Luke Humphries is targeting further double-start success at the 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix, as he returns to the scene of his maiden televised ranking triumph on Monday.
Reigning champion Humphries will headline this year's 32-player field at Leicester's Mattioli Arena, as the sport's biggest names compete for the coveted title across seven days of action from October 7-13.
Humphries' World Grand Prix success in 2023 sparked an astonishing 12-month spell of dominance that has seen him scoop six televised titles - including the World Championship and World Matchplay.
The 29-year-old's exploits are even more astonishing when you consider that prior to last year’s World Grand Prix, he was still searching for his maiden televised ranking title.
“The World Grand Prix will always hold great memories for me,” admitted Humphries, who returns to Leicester as the number one seed.
“The fact it was my first major tournament win makes it special, and it was the catalyst to allow me to go on and win everything else.
“If I didn’t win the World Grand Prix, the last 12 months could have been completely different for me, but it gave me the confidence to win a lot more, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
The world number one has now won five televised ranking titles since his breakthrough win in the East Midlands, and he also steered England to World Cup of Darts glory in June.
Humphries – also a runner-up in this year’s UK Open and Premier League - has remarkably featured in eight of the last ten Premier PDC finals, and his imperious form shows no signs of relenting.
“I have surprised myself,” conceded the Berkshire-born star, who also saw off Daryl Gurney, Luke Woodhouse, Peter Wright and Joe Cullen en route to Grand Prix glory 12 months ago.
“When I won the World Grand Prix, I thought: ‘That’s a great start to my career with my first major win, and I’d love to follow it up with another title in the next 12 months’.
“That would have been a realistic goal and a great achievement, but to follow it up with back-to-back titles and of course the World Championship was incredible.
“Sitting here now – I’ve made eight or nine major finals in 12 months which is something quite incredible, and something I may not be able to do again!
“It’s incredibly tough, but I just want to keep working hard, playing well and I will try to lift as many major titles as I can.”
Only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have retained the coveted double-start crown since the tournament’s inception in 1998, however Humphries is undeterred by such a record.
“I won’t be putting too much pressure on myself to try and retain every trophy that I’ve won, because it’s going to be almost impossible to replicate what I did last year,” added Humphries.
“I always say my goal is to pick up a couple of major titles every year, and if you do that, you’ll be sat in the top four for a long time.
“I’m not going to get too ahead of myself, but to retain my first title and get the ball rolling early would be the perfect way to start a really important end to the year.”
The man nicknamed ‘Cool Hand’ has lived up to that moniker throughout the last 12 months, becoming only the fourth player in PDC history to hold World Championship and World Matchplay titles simultaneously.
Parallels have subsequently been drawn between Humphries and two of the game’s all-time greats in Taylor and Van Gerwen – the only players to usurp his dominance in the PDC era.
“It feels amazing to be mentioned in that bracket. Phil and Michael are two of the players I’ve looked up to throughout my career,” continued the World Champion.
“When I first started watching darts it was all about Phil Taylor and him winning everything, and when I started to play competitively, it was the Michael van Gerwen era!
“I can now always say I have had the kind of year that Phil and Michael have enjoyed – that 12-month period of dominance.
“It’s something that is incredibly pleasing for me, something I never dreamed of doing in such a short space of time.
“The 2023/24 season will always live long in the memory, regardless of what happens in my career now.”
Humphries faces a tough opening assignment on his return to the Mattioli Arena, as he opens his defence of the title with a blockbuster showdown against Masters champion Stephen Bunting.
Bunting toppled Humphries on his way to Masters glory back in January, although Humphries avenged that result in July’s World Matchplay, before going on to clinch the Phil Taylor Trophy in Blackpool.
The world number one also struck an early psychological blow at Thursday's Players Championship 26, recovering from 7-6 down to topple Bunting and clinch his first Players Championship title of the campaign.
“When you’re on the big stage, it feels different. I feel better than ever on that big stage," declared Humphries, priced at 7/2 with title sponsor BoyleSports to retain his crown.
“I know I’ve got a really tough game against Stephen because he’s usually so strong on his doubles, but these are the moments I live for now.
“I want to play the best and be involved in these great games, and hopefully it’s a great World Grand Prix. I would love to retain this title."
You can read the full, exclusive interview with Luke in the official 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix programme.
2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix
Schedule of Play
Monday October 7 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton v Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
Raymond van Barneveld v Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross v Luke Littler
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
All games best of three sets