HUMPHRIES FEARS ROTTERDAM BREEZE

LUKE HUMPHRIES admits the notorious Rotterdam breeze could blow his Premier League hopes completely off course.

The world No.2 has slipped to seventh in the table after ten weeks without a single nightly win and is now in real danger of missing out on the play-offs.

“Cool Hand” has not won a match since week seven and trails fourth-placed Michael van Gerwen by five points.

The Cheshire thrower faces Gian van Veen this evening in the Netherlands and reckons the biggest challenge could be the arena conditions along with the partisan crowd. 

He told the Double Tops podcast: “I played Michael on his home turf and I luckily won that game, but yeah, Rotterdam is a tough, tough scenario to play in anyway, obviously, for obvious reasons. 

“I just hope [the crowd] is not too bad. If it is, then so be it. If it is, it’s something that you can’t control. 

“It’s more like the breeze that happens in Rotterdam that’s the real tough one. 

“All the players really do struggle. I think they leave the aircon on or something. It’s crazy though.

“People don’t believe how hard it is, how bad it is. They probably just think that it’s just a little tiny breeze. 

“It’s like full on. Darts are flying through the air. 

“It’s going to be a good experience for Gian to be in front of his home. 

“But I’ll tell you, he’s played in front of his home before, but in a special big occasion like the Premier League. 

“Maybe he might put too much pressure on himself, who knows?” 

Humphries, the defending champion, concedes his campaign has fallen short and admits his laid-back approach this year could be to blame. 

He added: “I think this year I’ve probably been more relaxed than ever. 

“Just because in the first year you’re a bit uptight, you really want to impress. 

“Second year, you kind of have the experience, you think, right, I want to go on and do really well this year. Obviously, luckily I did. 

“In the third year, you’re kind of thinking, I’ve experienced a lot now. It’s just about enjoying it and performing in front of the crowds.

“I think this year I’ve been more relaxed and maybe that’s been my problem. I don’t know. I just felt more relaxed this year.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.