HUMPHRIES MAKES SMALL CHANGES FOR BIG GAINS

LUKE HUMPHRIES believes he has found an extra edge after overhauling both his fitness habits and dart setup.

‘Cool Hand’ kept his World Masters title defence alive with a ruthless 3-1 win over Dave Chisnall, firing in a monstrous 104.13 average and seven maximums on his way to victory.

World No2 Humphries revealed a transformation is taking place away from the oche focused on small lifestyle tweaks, smarter scheduling and subtle changes to his equipment.

Humphries admits he reached a point where he felt he was simply going through the motions, maintaining standards rather than pushing himself to the next level.

He said: “Honestly, a lot of people probably looked at my setup there and would have gone, well, what’s different.

“But for someone like me, yeah, it’s got different darts. It’s the same style, exactly the same I usually threw last year. A different set, though.

“Got the switch points in now, so I can change it when I need to.

“And they’re a different flight. They’re not the same design, different micron.

“It’s nice that I’ve been able to break free from that choke hold they got on me from having the same flights all the time.”

The Cheshire thrower has been working hard in the gym and eating a clean diet to improve his game.

He added: “Since the Worlds I’ve been on more of a fitness diet. Not to lose weight, but to keep myself healthy.

“I felt like sometimes I let myself go a little bit. You don’t exercise as much, you don’t eat as healthy as much, and even though I kept my natural weight, my body wasn’t healthy.

“So I’ve been trying to keep myself really healthy, and yeah, I feel good. Healthy body, healthy mind.

“It’s just about making little choices. Don’t eat bad after a night, have something better for yourself.

“It’s not huge sacrifices, it’s just looking after yourself and trying to keep the energy levels there, exercising a bit more and eating a bit healthier.

“In the last six or seven days, my body feels really good. I feel like I’m back to where I was four years ago.

“I don’t think I set the tone, but maybe I inspired a few people to think about health and exercise.

“That little added extra five percent can really help, especially when you get older, and you can’t get away with things like you used to.

“January the 2nd this year. Before that, you’re eating all right, but you’re just maintaining.

“I wanted to be more energetic. I could last the whole night, go to 2 a.m. and not let it affect me. Just little changes. That’s all it’s about.”

Humphries says he will play on the ProTour this season in Wigan but cannot commit full-time to the floor circuit.

He continued: “I’ll definitely play the Wigan ones. I think there’s ten. I’ll play them and maybe a couple others, depending how I feel.

“I can’t commit to full-time on the Players Championships anymore, but I do still enjoy them.

“Some of it’s really tough. You could be away ten days, home for two, then away for another seven.”

Humphries returns to action on Saturday evening and will face Luke Woodhouse for a spot in the quarter-final at Milton Keynes.

Image by Taylor Lanning.