Luke Humphries booked his place in the final day of the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel on Saturday evening after a spectacular match against Kevin Doets. The newly crowned World Grand Prix champion initially looked on course for a comfortable victory, but eventually had to dig deep to beat the Dutchman 6-5. Afterwards, "Cool Hand Luke" was particularly pleased with his own performance.
The second day of the Swiss Darts Trophy produced several surprises. No fewer than ten seeded players were eliminated at the St. Jakobshalle, while Humphries narrowly avoided the same fate. The Englishman made an excellent start against Doets, with impressive finishes of 122 and 121 quickly establishing a 3-0 lead. At that point, the former world champion appeared to be in complete control, but Doets refused to give in. The Dutchman fought his way back into the match with outstanding scoring and eventually forced a deciding eleventh leg. Doets even recorded an average of 105.64, but nevertheless had to acknowledge Humphries' superiority.
Humphries himself produced an average of almost 103 and converted no fewer than 67 percent of his darts at the doubles. That provided the foundation for his hard-fought victory. "I was extremely pleased with that performance," Humphries said afterwards. Although the match ultimately went to a deciding leg, the Englishman felt he had been the better player for most of the contest. "I felt like I was the better player for most of the game, but Kevin was really strong at the end there, so I had to really work my socks off."
Thanks to the victory, Humphries advanced to the last 16 of the Swiss Darts Trophy. The Englishman remains in contention to add another title to his collection shortly after winning the World Grand Prix.
