Luke Humphries has called Madison Square Garden the most iconic venue darts may ever visit after retaining the US Darts Masters with an 8-7 win over Luke Littler in New York.
The world’s top two met again on Friday night at the Infosys Theater, where Humphries recovered from a Littler surge and landed an 11-darter in the deciding leg. The result gave him back-to-back Big Apple titles and his third World Series crown.
Humphries’ wider point matters as much as the trophy. A sell-out 5,000 crowd set a US darts record, and his post-match comments framed New York as more than a showcase stop. He said the event gets better every year and described the atmosphere as “insane”, according to Sky Sports’ US Darts Masters report.
Humphries Keeps Heat On Littler
For Littler, the defeat was not a collapse. He fought back from 4-1 down, hit nine 180s and pushed Humphries to the final leg. But Humphries’ finishing under pressure means the Luke v Luke rivalry now carries straight into Blackpool and the remaining World Series legs.
The PDC circuit heads next to the World Matchplay before the World Series resumes in New Zealand and Australia in August. After New York, Humphries has a title, a venue statement and fresh proof that Littler can still be dragged into a fight.
