Luke Humphries revealed that his below-par Grand Slam of Darts performance was due to his son being unwell and his mind being elsewhere.
The world champion has fallen at the first hurdle in Wolverhampton after defeats to Rowby-John Rodriguez and James Wade, meaning he is eliminated before his final group game against Mickey Mansell.
The 29-year-old was the defending champion at the Grand Slam so it is a very disappointing outcome and he admits he is gutted, but more important things areon his mind.
Humphries posted on social media after a 5-3 defeat to Wade on Sunday: ‘What can I say.. gutted to be out of the Grand Slam.. just wasn’t me up on that stage this week, but I’ve had other things on my mind and it makes it so much harder to perform at this level, looking forward to getting back to my son who’s not been well the past few days!
‘Thank you to everyone for the support and the lovely messages this week. Love you all, and I’m looking forward to spending some time at home with my family, I’ll be back and good luck to the remaining players in the competition!’
Humphries still has his final group game to play against Mickey Mansell on Monday and then, all being well, he will be back in action at the Players Championship Finals which run from 22-24 November.
Wade was full of praise for Cool Hand as the reigning world champion and noted that his win over him came during significant distractions.
‘He’s the best player in the world and he’s a shining hope for people and fans around the world,’ said Wade.
‘We always go on about people winning and losing games, but I believe he’s got some personal things going on outside of this game, because he just hasn’t been himself. It feels like it wasn’t quite Luke.
‘He’s been the best world champion we’ve had since Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen. I think he’s the third best world champion we’ve had. As good as Gary Anderson is, as good as a few of the others were…Eric Bristow always said we want a world champ that wins tournaments after the World Championships, and this is the first one that’s done it. So it’s good.’
World number eight Gerwyn Price suggested on Instagram that it was in fact the busy schedule that may be costing Humphries, and other players, late in the year.
‘Luke doesn’t look anywhere near the animal he did this time last year…Premier League and so many tournaments is very hard. And you can see it on a lot of players this year,’ wrote the Iceman.
Despite this assessment, there have been some stunning performances so far at the Grand Slam, notably from Gary Anderson, Luke Littler and Gian van Veen.
Anderson averaged 105 to beat Michael van Gerwen on Sunday after finishing on 113.20 in his opening victory over Ryan Joyce.
Littler has nailed averages of 112.16 and 106.98 in his two dominant victories, while Van Veen has beaten Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting with averages of 110.39 and 114.71.
MORE : Darts icon Phil Taylor offers to mentor Luke Littler – but has one unusual condition
MORE : Trans darts star Noa-Lynn van Leuven slams ‘toxic b*****s’ after booking World Championship spot
MORE : Crisps-obsessed darts star speaks out on reaction to 46-packet-a-day record