Cool Humphries Can Blow Hot in Players Championship Finals
Luke Humphries, crowned the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts Champion following an emphatic victory over Rob Cross on Sunday night, has shot to the head of the betting of this weekend’s Players Championship Finals. The 28-year-old from Newbury also challenges Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price for World Championship favouritism.
Since the beginning of October ‘Cool Hand Luke’ has won 24 of the 28 matches he has played. During this timeframe, the 2019 World Youth Champion has reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship, won the 2023 World Grand Prix and collected more than £310,000 in prizemoney.
Luke Humpries is a man in form, with his eyes set on another major title. ©Kieran Cleeves/PDC
Humpries bank balance will be boosted by another £120,000 if he lands the Players Championship Finals. The competition played in Butlin’s Minehead Resort, has a prize pool of £600,000. Michael van Gerwen is the defending champion. The Dutchman has won the competition a record seven times.
The Main Stage for Five World Champs and Cool Hand Luke
The top 64 players from the Players Championships Order of Merit – solely based on prize money won in 2023’s 30 Players Championship events – have qualified for this tournament. The top player on the list, Gerwyn Price, meets the 64th player (Ricky Evans). The second player, Gary Anderson, meets the 63rd qualifier (Steve Beaton) and so on.
Friday’s opening day will feature two sessions of action across two stages. Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen begins his bid for a record-extending eighth Players Championship Finals title against Callan Rydz. The match will be one of seven first-round ties played on the Main Stage on Friday evening when five World Darts Championship winners headline a star-studded opening night.
Man-of-the-moment Luke Humpries is also in action on Friday. He plays Watford’s Martin Lukeman. Darts betting sites quote the current world-ranked 34 on 4/1 to cause an upset in this best-of-11-games first-round encounter. Three previous meetings all resulted in heavy defeats for Lukeman.
Meanwhile, Rob Cross, who averaged 103.6 points and registered a 170 finish in the Grand Slam of Darts final, meets Scottish star Cameron Menzies. Cross, the 2018 World Champion, was runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in last year’s Players Championship Finals decider.
2024 Players Championship Finals Draw
- (1) Gerwyn Price v (64) Ricky Evans
- (32) Kim Huybrechts v (33) Martin Schindler
- (16) Stephen Bunting v (49) Mickey Mansell
- (17) Gian van Veen v (48) Chris Landman
- (8) Ross Smith v (57) Scott Williams
- (25) Callan Rydz v (40) Michael van Gerwen
- (65) Dylan Slevin v (56) Matt Campbell
- (24) Mike De Decker v (41) Mario Vandenbogaerde
Second Draw Bracket
- (4) Dave Chisnall v (61) Lee Evans
- (29) Chris Dobey v (36) Raymond van Barneveld
- (13) Rob Cross v (52) Cameron Menzies
- (20) Luke Woodhouse v (45) Simon Whitlock
- (5) Josh Rock v (60) Rowby-John Rodriguez
- (28) Gabriel Clemens v (37) Connor Scutt
- (12) Jonny Clayton v (53) Stephen Burton
- (21) Daryl Gurney v (44) Niels Zonneveld
Third Draw Bracket
- (2) Gary Anderson v (63) Steve Beaton
- (31) Dimitri Van den Bergh v (34) Jim Williams
- (15) James Wade v (50) William O’Connor
- (18) Andrew Gilding v (47) Steve Lennon
- (7) Luke Humphries v (58) Martin Lukeman
- (26) Radek Szaganski v (39) Ian White
- (10) Ryan Searle v (55) Boris Krcmar
- (23) Ricardo Pietreczko v (42) Christian Kist
Fourth Draw Bracket
- (3) Damon Heta v (62) Jules van Dongen
- (30) Jose de Sousa v (35) Kevin Doets
- (14) Krzysztof Ratajski v (51) Maik Kuivenhoven
- (19) Brendan Dolan v (46) Ritchie Edhouse
- (6) Dirk van Duijvenbode v (59) Jermaine Wattimena
- (27) Michael Smith v (38) Richard Veenstra
- (11) Ryan Joyce v (54) Daniel Klose
- (22) Joe Cullen v (43) Jamie Hughes
What Are the Best Darts Bets This Weekend?
Danny Noppert, ninth on the Players Championships Order of Merit, has withdrawn from the competition. His place is taken by the 65th player on the list, Dylan Slevin, who will play Canadian Matt Campbell. There are nine places between this pair on the Players Championships Order of Merit, meaning, on paper, this should be one of the closer first-round matches.
Recently turned 21, Dylan Slevin gives Campbell a 13-year head start. But, while lacking in experience, the young Irishman appears to be improving, whereas his rival has stagnated since earning his PDC tour card at the end of 2021.
Slevin has lost more games than he has won in recent weeks. However, he regularly records averages in the mid-90s when beaten, and during the summer, he claimed the scalps of Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey and Daryl Gurney.
Currently world-ranked 89, Dylan Slevin will see this tournament as an opportunity to catapult himself up the standings. Our editorial team are unanimous in the belief that darts bookmakers have underestimated his appetite for success and believe he is a good bet at the even-money odds offered by the best darts betting sites.
In Form Rock, Cross, and Luke Are the Three We Like
In the outright betting, Luke ‘Cool Hand’ Humpries still represents good value at the 4/1 offered by TonyBet and a handful of other darts betting sites. Rob Cross and Gary Anderson are displaying clear signs of a return to their best form and should be considered at 12/1 and 14/1.
Conversely, Mick Smith has not reached a major final since winning the World Darts Championship. Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright have all won a televised major during 2023. But they have not been consistent and are not playing at their best.
Josh Rock, our fancy for the Grand Slam of Darts, showed glimpses of brilliance in the competition. But he squandered a 15-12 lead and missed four match darts when the scores were 15-15 to be eliminated at the tournament’s quarterfinal stage.
A 101.3 average score, three 100-plus checkouts and nine 180s in the match suggest that the floodgates will soon open for him. Coral bookmakers 33/1 is undoubtedly a very generous quote about the Northern Irish player given a kind draw that should easily see him progress to the quarterfinal stages.
How to Watch the Action
The 2023 Cazoo Players Championship Finals will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay. Coverage will also be broadcast on PDCTV (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
