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'I was pretty drunk to be honest' - Luke Humphries recalls wild party after 2024 PDC World Darts Championship win

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."

This article first appeared on Dartsnews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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