World Darts Championship star makes offer to Prince William after chat | Other | Sport

Luke Humphries believes Prince William is a darts enthusiast and has offered to arrange tickets for him at the Ally Pally. The World No. 2 and former World champion visited Windsor Castle last week to collect an MBE for his services to the sport.

Humphries received his honour from Prince William and suggested the best venue to watch the arrows action. He relished a short conversation with the Royal and said: “You get a minute, a minute-and-a-half and, obviously, you’re not going to talk about silly things, you’re going to talk about things you’re there for.

“I wanted to talk about why you are an Aston Villa fan, da-da-da, all this type of stuff. But I didn’t want to differentiate why I was there. I was there for being a dart player and he just sort of said where would be my best place to come and watch darts. I said Alexandra Palace because, obviously, he knew about it.

“That shows how big it is because, if he knows about darts, then he obviously watches it a little bit. I could sort him some tickets. He knows about darts, so it’s really good. It just shows how big the sport is now.”

Humphries takes pride in his recognition. He said: “I don’t think I’ll ever realise how big of an achievement it is because I think a lot of people just think you’ve achieved an MBE for being a good darts player. That’s not it.

“I think I don’t publicise all the things I do off the board as well for charity and going to hospitals. All these things that some people see that not everybody sees. It’s not something I want to be rewarded for by everyone saying: ‘Oh, well done, you’ve done this.’ Everybody’s seen me and Luke Littler change the sport. We’ve both got one because we’ve both changed the face of the sport. Mostly him, of course. I’ve been a part of that by challenging him, making him work hard for all his achievements.

“He’s been making me work even harder for my achievements. That’s why I think I’ve got it. For me, it was a great feeling meeting the Prince of Wales, William as well. It’s about what you do off the oche and how you carry yourself around it.”

Humphries’ next challenge at Ally Pally comes against Paul Lim, with the 71-year-old hoping to recreate the magic of his 2020 victory over Cool Hand. The reigning champion said: “I’m not going to look for revenge on any single player. I can’t get revenge on a certain game that happened five years ago.

“Of course there’s business in the next game and if I’m scoring the way I did tonight it’s going to be a tough one for him. If I’m not, he’s got a chance and the crowd’s going to be on his side. I’ve experienced that many, many times. It’s a big game, you’re playing against a legend and he’ll look forward to it and I’ll look forward to it.

“Hopefully I can really put in a statement.” Humphries is relishing some downtime ahead of his next match and said: “It’s lovely for me, I’ve got a nice week off, I get to spend a bit of time with my son. Do a bit of Christmas shopping and enjoy myself. Just spend some family time, and practice doubles. I’m going to Elland Road on Saturday. I’m going. They [Leeds] play Crystal Palace. I asked and they said yes. “It’s not about going because of the Worlds, it’s the only time I can go.

“Luke’s probably doing it the same way, I’m doing it. It’s a release from all the pressure, all the stress and darts. “You go there and you know one thing, you’re just a Leeds fan. He’s a Manchester United fan. It’s something that we both love football. It’s an amazing atmosphere. I’ll look forward to it. It’s something that I can enjoy.”