Leeds United fan Luke Humphries hails 'greatest experience' after beating Michael van Gerwen in Leeds

Luke Humphries reflected on one of his ‘greatest experiences in darts’ after beating Michael van Gerwen to win Night 15 of this year’s Premier League Darts in front of his fellow Leeds United fans.

Humphries relished the ‘home’ support to enjoy a battling 6-5 win over Michael van Gerwen in the final at the First Direct Arena in Leeds city centre on Thursday. ‘Cool Hand’ was 1-0 and 3-1 down at points but harnessed the energy of his fellow Leeds fans to fight back and claim a brilliant win.

The current world No.1 was decked out in a special shirt featuring Leeds’ famous colourway of white, yellow and blue, walking out to ‘I Predict A Riot by the Kaiser Chiefs and pumping up the crowd. And after victory was secured, he enjoyed a rousing rendition of club anthem ‘Marching On Together’.

"When I walked in here, I did feel a little bit of pressure, I can't lie," Humphries said on Sky Sports. "I knew it (pressure) was on me. This was a dream for me tonight to perform in front of a crowd that I don't do very often. Tonight was amazing. Going on to win was one of my greatest experiences in darts.

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"The crowd were fantastic. It is what dreams are made of. I have played really well tonight, but it is how you peak on night 17 - being Premier League champion is something that would mean a lot to me."

Humphries cruised into the Night 15 final after beating both Rob Cross and Michael Smith 6-1, in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. Van Gerwen knocked out Gerwyn Price in the quarters and also got on the good side of the Leeds-supporting crowd after beating avid Manchester United fan Luke Littler in the semis.

Littler got plenty of stick from those inside the First Direct Arena and was confident enough to give some back after starting well. But the light-hearted responses quickly disappeared as he was well beaten by the experienced Dutchman.

The 17-year-old still sits top of the Premier League Darts table on 38 points, with Humphries five points behind in second. The pair and Van Gerwen have already qualified for the Play-Offs in London later this month, with one space left to fill.