Luke Humphries brutally called out a darts fan after thrashing Michael van Gerwen to win the German Darts Grand Prix. Humphries eased to an 8-1 victory before taking to social media to respond to some of his critics.
Cool Hand won the second European Tour event by cruising through to the final. Van Gerwen held his throw in the opening leg before losing eight on the spin, with the Dutchman later hailing his opponent as the best player on tour.
Taking to social media later in the evening, the in-form Humphries tagged a well-known Van Gerwen fan on X and wrote: “Good evening @Ronaldinho_RG1O hope your [sic] well.”
The post was accompanied by a trophy emoji and a gif of the former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry pretending to cry. It is unclear what the account – which is not owned by the Brazilian ex-footballer Ronaldinho – had done to provoke Humphries as anyone clicking on their profile found that they had been suspended from the social media platform.
Humphries said after the event: “These are the levels you need to be to win these days, that’s how crazy it’s got.
“I look up to Michael a lot and beating him in another final is fantastic. I just love playing him to be honest, he shows a lot of respect and the game just goes on.
“It was a great final, but I was just unbeatable.”
The 29-year-old received a bye in the first round before overcoming Luke Woodhouse, Ryan Joyce, Danny Noppert and Gerwyn Price to reach the final. This was his eighth European Tour triumph but the first of this season.
Luke Littler won the opening event in Belgium but the 17-year-old sensation failed to qualify for the German tournament back in February.
Michael van Gerwen said of Humphries: “At this moment he is the best player. We all have to face him and battle and we have to get back on top.”
However, the three-time world champion warned him: “He’ll know it won’t last forever though, but he’s playing some cracking darts.
Humphries, the reigning world champion, is in fantastic form and heads into Thursday’s Premier League Darts event having won the three nights prior to Littler’s victory last week. He could face Van Gerwen again in Manchester on night ten with the pair placed in separate sides of the draw.