By James Dow
World number one Luke Humphries has taken the darting world by storm in recent years, winning 21 PDC titles in his professional career. However, did you know these five facts about “Cool Hand Luke”.
1. A Childhood Surrounded by Darts
Luke Humphries played throughout his early years due to both of his parents both playing in the sport with Cool Hand throwing his first darts at the dartboard that was kept in the spare bedroom of his childhood home. Humphries began to play darts competitively at the age of 10, following in his father’s footsteps by representing at county level for Berkshire, before making his debut in the PDC at the age of 16, participating in the newly formed PDC Development Tour, going onto win 11 titles on the tour over his teenage years.
2. From Roofer to World Number One
Humphries also worked as a roofer before going into the sport full-time, where he would work with his father, Mark and his brother, Stuart. The man from Berkshire retired from fixing roofs in 2018, to return to the riches of darts, but almost quit the sport just a year later, after being hit with severe anxiety which even caused a panic attack while on stage during a tournament. Cool Hand managed to overcome these challenges however, and showed significant determination and motivation to push on and become not just the world number one, but one of the best darts players of his generation.
3. The Story Behind ‘Cool Hand Luke’
Humphries “Cool Hand Luke” nickname came from the 1967 American prison drama film Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman, and featuring George Kennedy in an Oscar-winning performance. The 30-year-old did not have a nickname when first starting in the sport, but Humphries believed that the nickname made sense, reflecting on his calm and composed demeanour while on the oche.
4. A Lifelong Leeds United Fan
Humphries has a big connection with EFL Championship side Leeds United. He was actually named after the Yorkshire side, with his father Michael, who is Leeds United through and through, naming him Luke as an acronym for “Leeds United, Kings of Europe.” His walkout song “I predict a riot” also has links to the city of Leeds, with the Kaizer Chiefs a Leeds based band, with the song typically recognised as a Leeds United football song, played at Elland Road on every matchday. Previous to this, Humphries would walkout to the song “Cake by the ocean” by DNCE but he later revealed that this song was actually picked by Sky and not himself, labelling his song choice now as “a bit more me”.
5. Flying the Flag for England
Humphries has also tasted success at international level in darts, winning the World Cup of Darts 2024, where he went on to team with the then number three in the world Michael Smith. This was the first time Humphries represented his country on the oche, and managed to make history beating an Austrian team of Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic 10-6, which was England’s first World Cup triumph in eight years, while also bringing the nation a record fifth World Cup of Darts title. Humphries stated after the event that this was the “biggest buzz since winning the World Championships” and believed that him and “Bully Boy” could win the tournament from the start.