HUMPHRIES WARNED NOT TO LET VAN VEEN ‘OWN’ HIM
12/03/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
LUKE HUMPHRIES cannot afford to have Gian van Veen “owning” him at the oche, according to former pro John Part.
World No.2 Humphries has lost SEVEN of his last eight meetings against the Dutchman in all competitions.
The pair face off on Night Six of the Premier League in Nottingham, with ‘Cool Hand’ currently sitting sixth and trailing his rival by three points in the table.
Three-time world champion John Part believes Humphries needs to sharpen up his finishing on the outer ring if he wants to improve his results.
He told the Love the Darts podcast: “So how about Luke Humphries double hitting? Is this an issue?
“I’m throwing it out there. He just needs to get sharpened up a bit. For where he is and who he is, he’ll want to fix that right away.
“I think that’s what’s letting him down. It’s okay to miss a bit, but it seems to be more of a regular issue for him just lately.
“It seems odd to me, that’s all and it seems to be in the UK Open as well for him.”
The Canadian legend insists Humphries must stamp his authority on Van Veen to stay ahead of his rival on the Order of Merit.
He added: “He’s got to clean up the outer ring. He’s got to clean up his performances against Van Veen.
“He’s just had too much of his own way against Humphries.
“If you’re Luke Humphries you can’t let somebody own you. You can’t be that highly ranked. You can’t be number two and have number three owning you.
“That’s just because otherwise those rankings will flip. That’s how it goes.
“Certainly, we know the standard is so good with those guys when they play each other too. It is a great match to watch and look forward to.
“But I think that Gian will be looking much more forward to that match than Luke will be.
“I mean, Luke is going to see that as an obstacle. See, Gian as an obstacle, and it’s something that needs to be dealt with.”
Humphries has produced the best scoring in the weekly invitational tournament, boasting a rolling average of 100.84.
The Cheshire thrower has delivered a string of magnificent performances, suggesting a change in fortunes may be inevitable.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
