Luke Humphries admitted his concentration was briefly tested by an “animated” member of staff during his victory over Ryusei Azemoto at the Saudi Arabia Masters.
The Riyadh Season event is being staged at the Global Theater in Riyadh, where eight leading PDC stars are competing against eight Asian Tour representatives in the latest World Series of Darts tournament.
Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and Gian van Veen all progressed to the quarter-finals, while Danny Noppert was the notable casualty after a surprise defeat to Man Lok Leung.
Humphries came through his opening match comfortably, recording a 6-2 win against Japan’s Azemoto. However, the former world champion revealed afterwards that his rhythm was momentarily disrupted by activity in his peripheral vision.
“One of the staff was waving his arms around a little bit,” Humphries explained. “There’s no left drop there, so you can see people walking past, which is fine.
“But someone was obviously getting animated and throwing his arms around, which you notice when you’re throwing. I was trying to say, ‘Look, stop doing that.’”
Humphries had already spoken positively about the event ahead of his opener, sharing his expectations for the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters, which marks the second stop on the World Series calendar.
“I think it’s going to be a very respectful atmosphere and a good one,” he said. “The key thing to understand is that you don’t need alcohol to have a good night.
“A lot of people think that if you don’t drink, you can’t enjoy yourself, but I think the Saudi people are very respectful and really looking forward to seeing the talent we bring. I don’t think the absence of alcohol means it will be a bad atmosphere.”
He added: “When you go to places like Saudi Arabia or Japan, these are respectful cultures. People don’t shout or jump out of their seats — they’re happy to sit back, enjoy the sport and appreciate what they’re watching. I think it’s going to be respectful, but they’ll enjoy it as well.”
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