2024 German Darts Grand Prix: Luke Humphries Marvellous In Munich Triumph

Heading into Monday evening’s final session, five of the eight remaining players (everyone except Van Gerwen, Price, and Humphries) were in the hunt for their maiden European Tour title, and with Belgian Open Champion Luke Littler and No.1 Seed Dave Chisnall absent and already eliminated respectively, there was a major opportunity for many players to cement their place in World Matchplay and European Championship.

The Easter weekend looked almost too relaxing for Humphries, as consecutive ton plus averages saw ‘Cool Hand’ steamroll Luke Woodhouse, Ryan Joyce and Danny Noppert. Some poor finishing from Gerwyn Price then gifted Humphries a 7-3 win in the semi final.

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The sole German representative Martin Schindler, who after taking some big scalps in Damon Heta and Chris Dobey en-route to the quarter finals, beat the world number 4 Nathan Aspinall in a thriller to the delight of the partisan Munich crowd.

But home hopes were dashed in the semi-finals as Van Gerwen produced a dominant display to defeat Schindler 7-2, as he continued his pursuit for a fourth German Darts Grand Prix title (and 37th overall) in convincing fashion.

A final between the World Numbers 1 and 2 shouldn’t be a one sided affair, particularly considering the close encounters Humphries and Van Gerwen have had in the last six months at the World Series, Players Championship Finals and in the Premier League.

But after Van Gerwen held throw in the opening leg of the final, it was all Humphries: averaging 112.66 and multiple sub 15 dart legs, MVG was barely afforded a double by the reigning World Champion, who ran away in the final by a score of 8-1, the widest margin of victory in a final in the tournament’s short history.

The European Tour returns to Germany in under a fortnight’s time, as the 2024 International Darts Open in Riesa. Gerwyn Price is set to be the defending champion, and Gary Anderson, a notable absentee from the Grand Prix, is set to return.

By Jaspar Shepherdson

(@jasparshepmedia on X/Twitter and Instagram)

Image Credit: Number 10 on Wikipedia