Luke Humphries opens up on nine-darter curse as Cool Hand loses Baltic Sea Darts Open final

Cool Hand Luke missed out on the Baltic Sea Darts Open title over the weekend after losing 8-6 against Rob Cross in the final.

Humphries took a 5-3 lead in the final match of the night and seemed on course to claim the £30,000 prize.

Instead, Cross won five of the next six legs to lift the trophy in Kiel and end his 50-week PDC title drought.

"I don't think I did much wrong to be honest," said Humphries. "In the last couple of legs, I didn't really do too much wrong.

"Rob's timing was much better than mine. I think that's our fourth [European Tour final] now and it's two-all - I'll get him next time!”

For Humphries, this was a familiar tale. Back in September, the Leeds United fan hit a nine-darter in the Hungarian Darts Trophy final against Dave Chisnall.

Despite this, it was Chizzy who powered to the title, winning the final 8-7 with an impressive 104 average.

The world champion added: "It's always great to hit a nine-darter; of course I'd always like the winner's trophy. It's my second nine-darter and I've lost both [games].

"I was really looking forward to playing this weekend and that showed in my performances. I thought I played really good in the final but Rob was even better; he was clinical and that's what it takes to be a winner."

Photo Credit: Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe