Luke Humphries predicted UK Open opponents before the draw after ITV controversy

Luke Humphries has guessed all of his UK Open opponents correctly on his way to the quarter-finals, with his ball being at the centre of controversy during the previous round's draw

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Luke Humphries claims he has guessed all of his UK Open opponents correctly, after chaos engulfed the tournament's draw and sparked calls for a redraw.

The world No. 1 secured a hard-earned win over Beau Greaves on Friday night before breezing through the fifth round with the 10-0 thrashing of Ryan Searle. Humphries then secured another comfortable 10-2 victory against Ryan Joyce in the last 16.

In a post-match interview with UK Open sponsors Ladbrokes, Humphries was asked who he thought he’d play next, when he suddenly revealed that he had accurately predicted all his opponents up to that point. He even stated confidently that he would face James Wade next, leaving fans in awe when his prediction materialised later that evening.

Demonstrating his seemingly prophetic abilities, the 2024 world champion said: "It'll probably be James Wade, because I know I always get the same player all the time [in the UK Open].

"I've played Ryan Joyce in three out of four years, I always seem to draw Ryan Searle... I knew I was going to be the only one to draw Beau [Greaves] on Friday, so it's going to be James Wade. It's not the draw I want, but it's the draw I know is going to happen."

Only half an hour after his interview, 'Cool Hand' saw his name being drawn alongside Wade's, just as he had anticipated. That led to an outpouring of stunned responses from fans on social media, with one joking: “@lukeh180 lottery numbers for next week mate?” And a second asking: “'How did he call this before it happened?!?”

Humphries was given a scare by Beau Greaves (Image: PDC/Kieran Cleeves)

Humphries’ sixth sense comes after a bizarre sequence of events that saw his ball controversially put back into the pot during the fifth-round draw. It spiralled into disarray when Searle's name came up against Humphries as the first pairing.

After drawing Humphries' No. 23 ball, journalist Ned Boulting unexpectedly placed it back into the drum rather than on the stand designated for drawn balls. The result was the ball being mixed in with the undrawn balls.

Host John McDonald alerted Boulting to his error on ITV4 but Humphries’ ball was left in the bowl with the other 30 remaining, with Boulting being stopped from digging the ball out again. Remarkably, the No. 23 stayed in the bowl even after the other 30 balls were drawn.

The surreal scenes left darts fans bemused, with viewers debating whether a redraw was required. One X user wrote: "That UK Darts Open draw has to be re-drawn surely... he's stuck a ball back in there after drawing it out."

Prior to the draw, Humphries had narrowly escaped defeat against Greaves in the fourth round before being set up to face Searle, thanks to the bizarre circumstances.

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