Luke Humphries has admitted he wanted to recreate the iconic nine-dart moment when Michael Smith showed off his impressive legs in the Grand Slam of Darts at the 2023 World Darts Championship.
In the 11th leg of the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals, both Humphries and Smith found six perfect darts, with the latter hitting T20, T19 but failing D12.
Humphries was ecstatic at the chance to do what ‘Bully Boy’ did against Michael van Gerwen in the 2023 World Championship final. That time, he completed a nine darter in the same conditions that is often called the best leg in darts history.
Sky Sports Darts’ Wayne Mardle echoed his iconic “Michael might miss, Michael might hit” commentary from two years ago as “Michael might miss, Luke might hit.”
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Michael Smith and Luke Humphries attempt a nine darter during the Grand Slam of Darts match.
However, the world number one missed his seventh T20 challenge but then went on to claim a commanding 16-8 victory to set up a semi-final showdown with three-time Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price.
Humphries then revealed that he was thinking of Mardle at that moment, telling Smith that he wanted to repeat the heroics of his opponent Ally Parry.
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See how Wayne Mardle and Stuart Pike reacted to the sensational leg between Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith in the 2023 World Championship final, which culminated with Bully Boy’s nine-darter.
“Honestly, when Michael missed it, I said to him, ‘This is your chance to rewrite history just like you did,’ and he laughed at me.
“I was like, 9 RBIs this week (against Smith earlier in the tournament), so I was like, maybe I can hit it here, maybe I can make a little bit of history.
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Michael Smith and Luke Humphries missed an astonishing amount of doubles as they faced off in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts.
“That didn’t happen and maybe moments like that affected me a little bit because I missed like 12 darts in the next leg and I think that messed up my concentration. So that’s why I get bored on stage sometimes, because I’m so focused that I can’t get inside.
“But I really love Michael Smith. He’s a good friend of mine and it’s great to see him play so naturally in the longer formats, which he hasn’t played for a long time.”
“As I said, I saw this as an opportunity to rewrite the same history that he had previously missed.
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Luke Humphries responded brilliantly to Michael Smith’s counterattack in their Grand Slam darts match, taking a huge 138 checkout.
“Of course I expected him to take a hit, in fact I thought you were entitled to take a hit against me because I took one against him.
“Then he got one point away and I thought, this is my chance.
“Honestly, how many times have you seen a leg like that? It’s very rare. I’ve probably seen it two or three times. Three times in the last three years. So it’s a leg that doesn’t really happen very often.”
‘I’m still the guy to beat’: Humphries backs strong performance
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Wayne Mardle has reacted to “ridiculous” standards at Darts’ Grand Slams after Luke Humphries and Michael Smith both came close to having “perfect legs”.
While all the talk has been about Luke Littler chasing the world No. 1 title, which he can attain just by reaching a Grand Slam final, Humphries fantasizes he has a chance, too.
“Honestly, I think this is the best play I’ve played in a long time. I feel like I’m playing better now than I did when I won the Grand Prix, the Grand Slam, and the Players Championship.”
“In the last few weeks and months, I’ve become a better player than ever.
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Luke Humphries reflects on his quarter-final Grand Slam of Darts win over Michael Smith and talks about the moment he and Smith missed their chance with nine darts.
“If I can put everything together and keep performing like this, it’s going to be a really good performance to get knocked out. For me, this is important heading into the World Championships because I feel full of confidence.”
“Probably three or four weeks ago I didn’t feel like I could be world champion this year, but now I am and I believe I can be again.
“Obviously, I’m still the guy to beat. I think there’s a lot of attention on a lot of other guys, but me and Luke (Littler) are the two guys who consistently perform the best, so of course those are the two guys we need to beat.”
“I don’t really think about No. 1 in the world anymore. If I was standing here as a Grand Slam champion and I wasn’t No. 1 in the world, I’d probably be a lot happier.”
Who will win the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts? Watch the semi-finals from 1pm on Sunday and the final from 7pm on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream darts and other top sports now
