HUMPHIRES REVEALS RIVAL IS AMONG BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD
14/07/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
LUKE HUMPHRIES admitted Ryan Searle is “one of the best players in the world” despite smashing him 6-0 at the Baltic Sea Darts Open.
World No. 1 Humphries whitewashed ‘Heavymetal’ in the third round on Sunday in Kiel.
Eight-times major winner Humphries had previously defeated the Devon thrower 10-0 at the UK Open earlier this year.
But ‘Cool Hand’ insists the scorelines do not reflect Searle’s incredible talent at the oche.
He said: “I just said to him in the end there you don’t play well against me.
“I don’t understand it.
“In my mind he is one of the best players in the world, honestly, I know him better than anybody.
“What he does on the practice board and sometimes the ProTour is scary.
“He really is one of the best players in the world.
“Look he didn’t play well there, and he didn’t play well against me in the UK Open.
“It’s strange but I just did the right things at the right time, I guess.
“A very comfortable win but I did not expect that and thought it was going to be a lot harder.”
Cheshire thrower Humphries reckons their friendship makes these victories feel bittersweet.
He added: “It’s always hard because I want to see him do well and he wants the best for me.
“Obviously we are best mates not just on the darting circuit we are best friends of it.
“He gives me too much respect maybe because the last couple of games I seem to have run away with it.”
Humphries reached the quarter-final of the Euro Tour competition before losing out to eventual winner Gerwyn Price.
The 30-year-old has added the Premier League and Winmau World Masters to his trophy cabinet in 2025.
Former Players Championship finalist Searle won a ProTour crown in February and has racked up six PDC titles in his stellar career.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
