Luke Humphries has confidently admitted he feels he will win more World Darts Championships in the future, despite crashing out of the competition at the hands of Peter Wright on Sunday evening.
The 29-year-old had entered the showdown looking to continue his charge towards glory, having won the same competition at the start of the year.
But that didn't happen in north London, with Wright securing a huge victory to book his place in the fifth round.
Humphries managed to average a respectable 99.23 throughout the clash and, speaking in the aftermath, expressed a belief that he'd played well.
Luke Humphries has confidently admitted he feels he will win more World Darts Championships in the future, despite crashing out of the competition at the hands of Peter Wright on Sunday evening
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And though he concedes that Wright deserved to go through, he's admitted he's confident of winning more World Darts Championships in the future despite his big setback.
“I probably put too much pressure on myself tonight, but I thought I played okay," he admitted.
“I kept hitting the treble first dart but I couldn’t follow it. Peter played fantastically and backed up what he said pre-match, so fair play to him.
"I’m still the world number one and this result won’t deter me from going on to win more.
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“I know that if I’m going to be playing this sport for 20 more years I’m not going to win it every time.
"And if someone puts in a performance like that against you, you have to accept that the better player won.
“I wasn’t at my best, but I wasn’t terrible by any means - and I’ll bounce back. I will still sleep well tonight and look forward to next year.
“There’s a long season ahead of me. We have another 12 months before we come back here and do it all again, but I want to win more in between that.
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“I’m not looking towards next year’s World Championship yet, but when we’re back here next year, of course I would love to get my title back.
"I don’t see my career ending as a one-time world champion. I do feel like I will win more.”
Wright has endured a difficult year so far, with the 17th seed struggling for consistency.
However, he'll be dreaming of going all the way after pulling off a major upset at the oche on Sunday night.
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Luke Humphries was outclassed by Peter Wright in their World Darts Championship clash on Sunday night
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Wright won just two of his 18 Premier League matches earlier in 2024, with the 54-year-old poor as Luke Littler won that prize.
Yet the veteran feels he's now proved a point, with the darts star determined to become a world champion for a third time.
"Luke gave me a load of chances there, he didn't play like he can," he told Sky Sports.
"I've been struggling for form all year and it's so annoying because I know I can still play darts.
Luke Humphries, the defending champion, is out of the World Darts Championship after crashing to defeat against Peter Wright
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"I'm a double world champion and I want to win it for a third time. I'm not too old and you only have to play well for two or three weeks the whole year.
"These three weeks are all that matters and I'm in the quarter-finals."
