Luke Humphries announced after his victory in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts that he will likely skip a major tournament next year.
With a dominant 16-8 victory against Michael Smith, Luke Humphries advanced to the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts on Friday (LIVE daily on SPORT1 ). Afterwards, he surprised the fan community with an announcement for the coming year.
“I’ve been thinking about not playing Players Championships next year, so skipping the entire tour,” said the 2024 World Champion in an interview after his match. He added: “Maybe I’ll just spend those 34 days at home and skip a big tournament.”
Luke Humphries surprises with an announcement
Darts superstar Humphries is considering a break
Humphries added: “You can’t complain, we can be lucky to do so much with darts. So it’s like I’m complaining. It might just be my decision.”
He “will see how it goes. But I still like to play a bit on the Pro Tour, but it’s kind of hard because I’m doing my best on the big stage. When I’m on the floor, I just can’t do it. That’s harder for me.”
Even before his victory in the round of 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts, Humphries was close to dropping out of the tournament, as the 30-year-old was suffering from back pain.
“I think I had a back spasm. I thought I had to give up today, that’s how bad my back was,” Humphries said: “I have to thank Mandy, my physiotherapist, who massaged me for three hours. I think the adrenaline got me over the finish line.”
Humphries won the Premier League and the World Masters this year. Should he skip the 34 Players Championship tournaments, where the prize money is significantly lower than at the Majors, he would have no chance of qualifying for the PC Finals, the dress rehearsal for the World Championship. This tournament is in turn a major event.
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