Cool Hand’s Munich Triumph

Luke Humphries has added a Euro Tour to his Pro Tour event 1 win in January to continue his strong start to 2022, after beating Martin Lukeman 8-2 in the Final of the German Darts Grand Prix to take home the £25,000 winner’s prize. Cool Hand averaged 92.07 in the Final and included a 72 checkout in the ninth leg to break the Lukeman throw.

Smash included two maximums in his very first Euro Tour Final and can be very proud of his achievements in Munich, after reaching the final having played a game more than the seeded players. Lukeman had a good run in Hildesheim in the last Euro Tour but has exceeded that with his final appearance in the third event of the year.

The Englishman beat the likes of Martin Schindler and Damon Heta who also had impressive tournaments, with Heta including a 170 checkout in his opening match on Monday with Scott Waites, whilst Schindler averaged 109.24 in his previous match with Ryan Searle in front of his home fans.

Humphries was in fine form on Monday in Germany and started the day with a Last 16 tie with Michael Smith in a matchup that saw Cool Hand take on the tournament third seed. Bully Boy averaged 101.90 which was higher than overall champion Humphries, but it was the record on the outside ring that got the World Number 17 over the line with just five missed in the entire match.

His Quarter-Final put him up against the tournament’s surprise package in Wesley Plaisier who made it to the final eight without even holding a tour card.

The Dutchman booked his place in the Quarter Finals after coming through a final leg decider to beat Dirk van Duijvenbode in the Last 16, winning the match with his impressive record on doubles after The Titan averaged six more points than him on the oche.

Plaisier sent the Quarter Final into a last-leg decider after hitting 68 on double four, after Cool Hand had left double eight to hold his throw.

Humphries broke in the last leg on 71 hitting treble thirteen before double 16 after the Dutchman failed to take out 98 missing a dart at double nineteen to leave tops. A second three-figure average of the day for the World Number 17, this time a 102.46 score in the final Quarter-Final on Monday.

The performance of the tournament followed in the Semi-Final as he faced Michael van Gerwen for a spot in the Final, with van Gerwen arguably the most in form player of 2022. This didn’t bother Humphries in the Semi-Final though who averaged a staggering 107.36, hitting three 180s in beating the former three-time World Champion 7-0 in Munich allowing his opponent just one dart at double.

Cool Hand included a 109 checkout in the very first leg after Mighty Mike missed his only dart at double in the match, missing double sixteen for an 81 finish.

Humphries then finished checkouts of 98 in the fourth leg to break his opponent, before an 81 finish in the fifth leg to take a 5-0 lead on stage. Double four on his second dart sealed his spot in the final in what was a performance that Humphries will never forget in his darting career.

Jonny Clayton had a strong Last 16 performance against former German Number One Max Hopp winning 6-1 and averaging just short of 97 in Munich. The Ferret included a huge 160 finish on tops in the fifth leg to take a 4-1 lead on the oche, before closing out the match in the seventh leg.

Clayton’s run came to an end in his Quarter Final with Damon Heta losing out 6-5 after nearly completing a comeback from 5-1 down.

Keegan Brown can also be happy with how he performed in the third Euro Tour of the year, after reaching the Quarter Finals on Monday losing to Michael van Gerwen despite hitting more maximums than the Dutchman in the match. The Needle beat Madars Razma 6-4 on Monday afternoon and included a 98 checkout to take the sixth leg and a 4-2 lead.

The Darting action continues Thursday with the Premier League returning for Week 11 in Aberdeen, with league leader Michael van Gerwen facing Gerwyn Price in a huge Quarter-Final tie.

German Darts Grand Prix: Last 16 Results:

Martin Lukeman 6-5 Keane Barry

Martin Schindler 6-1 Ryan Searle (9)

Damon Heta (13) 6-3 Scott Waites

Jonny Clayton (5) 6-1 Max Hopp

Keegan Brown 6-4 Madars Razma

Michael van Gerwen (7) 6-3 Rob Cross (10)

Luke Humphries (14) 6-3 Michael Smith (3)

Wesley Plaisier 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode (11)

Quarter Finals:

Martin Lukeman 6-4 Martin Schindler

Damon Heta (13) 6-5 Jonny Clayton (5)