Luke Humphries Makes Thoughts on Matching Darts GOAT Phil Taylor | Other | sport

Luke Humphries reveled in the joy of reaching the World Grand Prix final after his “fantastic” performance against Ryan Joyce drew comparisons with darts icon Phil Taylor.

The 29-year-old produced one of the most memorable displays in the tournament’s history, overwhelming his opponent with a devastating 5-0 victory to book his place against Mike De Decker in the final.

It led Joyce to describe Humphries as a “generational talent”, suggesting Newbury man Humphries can emulate “The Power”. But the world No 1 explained why he does not believe he will ever reach the same level as Taylor, who won a record 85 major titles in his career.

“Ryan said that, obviously it makes me feel great. But the difference between me and Phil is that he would have put on that performance for the whole tournament … I put on one,” Humphries said.

“It’s not one of those things you want to compare. I’ll never be as good as him (Taylor), everybody knows that. But it was a fantastic performance, probably one of the best we’ve ever seen in a semi-final. a World Grand Prix.

“I’ve got to back it up, haven’t I? I haven’t won anything yet, of course I’m overwhelmed with this performance. It’ll give me a lot of confidence going into (the final) tomorrow and I’ve got to be close to this one (level) to take the game away from Mike because we know he’s playing well.”

Belgian ace De Decker continued his fine form with a 5-2 defeat of compatriot Dimitri Van den Bergh to reach the main event in Leicester.

Humphries kicked off the mind games by insisting his finals experience will give him a clear advantage over his Belgian rival, although he acknowledged it could be a tough tie as De Decker faces his first final.

“If I play like that again, nobody can stop you. If someone plays like that against me, I wouldn’t be able to stop them either,” he added. “If I can play anywhere near that, it’s going to be a tough task for him.

“I don’t really see any nerves in him, I didn’t see any stuttering at the finish line against Dimitri, I know Dimitri had a lot of chances that I won’t do tomorrow, but I don’t see those nerves from him.

“It’s a situation I’ve been in so many times, it’s my 10th major final and it’s his first, so I know what to do, he doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean he can’t do the job, probably. Nobody I expected him to win last year against Gerwyn (Price) because he had the experience.

“Experience only counts sometimes, I hope it counts for tomorrow and that he doesn’t do his best because if he does, it’s going to be an incredibly difficult game for me.”