Luke Humphries’ clear feelings on playing in controversial Saudi event | Other | Sport

Former world champion Luke Humphries is expecting a “respectful” ambience as the sport of darts, typically associated with alcohol consumption, makes its debut in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its strict no-alcohol policy. The World Series of Darts will be making a stopover in Riyadh for the Saudi Arabia Masters on Monday and Tuesday. The event will see Humphries, Luke Littler, and six other PDC stars compete against eight Asian Tour representatives.

Humphries is excited about the unique environment and believes that the absence of alcohol won’t dampen the spirit of the event. He said: “It’s going to be a very respectful atmosphere, it’s going to be good. I think the key thing to understand is it doesn’t take alcohol to have a good night.

“I think a lot of people think if you don’t drink then you can’t have a good night. But I think that the Saudi people are very respectful and they will really be looking forward to seeing the great talents of what we produce. I don’t think that (with) there being no alcohol (means) it’s going to be a terrible atmosphere.

“What we need to understand is when you go to places like Saudi or Japan, these countries are respectful people. They don’t cheer out, they don’t jump out of their seats. They’re just going to be really satisfied to sit back and enjoy a great sport and get to see what we do.”

“I think it’s going to be very respectful, but I think they’re going to appreciate what they’re seeing as well.”

Darts has become one of the final sports to make its way to Saudi Arabia, which has already established itself as a destination for boxing, Formula One, football, snooker and numerous other major sporting events. Humphries described the move as “inevitable” for the sport.

“For sure because Saudi has become this new hotspot of all the sports,” Humphries continued. “They just want to see different sports. They want tourism there and want to just experience all these different sports. It was just inevitable that it was going to happen that darts went there as well.”

The influx of major sporting events to Saudi Arabia remains contentious due to the nation’s human rights record. However, Michael van Gerwen, the Bahrain Masters champion, has expressed no reservations about competing there.

He added: “Every sport in the world is competing there. So why not darts? The organisation decides if they put on a tournament wherever in the world, I just book a plane ticket and I go. That’s the way it is.

“Every sport in the world goes there. Darts is probably one of the last sports in the world who are going there. So who am I to judge? And then they say, you don’t have an opinion? Of course I have an opinion. But I want to do it for myself. I’m there to earn a living, simple as that. If I don’t do it, someone else does it.”

The tournament could prove a lucrative opportunity for the players, with a potential prize of £74,700 up for grabs if they hit a nine-darter, and the possibility of doubling their winnings if they hit a ‘golden bullseye’.