World darts champion Luke Humphries pledges to donate part of prize money to charity
Watch as Luke Humphries talks to ITV Meridian presenter Matt Teale about his win, and why he plans to donate some of his winnings to charity.
World darts champion Luke Humphries has pledged to donate some of his prize money to Prostate Cancer UK as more £1million was raised for the charity during the World Championships.
Humphries who lives in Newbury, Berkshire, lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time after a thrilling 7-4 win over teenage star Luke Littler on Wednesday night, picking a £500,000 cheque.
The world champion has revealed it's a cause close to his heart as his father-in-law recently suffered from the disease.
“My father-in-law has battled prostate cancer, he went and got it checked out early, so this is a close thing to my heart,” Luke said.
“I will be dedicating that one to him.
“As a collective the players have added quite a lot of money, I won’t say the figure, but I am going to donate a bit from my prize money as well.”
Tournament sponsors Paddy Power pledged to donate £1,000 every time a player hits 180 throughout the flagship event at the Alexandra Palace, with Humphries contributing 73 to a final total of 914.
The bookmaker has now rounded it up to £1million.
The money raised will fund lifesaving research to diagnose men sooner and improve the lives of men affected by the most common cancer in men, with one in eight suffering.
Prostate Cancer UK chief executive Laura Kerby added: “It’s been a magical few weeks at the World Darts Championship and we were absolutely thrilled this morning when Paddy Power agreed to round up the £914,000 to a million pounds.
“With every maximum thrown by both Lukes and the world’s top players; with every iconic shout of ‘180’ we have made a huge difference to men affected by this disease – and their loved ones too.
“We’re thrilled at the success of the campaign to date and as well as some sharp shooting from the players, it’s hugely encouraging that more than 90,000 people have completed our online risk checker.
“One in eight men will be affected by prostate cancer. It’s a disease that is curable if caught early, but early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms, so it is vital that men know their risk. This online tool is the first step.”
Luke Humphries reveals he will donate part of his prize money to Prostate Cancer UK.
Speaking to ITV Meridian about the last couple of days, Luke revealed he's feeling on top of the world.
"You know, it's been a crazy 40 hours for me," he said.
"Obviously being world number one and then going on to be world champion, it's been what dreams are made of.
"The last 40 hours have been surreal and it's something that's going to take a long time to settle in.
"It really is incredible."
Speaking about his opponent, 16-year-old Luke Littler he added: "He's an incredible talent.
"He's got a very mature head on young shoulders and, you know, he's battled for a lot of media hype and stuff.
"He showed a lot of credibility, a lot of bottle and showed incredible talent.
"I mean, he was very unlucky last night not to win.
"I think I showed that number one status that I am, but I had to work incredibly hard to beat him.
"I played him when he was 12 years old in 2019 in Hayling Island in like a local competition, and I remember he missed a 1-6-4 out shot against me to make it 2-0 and I took out 64-3.
"And that says a lot that I remember that fine detail from so long ago, because I've played many people since then, but I remember he was an incredible talent then and he's an even better talent now.
"I knew how good he was before everybody, you know, saw him in this tournament, and the amount he's come on in four years, I just can't believe how good he could be in another four years.
"I'm hoping that I can win many of these before it's too late, before he dominates everybody."
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