Humphries survives Clayton comeback to win epic Masters
Luke Humphries withstood a stunning Jonny Clayton comeback to win the World Masters 6-5 in a final leg shootout.
The English world number one looked to be cruising to victory at 5-2 before his Welsh opponent won three straight sets to force a decider in Milton Keynes.
A dramatic finale went down to the last possible leg before Humphries, 29, eventually nailed double 20 to seal the £100,000 first prize.
"That double top - my head was shaking, my heart was pounding before it went in," said Humphries.
"When it went to 5-5, I'm not a negative person but I thought the game might have gone for me there."
It is a seventh major title in 15 months for Humphries, who went out in the last 16 in December when looking to retain his world title.
Clayton, who beat new world champion Luke Litter in the last eight, was also back to his best as he looked to regain the Masters title he won in 2021.
"I thought at the end I might win but it just wasn't my day," said the 50-year-old.
"Games like that, you need a winner, one has to lose and that's a shame. But all credit to Luke, fantastic person, fantastic player, so fair play to him."
Clayton set up a deciding set with a stunning Shanghai 120 finish and took the first leg of the decider to move one away from victory but could not finish off another 120 after Humphries levelled.
Humphries averaged 100.42 to Clayton's 98.25 but only had a 30% checkout success and just edged the total amount of legs won by 14 to 13.
Humphries, who lost only four sets on route to the final, beat Danny Noppert 5-2 in the last four, while Clayton won by the same scoreline against Dimitri van den Bergh.
Littler knocked out by Clayton
Clayton had earlier beaten Littler 4-2 in the quarter-finals, while defending Masters champion Stephen Bunting lost 4-3 in a thriller that went to the final leg.
Littler, who became the youngest world darts champion aged 17 last month, had lost just one leg in his two previous matches in the tournament.
Clayton was a big underdog against the teenager, but his heavy scoring and high-quality finishing enabled him to run out a worthy winner.
Littler had been imperious in Milton Keynes although Clayton had also impressed and broke the tournament record with his 112.77 average in the first round.
Clayton still averaged more than a ton in the quarters, even though his 103.96 and eight 180s were bettered by Littler's 108.5 and nine maximums - but the Welshman was superior on the doubles.
'The Ferret' had a 60% checkout percentage to Littler's 35% - and had three ton-plus finishes including a 128 and 138 when taking the opening set.
Littler, who turned 18 in January, went off the boil as Clayton took the next two sets to lead 3-1, and even though the world champion got back to 3-2 Clayton kept his nerve to book his spot in the semis.
"Obviously Luke didn't play his A game, but it's a battle and I got over the line," said Clayton.
"He's a cracking guy and great darts player with a great future. He's given me a big lesson the last two games I played him, so I got one back."
Bunting was looking to build on his Bahrain Masters triumph but missed three match darts in his defeat by Noppert.
World Masters results
Final
Luke Humphries 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Semi-finals
Luke Humphries 5-2 Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton 5-2 Dimitri van den Bergh
Quarter-finals
Luke Humphries 4-1 Damon Heta
Danny Noppert 4-3 Stephen Bunting
Luke Littler 2-4 Jonny Clayton
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 Nathan Aspinall
