seed, having captured his first three major titles in the preceding months: the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, and Players Championship Finals. He began his campaign with a straightforward 3-0 win in the second round against fellow Englishman Lee Evans. The third and fourth rounds, however, proved far more nerve-racking, as he narrowly edged out Ricardo Pietreczko and Joe Cullen in tightly contested matches.
From there, Humphries found his rhythm. He swept aside Dave Chisnall 5-1 in the quarter-finals and whitewashed Scott Williams 6-0 in the semi-finals to reach the first World Championship final of his career. Waiting for him was the tournament’s breakout star: Luke Littler, a teenage prodigy who entered the event unseeded and without even holding a PDC Tour Card. Littler raced into a 4-2 lead in the final, but Humphries responded emphatically, reeling off five consecutive sets to clinch his maiden world title.
"I got no sleep. I was just partying," begins Humphries' retelling. "Well I say partying, I was drinking with a lot of people, and I didn't go to bed until about 7 o'clock in the morning."
"There was about 30 of us. 30/40 people down there and yeah, I was pretty drunk to be honest," recalls 'Cool Hand Luke' with a laugh. "Then my manager was knocking on the hotel door about an hour later, telling me it was time for media! A lot of people messaged me saying 'You looked fresh. Did you not go out partying last night?' So I must have gotten away with it."
"But it was a great night and one that I want to experience again to be honest," Humphries concluded. "I'd love to have that feeling of celebration again because there's no other feeling that tops it."
️ "I didn't go to bed until 7 in the morning. My manager was knocking on my hotel door an hour later to tell me it was time for media!"@lukeh180 recalls his 2023/24 PDC World Championship win and 'looking fresh' the next day after just one hour of sleep!#theWeeklyDartscast pic.twitter.com/fu3uDdcI16
— Weekly Dartscast (@WeeklyDartscast) May 17, 2025
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