Luke Humphries Speaks Out on Controversial Saudi Arabia Darts Event
Luke Humphries has commented on the news that darts will make its debut in Saudi Arabia next year.
It was confirmed by the PDC on Monday that Saudi will be one of the stops in the World Series of Darts, which will take across four continents - with a total of six events in Bahrain, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the Netherlands.
Saudi is the latest addition to the roadshow, with the inaugural Saudi Arabia Darts Masters taking place on January 19 and 20 as part of a link-up between 'Riyadh Season' and Matchroom Sport.
The event at the Global Theater follows snooker making a splash in Saudi as many of many deals struck by chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh.
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Eight PDC players such as Humphries and reigning world champion Luke Littler are expected to compete at World Series of Darts events and meet regional representatives in the first round.
There has been a negative reaction from some quarters, however, with no alcohol expected at the Saudi showpiece and fears about what the atmosphere might be like.
Humphries, however, is not concerned about the groundbreaking event and does not care all that much about where he goes to play.
"Yeah, honestly, I didn’t really have a thought on it until a couple of days ago when it came out," Humphries said, as per Darts News.
"I’m just a dart player — if I’m asked or invited to play, that’s what I’ll do. Wherever the PDC takes it, I’ll go."
The 30-year-old added: "Honestly, I couldn’t care, to be honest. Whatever he [Alalshikh] wants to do is fine — as long as he pays as well as he does for the snooker and boxing.
"This is my job, and I think it’s good for the sport. We’re trying to grow darts globally, and Saudi Arabia seems to be a hotspot now — boxing’s there, snooker’s there, and now darts. I don’t have much input — if I’m picked, I’ll be there. Whether it’s Saudi, Japan, South Africa, or Australia — I’ll go. We’ll see what happens in January. If it’s a success, great. If not, we’ll move on. But hopefully there’s a million pounds for the winner!"
New concept hinted for Saudi event
The Saudi event, will take place prior to the section in Denmark, the US New Zealand and Australia and Amsterdam - which will play host to the finals.
No prize money has been named at the time of writing but in the Netflix series Matchroom: The Greatest Showman, Alalshikh spoke of his interest in introducing a "crazy concept" in darts.
In snooker, for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in December 2024, he introduced the 20-point 'Gold Ball', which saw a £745,000 bonus up for grabs if a player pots a golden ball player after a maximum 147 break.
Hearn was initially unsure but soon changed his mind on the move after seeing the concept generate "more publicity than the rest of the tournament altogether".
Topics: Luke Humphries, Darts, World Darts Championship
Josh Lawless