HUMPHRIES SURVIVES BOOING CROWD TO EDGE RATAJSKI
21/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
LUKE HUMPHRIES survived a barrage of boos inside the Krakow Expo to edge past home hero Krzysztof Ratajski.
World No.2 Humphries scraped past Ratajski 6-5 at the Poland Masters, averaging 97.17 and landing 50 per cent of his doubles.
‘Cool Hand’ was jeered and whistled at by the crowd throughout turning the contest into a cauldron of hostility.
The Cheshire thrower looked in control at 5-2 up but Ratajski roared back with three straight legs to force a tense finale.
Humphries managed to hold his nerve to silence the arena and break Polish hearts.
He said: “Nah, the World Championship final was always going to be tougher than that.
“It was a great game of darts there. It’s just sometimes, when you get crowds that don’t unfortunately give you that fair game that you want, it’s hard for me to perform.
“It probably put a lot of pressure on Krzysztof at the end there. He probably tried too hard.
“The crowd were fantastic to him, but I am just glad to win, to be honest.”
Humphries admits he is striving for more consistency in his performances at the oche.
He added: “My game at the moment, I am starting off like a train in every game I play, playing the best darts out of anybody.
“Then, all of a sudden, I am playing the worst darts. It’s just a strange scenario for me. I am playing unbelievably, then playing crap.
“I don’t really know why. I am trying my best. I started off so well on the ProTour when I won it, but then it would drain out.
“I need to work out why that is happening. But that was really rubbish from myself tonight.
“Hopefully tomorrow I come back a different player and play like I have been.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
