World champion Luke Humphries has pledged to donate some of his prize money to Prostate Cancer UK as over £1million was raised for the charity during the World Championships.
Humphries 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.
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 rounded it up to £1million, with Humphries also adding some to the pot as it is a meaningful cause 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,” said Humphries, who will also give the Ballon d'Art trophy for hitting the most 180s (73) to him. “I will be dedicating that one to him.
Luke Humphries will give the inaugural Ballon d'Art trophy to his girlfriend's father, who recently battled with prostate cancer and thankfully caught it in time.
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 4, 2024
The world champion is also donating some of his £500,000 to Prostate Cancer UK. 👏 pic.twitter.com/107BlNPHt5
“For me to have added £73,000 is just fantastic. It is very, very close to my heart and 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.”
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.
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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.
🏆 Luke Humphries won the Ballon d'Art for hitting most 180s at the @paddypower World Championship but most importantly, the 914 maximums raised £914,000 for @ProstateUK.
— Sport on Sporting Life (@SLSport_) January 4, 2024
Cool Hand also revealed he too would be donating a sum of his £500,000 prize money to the charity 👏 pic.twitter.com/3BsjIMnXx1
“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.”
:: It takes 30 seconds to answer three questions to check your prostate cancer risk. Do it now by clicking on the following link: prostatecanceruk.org/180-risk.
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Luke Littler 4-7 Luke Humphries: Match stats
Scroll down for more reaction
- Set scores: 1-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 1-3, 2-3, 1-3, 2-3
- Averages
Littler: 101.13
Humphries: 103.67 - 180s
Littler: 13
Humphries: 23 - Checkout %
Littler: 36.5% (23/63)
Humphries: 43.1% (25/58) - 100+ Checkouts
Littler: 170, 142, 122, 120
Humphries: 170, 121, 116, 108x2
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Luke Littler v Luke Humphries: Routes to the final
LUKE LITTLER
- R1: 3-0 v Christian Kist
Set scores: 3-0, 3-1, 3-1
Average: 106.12
180s: 7 (0.63 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 1 (High: 106)
Checkout %: 50% (9/18) - R2: 3-1 v Andrew Gilding
Set scores: 3-2, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1
Average: 92.65
180s: 5 (0.29 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 0 (High: 80)
Checkout %: 34.6% (9/26) - R3: 4-1 v Matt Campbell
Set scores: 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1
Average: 97.19
180s: 8 (0.40 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 3 (High: 164)
Checkout %: 40% (14/35) - R4: 4-1 v Raymond van Barneveld
Set scores: 3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2
Average: 105.01
180s: 9 (0.39 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 1 (High: 100)
Checkout %: 50% (14/28) - QF: 5-1 v Brendan Dolan
Set scores: 3-2, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1, 1-3, 3-0
Average: 101.93
180s: 5 (0.23 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 3 (High: 140)
Checkout %: 47.1% (16/34) - SF: 6-2 v Rob Cross
Set scores: 2-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-2
Average: 106.05
180s: 16 (0.43 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 3 (High: 149)
Checkout %: 46.8% (22/47)
LUKE HUMPHRIES
- R2: 3-0 v Lee Evans
Set scores: 3-1, 3-2, 3-2
Average: 93.58
180s: 6 (0.43 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 0 (High: 85)
Checkout %: 37.5% (9/24) - R3: 4-3 v Ricardo Pietreczko
Set scores: 3-1, 1-3, 2-3, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0
Average: 91.38
180s: 6 (0.21 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 0 (High: 96)
Checkout %: 37.5% (15/40) - R4: 4-3 v Joe Cullen
Set scores: 2-3, 0-3, 3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-0, 6-5
Average: 99.23
180s: 12 (0.33 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 2 (High: 100)
Checkout %: 33.9% (19/56) - QF: 5-1 v Dave Chisnall
Set scores: 3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2, 3-0
Average: 103.50
180s: 12 (0.43 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 3 (High: 164)
Checkout %: 40.5% (17/42) - SF: 6-0 v Scott Williams
Set scores: 3-2, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1
Average: 108.74
180s: 14 (0.56 per leg)
100+ Checkouts: 6 (High: 170)
Checkout %: 60% (18/30)
Littler v Humphries: 2024 World Championship statistics
(Luke Littler figures on the left)
- Tournament Average: 101.6 - 100.5
100+ match averages: 5 - 3
Highest average: 106.12 (R1) - 108.74 (SF)
Lowest average: 92.65 (R2) - 91.38 (R2) - Tournament 180s: 63 - 73
180s per leg: 0.35 - 0.41 - Checkout percentage: 42.62% (107/251) - 41.2% (103/250)
- Sets won/lost: 29/13 - 29/11
Legs won/lost: 107/73 - 103/74 - 100+ checkouts: 15 - 16
Per leg won: 14.01% - 15.53%
Highest checkout: 170 - 170x2
World Championship Darts 2024: Averages
100+ match averages
- Luke Humphries - 108.74 (v Scott Williams, SF)
- Stephen Bunting - 107.28 (v Ryan Joyce, R2)
- Luke Littler - 106.12 (v Christian Kist, R1)
- Luke Littler - 106.05 (v Rob Cross, SF)
- Luke Littler - 105.01 (v Raymond van Barneveld, R4)
- Luke Humphries - 103.67 (v Luke Littler, F)
- Luke Humphries - 103.50 (v Dave Chisnall, QF)
- Ross Smith - 103.33 (v Chris Dobey, R3)
- Chris Dobey - 103.09 (v William O'Conner, R2)
- Rob Cross - 102.77 (v Luke Littler, SF)
- Michael Smith - 102.47 (v Chris Dobey, R4)
- Chris Dobey - 102.43 (v Michael Smith, R4)
- Chris Dobey - 102.36 (v Ross Smith, R3)
- Luke Littler - 101.93 (v Brendan Dolan, QF)
- Michael van Gerwen - 101.39 (v Richard Veenstra, R3)
- Rob Cross - 101.32 (v Jeffrey de Graaf, R3)
- Stephen Bunting - 101.15 (v Florian Hempel, R3)
- Luke Littler - 101.13 (v Luke Humphries, F)
- Daryl Gurney - 100.79 (v Steve Beaton, R2)
- Rob Cross - 100.70 (v Chris Dobey, QF)
- Ryan Joyce - 100.32 (v Alex Spellman, R1)
- Michael Smith - 100.09 (v Kevin Doets, R2)
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