Luke Humphries produced one of the greatest fightbacks in World Grand Prix history to defeat Gerwyn Price 6-4 in an epic final on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries defied a blistering opening barrage from Price to celebrate his second double-start crown at Leicester\u2019s Mattioli Arena, overturning a 3-0 deficit to seal the \u00a3150,000 top prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 31-year-old defeated Price in the 2023 showpiece to celebrate his maiden Premier televised title, and he fittingly returned to the winner\u2019s circle with an inspired display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI needed this to give me a bit of confidence,\u201d insisted Humphries, who had already created history by becoming the first player to feature in four consecutive World Grand Prix finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a torrid 15 or 18 months for myself losing so many major finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI felt like I had not much to give tonight. I just didn\u2019t want to lose 6-0 and I wanted to give the fans something to be happy with, and all of a sudden I find myself 4-3 up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGezzy was amazing for those first three legs, absolutely insane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe is going to win a major title soon. It\u2019s written in the stars for him, he can\u2019t keep playing this well and not win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries\u2019 second World Grand Prix triumph also halts his four-match losing run in televised ranking finals, dating back to last February\u2019s Winmau World Masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world number two accounted for Dave Chisnall, Jermaine Wattimena, Niels Zonneveld and James Wade earlier in the event, prior to his miraculous fightback against the Welshman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m just happy to get one back,\u201d continued Humphries, who joins Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and James Wade in becoming a multiple World Grand Prix champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo have that run of losses in major finals off my back, it feels really special – this really means the world to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI worked incredibly hard from 3-0 down there, showed a lot of grit and determination. These wins are more sweet than the ones you win with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to taking the trophy home to my son, who can finally see his dad have another trophy and it not be a runners-up one!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite missing out on a second World Grand Prix crown of his own, Price performed magnificently throughout the week, as he featured in a third straight Premier televised final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2020 champion defeated Sebastian Bialecki, Ross Smith, Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall to progress to Sunday\u2019s showpiece \u2013 his fourth appearance in a double-start final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gutting I lost another one – I\u2019m not bothered, but I am bothered,\u201d quipped Price, also a runner-up at the World Matchplay and World Series of Darts Finals this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLuke played brilliantly in the middle part of the game, but I still squandered so many opportunities to put him under a bit of pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI missed too many opportunities. I felt like it was a fantastic game, I thought I played brilliantly, and Luke played brilliantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price was impregnable in the opening stages of the contest, reeling off three straight legs in 12, 10 and 12 darts to strike first with a 132.62 average \u2013 the highest set average in World Grand Prix history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 41-year-old continued his rampant start with 101 and 82 finishes to double his advantage, before a clinical two-dart 91 checkout propelled him into a commanding 3-0 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Humphries then converted a nerveless 105 combination to open his account in a pivotal fourth set, with Price poised on tops to move 4-0 ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was preceded by clutch 100 and 90 finishes from the 2023\/24 World Champion, who then won nine of the next 13 legs in a remarkable mid-match turnaround to establish a 4-3 cushion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price refused to relent, punishing missed opportunities from Humphries in the early stages of set eight to restore parity at four apiece, but the pendulum continued to shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Welshman fired in a clutch 92 finish to edge 2-1 ahead in set nine, but after missing two darts for a 5-4 lead, he was punished in merciless fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries conjured a spectacular ten-dart break to clinch the ninth stanza with a 107 set average, before landing a majestic 11-darter to complete a clean sweep in set ten and round off a famous fightback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke Humphries produced one of the greatest fightbacks in World Grand Prix history to defeat Gerwyn Price 6-4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-16298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Final<\/strong>
Luke Humphries 6-4 Gerwyn Price (0-3, 1-3, 2-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1, 0-3, 3-2, 3-0)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"