World No 1 Luke Humphries stunned Luke Littler with a remarkable semi-final comeback en route to claiming the New Zealand Darts Masters title.
In a rematch of January’s PDC World Darts Championship final, Humphries trailed 6-2 against 17-year-old sensation Littler before winning five legs on the spin to snatch a 7-6 victory.
The 29-year-old Englishman subsequently dismantled Australian Damon Heta 8-2 in the final in Hamilton to secure his maiden world series title.
“I’ve been searching for this – I didn’t think I’d win a world title before I won a world series but it happened that way,” Humphries said on ITVX.
Humphries fought back from 6-2 down vs Littler to win 7-6, before beating Damon Heta 8-2 in the final
“I felt one was coming but my performances the last two years on the world series haven’t been the standard I’ve wanted them to.
“Today they were still not at my best but they were good enough.”
Humphries earlier defeated Michael Smith 6-4 in the quarter-finals, while Littler produced a fine display featuring five 180s to take down Dimitri Van den Bergh by the same score before dramatically fading away in the next round.
Runner-up Heta beat defending champion Rob Cross 6-5 and Peter Wright, who began with a 6-4 success over Gerwyn Price, 7-4 to reach the final.
What’s next on Sky Sports?
Luke Humphries lifted the World Grand Prix title in Leicester last year
The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is next on the Sky Sports darting calendar.
The annual £600,000 tournament will take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete for the coveted title which was won by Luke Humphries.
Humphries celebrated his maiden TV ranking title with victory over Gerwyn Price in last year’s tournament, and the world No 1 will return to defend his title later this year.
Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also set to star, with teenage superstar Luke Littler poised to make his double-start debut in the East Midlands.
In a change to last year’s format, Saturday’s semi-finals on October 12 will be contested over the best of nine sets, with the final set to be played over the best of 11 sets on Sunday, October 13.
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