LUKE Humphries has celebrated a memorable Alexandra Palace double after adding the inaugural Ballon d’Art trophy to his Paddy Power World Darts Championship triumph.
Humphries produced a superb display to claim the Sid Waddell Trophy on a memorable night in the capital on Wednesday to become World Champion and world number one for the first time in his career.
The 28-year-old averaged 103.67 and landed a whopping 23 maximums in the final, and his haul of 73 maximums across the tournament also saw him lift the Ballon d’Art trophy.
The new award – presented to the player who hit the most 180s throughout the event – was designed as part of THE BIG 180 Campaign, which saw Paddy Power donate £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every maximum hit during the 2023/24 World Darts Championship.
There were an astonishing 914 maximums registered in this year’s tournament – beating the previous record of 901 in 2022/23 – but Paddy Power rounded up that donation from £914,000 to a staggering £1m following Wednesday’s final.
“THE BIG 180 is an amazing charity campaign and what Paddy Power and Prostate Cancer UK have done is incredible,” insisted Humphries.
“My girlfriend’s dad had a scare recently. He was very, very lucky; he was honest about it and wants to share his story about how lucky he was.
“For me to have added £73,000 [to the charity] is just fantastic. It is a cause very, very close to my heart and I will be dedicating that one to him.
“I won’t say the figure, but I am going to donate a bit from my prize money as well, because it’s very close to my heart and I’m privileged to hold that trophy as well.”
PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter added: “THE BIG 180 has been a fantastic campaign and for Paddy Power to be donating £1 million to Prostate Cancer UK is an incredible gesture which will make such a difference to a wonderful charity.
“Our players were sensational in hitting a record number of 180s during the Paddy Power World Darts Championship and they deserve huge credit for the way that they’ve supported Prostate Cancer UK too.
“We’re already seeing THE BIG 180 having an impact with the number of men using the online risk checker in recent weeks, and this is a campaign which will make a huge difference in so many ways.”
——ENDS——
Images: PDC
Grab a 50th Anniversary Darts World package 581 here or the current print Issue 584 here :
The Darts World 50 limited edition dart set is available to order (Here) in your choice of pack/bundle.
Darts World Extra 14: Ally Pally Special – Download or read the full version FREE
