Luke Humphries pulled a mischievous prank on fellow darts ace Nathan Aspinall during the pair’s US Darts Masters clash in New York. The pair had impressed en route to the final at Madison Square Garden, with Aspinall having beaten the likes of Matt Campbell, Damon Heta and Luke Littler to make it that far.

Humphries, meanwhile, had a slightly easier path, having come up against two home crowd favourites in Stowe Buntz and Danny Lauby Jr, before meeting Gerwyn Price in the semi-final. Cool Hand demolished the former world champion in the last-four to progress into the competition’s showpiece event. 

And it was during the final that Humphries found his cheeky side and soaked opponent Aspinall. Sensing an opportunity to tease the Premier League ace, Humphries grabbed his water bottle during a changeover for one of the legs, trotted over to Aspinall’s table and began pouring it over his head. 

Aspinall was able to see the funny side and quickly laughed off the stunt, but the Stockport-born star wasn’t giggling for long, given Humphries ran out the eventual victor, claiming the title for the first time in his career. Despite Aspinall’s best efforts, the darts star succumbed to an 8-6 defeat against Humphries, who picked up his third title of 2025, having already won the World Masters and the Premier League. 

Reacting to his victory, Humphries said: “Yeah it was tough for me there, everyone knows with the thumb and that, it was really swollen. I’m really good under pressure and I managed to go over the line there. He [Nathan Aspinall] is a fantastic player and a fantastic guy. Look at us, we are in Maddison Square Gardens. I want the American fans to latch onto us. The crowd have been fantastic, thanks guys.”

On the experience, he added: “This is the most iconic venue that we play in and it’s really special to win this event. It’s one of the top venues in the world and it’s one I’ve always dreamed of winning. When I finally won, it was an amazing relief.”

It was a solid weekend for Aspinall in what was his first tournament since the beggining of the month, with the Englishman reacting by saying: “I’ve had a fantastic weekend and I think it’s one of the best tournaments I’ve played in a long time.

“I played really well in the final and Luke saved his best performance for the last game; that’s why he’s world number one and the best player in the world. I pushed him all the way but it was a great tournament for me. The crowd were unbelievable again.”