The World Matchplay is one of the few titles that Luke Humphries has yet to win in his recent era of dominance but he has a great chance of putting that right this year after reaching the semi-finals, where he takes on James Wade.
The Machine lifted this title back in 2007 but looks to have a tough task in reaching the final against the world number one.
Wade was a big outsider to even make it this far but has shown his typical grit and determination to progress to the last four of this event for the first time since 2015.
However standing in his way next is the world champion and current dominant force in darts.
World Matchplay semi-finals
talkSPORT BET welcome offer – Bet £10 Get £30 in free bets
Humphries in red hot form
Luke Humphries has taken his game to a new level in the last two years, and topped his previous campaigns by winning the world title at the turn of the year.
Since then he has reached the final of the Premier League, the UK Open and won the World Cup of Darts.
He has never gone beyond the semi-finals of the World Matchplay but is in such fine form it’s hard to see James Wade stopping him.
Cool Hand averaged 108 in his first round win over Ricardo Pietreczko and has hardly taken his foot off the gas since, with impressive wins over Stephen Bunting and Dimitri Van den Bergh respectively.
He has not averaged less than 100 at any point in the tournament and should get the better of Wade.
Humphries has won eight of the last nine meetings between these two men, while the leg aggregate of their last five meetings stands at 44-28.
Over this extended best-of-33 format the world number one should be able to assert his dominance and is fancied to overcome a 5.5 leg deficit on the handicap.
Wade may be unable to back up his maximum hitting
James Wade’s shock win over Ross Smith in the last round Wade was impressive but perhaps the most surprising element was the Machine firing in 13 180s.
The Machine is not known as a maximum-hitter and had just three combined in the two matches before that, a 10-5 win over Danny Noppert and an 11-8 success over Nathan Aspinall.
In fact, in the ranking of most 180s hit in PDC events over the last 12 months, which has Humphries at the top of the tree with 682, Wade is in 63rd with 223.
The percentage call is that the 41-year-old will not be able to back up his scoring from the previous round, particularly if this one is over in a hurry.
Side with under 5.5 180s for Wade.
talkSPORT BET welcome offer – Bet £10 Get £30 in free bets
Odds correct at time of writing and subject to change
18+ New customers only. Opt in & bet £10+ via mobile on any sports at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 3x £10 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- GamCare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org
News Summary:
- talkSPORT betting tips – Best darts bets and expert advice for World Matchplay semi-final Humphries v Wade
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.