Michael van Gerwen lost the final of the Players Championship Finals against Luke Humphries despite a 9-darter and lead. In the end, it was the doubles that proved to be the Dutchman’s undoing.
Michael van Gerwen started like a fire engine in the final. With the score at 2:2, the three-time world champion shone with a 9-darter. The 34-year-old later led 9:6 in the legs. But the lead was not enough for “Mighty Mike” to win the title. Instead, Humphries fought back and turned the duel to 11:9 in his view.
Van Gerwen still had a great chance to force a decider in the last leg. But the right-hander missed eight darts on a double. Humphries thanked him and used his fourth match dart on double 1.
“I made it so incredibly difficult for myself. You shouldn’t do that against someone in this condition. I had enough chances, so I can mainly worry about it,” van Gerwen was quoted as saying by the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
Overall, the darts star was satisfied with his performance at the weekend, but it wasn’t enough against “Cool Hand Luke”.
Darts: Luke Humphries the man of the hour
Humphries secured his third major victory in just two months by triumphing at the Players Championship Finals. The Englishman is traveling to the upcoming Darts World Cup in London (from December 15th) as the top favorite.
“I would have loved to beat Phil Taylor in the final one day, but the next best thing would be to beat Michael, the best of this generation,” Humphries said after his win against van Gerwen on Sunday.
The former junior world champion now ranks third in the Order of Merit behind Michael Smith and van Gerwen. This means that Humphries has overtaken Scotsman Peter Wright.