Nathan Aspinall has admitted he doesn’t understand why Luke Humphries receives so much stick from fans, insisting his rival is “one of the nicest men I have met”. Humphries is currently ranked world no 1 in the PDC order of merit and has won a host of competitions since rising to prominence, including the world championship in 2024.
But 30-year-old is often jeered by the crowd at tournaments and has received abuse online. Humphries himself spoke about his mental health at the International Darts Open last week. He said he sometimes feels “emotionless” on stage and felt like he needed a break from the sport because he was playing too much.
Aspinall said the abuse Humphries receives baffles him, admitting he has a lot of friends who don’t like him – but believes jealousy might be an issue because he is performing so well. He told the Sun : “The stuff he got last week online was absolutely disgusting. Disgusting. He’s an absolute credit to this sport.
“Humphries is one of the nicest men I have ever met in my life, forget about darts. Luke is a great role model for darts. I have a lot of mates that love darts and no one likes Luke. They can’t stand him. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s jealousy because he’s so good. It grates me.
“Two lads, who came away with me last week in Berlin, hate Luke Humphries. We had a couple of beers in the hotel afterwards and they went to him: ‘I need to apologise Luke, I didn’t like you, but you are a great lad’.
“People don’t know the real people. I get a lot of stick. I know I’m an absolute idiot. I’m like Basil Brush sometimes. Boom, Boom! I don’t understand it and hopefully it will change as he is a great guy.”
Booing at darts events has become a prominent issue for players but Humphries appears to have been affected more than others.
In February, his Premier League Darts clash against Luke Littler in Glasgow was marred by Jeers, as the teenager admitted it helped him edge to a 6-5 win, as he said: “There were a few in particular that were doing it [whistling]” when Humphries went to throw.” He added it “was pretty bad, but I got the win”.
Humphries caused some concern last week when he spoke of his mental health battles and feeling unhappy with his position in the sport currently.
“When I’m up on stage I am just feeling emotionless,” he said. “It’s weird and it’s me being honest to all the fans. I feel like my emotions are just all over the place. “It’s not that I don’t want to be here – it just seems a chore for me at the moment.”
“It’s just too much darts. I’m playing too much. I think I need a break. I’m emotionless and it is not good for my mental state.”
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