Luke Humphries celebrated a sensational victory in the bet365 US Darts Masters with an 8-6 defeat of Nathan Aspinall, claiming the title in front of a North American record crowd in New York on Saturday night.
The world number one tasted glory on the PDC's World Series of Darts circuit for just the second time with the triumph, sinking to his knees after hitting the winning double in front of 4,000 fans in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The success for Humphries follows victories in the World Masters and Premier League this year, as he continued his big-stage form with another impressive title.
He defied a typically determined fightback from Aspinall to prevail in the decider, with the 2019 US Darts Masters champion hitting back from 3-0 down to level at five-all with a clutch 90 finish on the bullseye.
Humphries, though, showed his class with a 142 checkout to respond in style, and he held his nerve before landing double eight to seal a memorable triumph.
"This is the most iconic venue that we play in and it's really special to win this event," he told the PDC's official website following his victory.
It's one of the top venues in the world and it's one (a tournament) I've always dreamed of winning - when I finally won it tonight it was an amazing relief.
- Luke Humphries (PDC)
"Once I knew I was in a winning position I started getting nervous - I'm really pleased to win and I'm over the moon. It's another massive event ticked off for me.
"I've won World Championships, World Matchplays, Premier Leagues and these big titles and if felt like I'd won another major.
"That's how big it is - it's very special and you could see my relief at the end. This was the one on the World Series that I really wanted to win.
"The crowd have been absolutely amazing this week, and to have my mum and dad here to see me win again means the world to us all."
Humphries followed up Friday's first round defeat of Stowe Buntz by ending American hopes in New York with a 6-2 quarter-final win over another local favourite Danny Lauby.
The Crewe-based thrower then reeled off five straight legs to pull clear from two-all to win his semi-final with Gerwyn Price 7-2 and tee-up what proved to be a blockbuster final against Premier League rival Aspinall.
"Nathan is such a credit to the sport and you can see that with the amount of support he got from the crowd," he added.
"Nathan is so gritty and determined - he came back at me and made it hard for me but he missed two darts to go seven-all and gave me a chance.
"It's nice to see him back playing the way he can - he makes me want to be better and we always seem to have really good games."
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