Luke Humphries snaps darts in half as world champion furiously responds to shock Players Championship defeat

LUKE HUMPHRIES appeared to snap his darts in fury after an upset loss to little-known Jurjen van der Velde at the Players Championship.

Reigning world champion Humphries came up short to World No64 Van der Velde who picked up a major 6-5 victory in Wigan to move to round two.

Luke Humphries appeared to snap his darts in half after losing to Jurjen van der Velde

Humphries’ struggles continues after his world championship triumph

Following the Dutchman’s winning throw, Cool Hand Luke shook his opponent’s hand and then appeared to break his own darts in half as he cut a frustrated figure.

Eagle-eyed darts enthusiasts noticed that gesture on TV and immediately flooded social media.

Some of them even doubled down on previous claims that the Cheshire star is suffering a World Championship hangover.

One fan tweeted: “Hangover from being wc [world champion] claims another victim.”

Another commented: “Did he snap his darts at the end?”

A third posted: “This is one of the craziest fallouts i have seen in any sport.”

This fan said: “Doesn’t look like a good year for him.”

And one stated: “The Poison Chalice that is winning worlds just keeps on giving every year.”

Humphries has been out of form since beating 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler in the World final just over a month ago.

The 29-year-old has since suffered three consecutive defeats to Littler.

The World No1 then suffered another early exit as he was shockingly thrashed 6-0 by Ian White in Players Championship 1 at the same venue on Monday.