Luke Humphries has revealed his fiancee helped inspire his dramatic turnaround in the Premier League — and says golf will now be key to his preparations for defending the £350,000 title at the O2 Arena.
Cool Hand Luke finally ended his wait for a nightly victory this season with success in Birmingham on Thursday, sealing his place in the play-offs after weeks of pressure over qualification.
The world No.2 admitted there were moments when even he doubted he would make the top four.
But Humphries says encouragement from fiancee Kayley, who he has been engaged to since May 2024, gave him the belief he needed to fight back.
The 31-year-old, who recently switched back to his old darts setup with previous points and flights, said: “I’m just incredibly proud of myself.
“Probably the proudest I’ve ever been because in the last two Premier Leagues everything came easy.
“You’d get to Week 14 and already be through with nothing really to play for. But these last few weeks have been different.
“There’s been pressure on me to reach finals and win one just to stay alive.
“It means a lot because people write me off a lot as a player, but this has shown I’ve still got the grit and determination.
“At one stage I honestly didn’t think I’d make it. When you’re five points behind the top four, you feel like you need a miracle.
“But Kayley kept saying to me: ‘You’ve got this in you. You know you can do it.’
“Sometimes that’s all you need — someone reminding you that you’re capable.
“If I hadn’t even had the chance to defend my title at The O2, it would have hurt badly, even if I wouldn’t have admitted it.”
Luke Littler finished top of the Premier League table for a third straight year and is currently set to face Humphries in the semi-finals at London’s O2 Arena on May 28.
The other semi-final could yet produce an all-Welsh showdown between Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price.
Although next week’s Sheffield night is effectively meaningless in qualification terms, Humphries can still climb high enough to potentially avoid Littler until the final.
For now though, the 2024 world champion plans to swap practice sessions for the golf course.
Humphries added: “Third or fourth doesn’t really matter.
“If I play Luke, I know I can beat him and he knows he can beat me. It’s always a brilliant match, although everyone probably wants to see it as the final.
“What will I do now? Probably relax and play golf.
“I’ll still play the ProTours in midweek as a bit of preparation, but I’ll definitely keep playing golf because it’s helping me mentally.
“I’ve played loads recently and it seems to be making me perform better, so I’m sticking with it.”
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