Luke Littler and Luke Humphries grimace as Hyde Park event creates unusual problem | Other | Sport
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were forced to deal with an unusual problem at the inaugural Hyde Park Darts Championship. The iconic London venue hosted a thrilling four-player tournament, with Fallon Sherrock and Nathan Aspinall also involved. The latter two were beaten in the semi-finals, setting up a final showdown between the world’s best players.
They struggled to hit their stride, though, with the event taking place in tricky conditions. It was held outdoors, unlike almost every other darts tournament, which made for some excellent viewing. It saw the players forced to deal with gusts of wind, while the presence of shadows on the board threw up another interesting challenge.
In the final leg of the match, Humphries only needed D6 to wrap up victory over his teenage opponent. He ended up missing the board with all three of his darts, prompting grimaces from both players.
Littler was up next and scored an underwhelming 22 while aiming for T20 with each of his arrows. Humphries eventually managed to hit the winning dart at the sixth attempt, which is probably more than he would have needed under normal conditions.
Another unusual event followed the pro tournament, with a number of celebrities getting involved in a doubles competition. Littler was paired with former Capital Radio host Roman Kemp, while Humphries joined forces with singer Olly Murs.
Aspinall linked up with Dion Dublin, the former Manchester United and Coventry City striker. They made it through to the final, where they faced off against Sherrock and I’m A Celebrity winner Joe Swash.
All four players missed match darts in the decisive third leg before Sherrock nailed D9 to claim the trophy for herself and Swash, who reacted by leaping around in delight.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “I feel like I had the advantage with having [Sherrock] as my partner. It was amazing, I love darts, I watch it all the time, so to play on stage in front of fans with professionals is like a dream come true.
“It’s been such a lovely experience to be able to do stuff like this and call it my job. I get to go home with the trophy, my kids are going to love this.”
The light-hearted event at Hyde Park took place ahead of the World Matchplay, which gets underway later this month. Humphries will head to Blackpool as the defending champion, having beaten Michael van Gerwen in last year’s final.
Littler, meanwhile, will be hoping to deny his namesake as he looks to add to his growing trophy cabinet. One player who may not be involved is Michael Smith, who will need a big performance at Players Championship 21 to book his place at the tournament.
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