‘Cool Hand Luke’: Odds-on favourite for BoyleSports darts Grand Prix triumph
‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries is the hot favourite for the BoyleSports sponsored World Grand Prix of darts. This is a unique tournament where each player must start and finish every leg on a double – a rule that adds layers of suspense and precision to every match. Now underway, the event takes place until October 13 in Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.
The arena fills with the deafening roar of the crowd as the players make their entrance. Darts glide like lightning bolts, piercing the board with precision. The tension builds like a coiled spring with every missed double. Legends are born, and this is a fantastic springboard to work towards achieving darts-god status at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship in December. Who will etch their name into the annals of darting history?
November offers the Machineseeker European Championship in Dortmund. The Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts follows this in Wolverhampton, rounded off by a trip to the beach and the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals in Butlin’s Minehead Resort.
Day one: The ‘Nuke’ extinguished
Rob Cross caused a shock upset on day one, eliminating the teenage sensation Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler 2-1 in the first round. Cross said before the game, “When he (Littler) decides to turn up the heat, you need a fire extinguisher to put him out!” Cross certainly did the job and turned up the voltage to claim an excellent win.
But all eyes turned to another Luke, the reigning champion ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries, who mounted a dramatic comeback after losing the opening five consecutive legs to seal a 2-1 win. His resilience under pressure proves why he’s the bookmakers tournament favourite.
Humphries voiced displeasure of the crowd chanting disparaging songs about his favourite football team, Leeds United. While it may have rattled him, the reigning champ knows he can’t afford to let this affect his focus as the stakes get higher. With a raucous crowd in fancy dress, singing and chanting, Humphries needs to live up to his nickname, keeping a ‘cool hand’ and a cool head amidst the chaos if he’s to defend his title.
Day two: Van Gerwin and Smith crash out
Day two saw a host of talent with former six time World Grand Prix winner Michael van Gerwen being whitewashed against Northern Ireland’s 2017 champion Daryl Gurney. Van Gerwen failed to win a single leg for the first time in a televised game for thirteen years.
Two time world champion Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, known for his colourful mohawk and eccentric outfits, lost out to ‘The Machine’ James Wade, a former winner of the World Grand Prix in 2007 by 2 legs to 1. Another big match-up saw two high scoring quick throwers and former world champions Michael Smith and Gary Anderson face off in a mid-evening contest that ended in a 2-1 victory to Anderson in a last leg shootout.
Bookies favourite Humphries odds-on
As we enter day three, the odds firmly favour Luke Humphries to defend his title, with many bookmakers placing him as the clear frontrunner based on his current form and resilience under pressure. As the October 13 final approaches, punters are asking: Will we crown a new champion rise to the occasion, or is Luke Humphries still the safest bet to claim Grand Prix glory? In darts, anything can happen when a player hits double trouble.
No-one should underestimate the abilities of former world champion Rob Cross, who has shown noteworthy improvement this year and won the 2024 US Darts Masters. ‘Iceman’ Gerwyn Price is up there in the odds as third favourite to lift the title. Gary Anderson, second favourite and winner of the 2024 NEO.bet European Darts Grand Prix would love to go all the way.
The darts betting market in the UK and Europe has experienced significant growth since the pandemic, driven largely by the shift towards online gambling. Although overall gambling participation in the UK experienced a slight decline in the immediate post-pandemic period, the trend of consumers moving towards online platforms accelerated, particularly in sports, like darts that have a strong betting following.
With darts continuing to grow as a televised sport in Europe, especially in the UK, betting markets around darts have benefitted from this rise in both visibility and ease of access through online platforms. This digital shift, combined with the increasing popularity of darts as a mainstream televised sport, suggests that betting on darts in the UK and Europe will continue its upward trajectory as more consumers move to mobile betting and online platforms for convenience.
A record 4.8 million viewers tuned in for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship final, a 143 percent increase on the 2023 final. Germany and the Netherlands also saw record-breaking numbers with 2.86m viewers in Germany watching the 2024 final. This trend is not limited to Europe. Darts broadcasts have expanded globally, with significant audience figures in Australia and New Zealand.
Watching on TV is one thing, but being there live is another stratosphere. The late Sid Waddell, a renowned darts commentator who passed away in 2012, succinctly captured the intense pressure of the sport: “The atmosphere is so tense, if Elvis walked in with a portion of chips you could hear the vinegar sizzle on them.”
While attending a live major darts tournament may be one thing to tick on your bucket list, Luke Humphries hopes he can add more silverware to his recent impressive array of trophies. Although Littler is on the rise, it remains difficult to see past Humphries for this tournament and the upcoming world championships. Here are the current 2005 World Championship betting odds:
