Luke Humphries' winless Premier League Darts campaign is now visibly affecting his overall game, according to analyst Wayne Mardle. The former professional believes that what began as a problem with doubles has spread to other areas, with Humphries now showing signs of discomfort on stage.
After twelve weeks, Humphries is still without a win and has reached just one final. Last week, he lost 6-2 to Luke Littler in Liverpool, dropping him to sixth place in the standings, five points adrift of the play-off places. Mardle told Oche: "It started off where his doubling went missing and there was no other negatives. He was playing beautifully winning on the European Tour. He was doing a lot right but just getting on the Premier League stages and not hitting doubles. Now his scoring game has gone just a little. In spells his doubling is returning but I just don’t think he was as comfortable as he was."
Mardle highlighted the contrast with Humphries' usual smooth style. "He was looking like this smooth operator that he is. Now we are seeing a bit of headshaking." The analyst suspects the winless streak is taking a mental toll: "I think he's maybe letting the winless streak infect him. I don’t think he should. It is easy for me to say because he knows at any moment." Mardle admitted he has been accused of backing Humphries every week, saying: "I’m like it’s a matter of time — I am surely going to get it right once. He has not got it right at all and he has hardly reached a final, which I find bamboozling as well."
Despite the criticism, Mardle remains confident in Humphries' ability to turn things around, particularly in the summer majors. "I do think it turns around for the play-offs. When I say turn around I mean June and July, come the World Cup and Matchplay, that he hits the ground running there and walks away with one. If he was to annihilate everyone at the Matchplay who would be surprised? No one. What is surprising is he hasn’t won a week yet." With five weeks remaining, Mardle believes Humphries can still qualify: "There is still five weeks and he can go bang and win 15 points. I do believe he will win one or two weeks. There is pressure on — there is no doubt about it."
