Humphries says World Grand Prix win was one of his biggest after feeling written off

LUKE HUMPHRIES insisted his World Grand Prix triumph was one of the biggest wins of his career after feeling he had been written off.

The world No2 beat Gerwyn Price 6-4 in Leicester to lift the trophy and end a 20-month wait for a ranked TV title.

Humphries, 31, claimed his NINTH major crown and moved up to fifth on the all-time list of the sport's most successful players, overtaking legends Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.

But Cool Hand headed into the tournament with doubts swirling around his form after a second-round exit at the World Series Finals and a first-round defeat at the World Matchplay.

Humphries felt he had been overlooked before producing a stunning comeback from 3-0 down to deny Price and pocket the £150,000 top prize.

He said: “It’s probably one of the biggest ones I have ever won in my career. Obviously, the first one was amazing.

“The World Championships was amazing. Everyone has been amazing. The Premier League was amazing.

“But this one was an important one because I felt like I had to bounce back from the fact that a lot of people, I don’t think a lot of people thought I was going to win this year.

“I think the only person that thought I was going to win was Mark Webster. He knows his stuff obviously.

“He was the only person that backed me. I don’t think a lot of people backed me to even make the final.

“Obviously he knows his stuff and didn’t discredit me and think I didn’t have a chance.

“On the stats this is one of my favourite tournaments. I felt like a lot of the fans thought I didn’t stand a chance or thought I could win.

“But I just showed again that I can bounce back.”

The Cheshire thrower became only the fourth player to lift the trophy twice behind James Wade, Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor.

Humphries also became just the EIGHTH player in PDC history to reach 30 titles, having only claimed his first in 2022 to underline his incredible rise to the top.