Luke Humphries says he needs to improve if he is to challenge for a second World Grand Prix title and admits he would have preferred defending champion Luke Littler to have avoided an early exit.
Humphries – the 2023 champion and runner-up in the last two editions of the doubles championship – produced a poor performance during his straight sets victory over Dave Chisnall at Mattioli Arena.
The world No 2 hit under 27 per cent of his box attempts and averaged 80.41, his lowest on tour since 2022, although he was relieved not to join Littler and Michael van Gerwen in struggling in the first round.
“That’s definitely one of the worst performances I’ve put in on the World Grand Prix stage for myself,” Humphries said after the win. “I didn’t feel comfortable during the whole match.
“The twos weren’t up to scratch, the scoring was rubbish and I felt like Chizzy (Dave Chisnall) just wasn’t at his best out there.”
“It wasn’t a good performance but I’m done and when I play Jermaine (Wattimena) on Thursday I hope you don’t see that!”
Humphries is now favorite to lift the trophy after reigning champion Luke Littler’s shock loss to Luke Woodhouse, but admits he feels added pressure with the world No.1 no longer in the field as a title contender.
“I hate it when he loses because it always puts pressure on myself and then everyone thinks ‘this is yours to win’ and all that stuff,” added Humphries.
“I hate it when he loses because I want to play him in the final. I want to beat him in the final. I don’t want to lose to him in the final, but I love playing in the final because it makes me about him.
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John Part reflects on Luke Littler’s early exit at the World Grand Prix and explains the possible reasons behind it
“When he loses I don’t like to jump for joy, it puts all the pressure on myself and maybe sometimes it doesn’t help.
“I’d rather he’s still in the tournament and he’s the favorite and then I can get him back in the final.”
Humphries’ win in 2023 was his first televised PDC title and sparked a dominant run to finish the season, but the ‘Cool Hand’ has since suffered a string of runner-up finishes at major tournaments following his World Masters and Premier League triumphs last year.
Humphries blamed an allergic reaction for the mark on his face
“I feel like I deserve a major – it’s been like six or seven that I’ve missed in the final,” Humphries explained. “I played really well in the Premier League final and the World Masters final – I averaged 105 and lost, so they’re hard to come by.
“If you play anybody else in the world, they probably won’t beat you, but when you play a phenom like Luke (Littler), he can beat you. I feel like I deserve one, but sometimes you don’t always get what you deserve in life.
It’s up to me to win four more games and perform much better than that, because if I do that again, I’ll be very lucky to get to the quarter-finals and semi-finals.”
Humphries is looking to reach the World Grand Prix final for the fourth consecutive season
Humphries explains ‘damage’ to face: ‘I don’t have that great story!’
The former world champion caused confusion on social media after taking to the stage with a visible scab on his head, but felt no ill effects from it as he progressed to the last 16.
“I really wanted to bring an amazing story of how I fought five guys and they came out worse than me, but unfortunately I don’t have that amazing story,” Humphries said.
Humphries blamed an allergic reaction for the mark on his face
“I shot Bullseye on Tuesday, I woke up on Wednesday with a massive rash on the side of my head and it just got worse and then I woke up.
“The only thing I can think of is when you do TV shows, they put on makeup and all these kinds of things, all these creams, and I had an allergic reaction to it.
“Unfortunately there’s no great story to tell, that’s what I think it is, but I don’t know. I haven’t seen a doctor, but it just seems like I’ve had an allergic reaction to the things they’ve put on my head and face, but I’m perfectly fine.”
Watch the World Grand Prix all week live on Sky Sports, with coverage every day up to and including the final on Sunday. The latest Sky Sports offers OR transmission without contract in TANI.
