"Definitely," Luke Humphries says when he considers whether he can retain the darts world title that changed his life after he beat Luke Littler in a memorable final in January. "I honestly believe that my time is right now and I can go back-to-back. Of course it's easy to think it, while to do it is a lot harder. But I believe in myself and the second one is always sweeter than the first because it's harder to do. You're achieving greatness once you start winning multiple world championships."
The usually understated champion and I sit in a discreet corner of a swanky bar on the Strand in London. We're deep into the second part of an interview that had been interrupted after 30 minutes so Humphries, Littler and Michael van Gerwen could disappear to film a segment for a new Netflix documentary. It helps that the crammed bar has finally begun to empty after a long launch of this year's world championship, which begins on Sunday. Humphries has been on a chattering treadmill but it's as if a weight has been lifted when he sits down again, relieved that he won't have to face another camera or act out a scene for one last plug of the event.
"I don't think I've ever spoken as much as today," the 29-year-old says as he accepts the bedlam and hype which engulfs the once-mocked business of darts. Everything is different now and darts, especially at the world championship, is a booming enterprise. Humphries, whose low-key demeanour seems at odds with the roaring hoopla, shakes his head: "I've not stopped talking for three hours straight."
It helps that our interview is a little different to his other media chores and that, with a chance to reflect more deeply, Humphries can also talk about anxiety and fame, working as a roofer before turning pro and his intriguing rivalry with the 17-year-old Littler.
The bookies have installed Littler as favourite but Humphries smiles when I ask him a loaded question.
This story is from the December 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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