Luke Humphries insists darts major heading for America as he sends message to US fans

Daily Record

5 hours ago

World No.1 feels fan backing to see even-bigger events go across Atlantic
Lethal Luke Humphries believes a PDC Major is Coming to America and darts stars can crack the States with continued fan backing.
Cool Hand savoured every second of last weekend's World Series in New York and scooped the trophy at Madison Square Gardens.
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Enthusiastic crowds of over 3,000 hit the Big Apple venue with the competition staged in one of the smaller halls at the iconic arena.
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Humphries admits he'd love to get the backing of the US fans to build darts up even further in years ahead and join the likes of ice-hockey heroes New York Rangers in hogging the biggest space in MSG.
With stars such as Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen joining him in lifting the game's profile, the World No.1 was asked by American media after his success if he believes one of the PDC major events could be staged across the Atlantic in the future and he responded: 'By the way the crowd were this weekend? 110 per cent, yeah, I generally believe that.
"Let's not walk before we can run, but I believe that the way the crowd were this weekend, and a lot of players said it, you know there's 3,000/4,000 creating better environments than we have on Premier League nights of 8/10,0000.
'There's a major coming in the next two or three years, or the next four or five years here, I don't know what that will be, but we have to have the support from the American crowd and be like: We really love it, we want to come.
"If the support's there, Barry [Hearn] and Matt [Porter] will bring it. We're more than happy to come here for big major tournaments. I honestly, hand on heart, believe that in the next, you know, two, three, four, five years, that that will generally happen.'
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Humphries accepts it'll need more and more fans in the United States to back the sport for the players to get a chance to have even bigger and better shows.
He said: 'That's what we want, we want the big venue, we're so blessed to have the theatre, we're blessed to have it there, but my gosh, we would love to have it in the big arena.
"Like I keep saying, we have to have the support from the Americans to come and allow us to be able to hire the venues and stuff because it's expensive.
'I was at a [New York] Rangers game in NHL last year, and when they scored, it was just an insane atmosphere. I'd love to experience that in my time, come and experience a 15, 16, 17, 18 thousand American crowd in their full voice.
"What they showed this weekend just proves that they really are, really are enjoying it, so it's great to see the numbers are up and we're getting bigger and better.
"Next year, hopefully, even bigger and then, who knows, we can get to that big arena, that's what we all dream of.'