Luke Humphries is ending the World Grand Prix with a trophy, £150,000 in prize money and one rather unexpected problem he still cannot quite explain.
After seven days of darts in Leicester, the World Grand Prix champion has revealed that the huge mark on his forehead is still bothering him enough that he plans to seek medical advice. That is a significant change from his original theory that the mysterious scab was simply an allergic reaction caused by makeup used during filming.
And considering everything Humphries achieved during the tournament, it is almost fitting that the unusual mark became one of the biggest talking points away from the oche.
The forehead mystery began before Humphries had even really settled into the World Grand Prix. After beating Dave Chisnall 2-0 in his opening match, attention immediately turned to the large scab on the side of his head.
Humphries initially offered a fairly straightforward explanation.
“I did Bullseye filming on Tuesday, woke up Wednesday with a massive rash on the side of my head and it just got worse and worse and then it scabbed over.”
He believed the cosmetics used during filming could have caused an allergic reaction.
“The only thing I can think of is when you do TV shows, they put makeup on and all these types of things, all these creams.”
At the time, Humphries was not particularly worried. In fact, he made it clear that he felt perfectly well and even joked that he wished there was a much more dramatic story behind the mark.
“I really wanted to bring up some amazing story about how I fought five guys off and they come off worse than me,” he joked.
But there was never any evidence of a fight or serious injury. Humphries repeatedly described the problem as a rash that had scabbed over, while admitting that his allergic-reaction theory was only a guess.
“I got an allergic reaction to it. Unfortunately, there is no great story to tell; that is what I think it is, but I don’t know.”
That uncertainty is now the interesting part.
Humphries changes his tune
After winning the World Grand Prix on Sunday, Humphries was asked whether the mark had become something of a good-luck charm.
It is an understandable question.
The 31-year-old arrived in Leicester with the noticeable mark on his forehead and then produced one of the best comebacks of his career to lift the trophy. But rather than celebrating the scab as some sort of lucky symbol, Humphries admitted that he is ready for it to disappear.
“I’m just looking forward to [the scar] going. I’ve had so much stick and people talking about it all week,” he told Oche 180.
The bigger update came immediately afterwards.
“A lot of people have sent me some messages about it, it could be something different to what I think it is, so maybe I’ll see the doctor tomorrow.”
That is quite a change from his original assumption that the problem was simply caused by television makeup.
Humphries added: “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it’s been a long time now, I’m not sure it’s an allergic reaction.”
That does not mean there is anything seriously wrong. Humphries has not suggested that he is dealing with a major injury or illness, and there is currently no confirmed diagnosis. His decision to get medical advice simply reflects the fact that the mark has lasted longer than he expected.
And honestly, that seems like the sensible approach.
The mark almost became a distraction
What makes the story particularly amusing is that Humphries somehow managed to keep performing at an elite level while everyone around him seemed fascinated by what was happening on his forehead.
The attention could easily have become irritating, especially during a tournament where the pressure on Humphries was already enormous.
Luke Littler, the defending champion, was knocked out in the opening round, leaving Humphries as one of the biggest names still standing. Humphries eventually defeated Chisnall, Jermaine Wattimena, Niels Zonneveld and James Wade before facing Gerwyn Price in the final.
And then came the match that turned his entire week into something special.
From 3-0 down to champion
Price looked almost unstoppable in the opening stages of the final.
The Welshman raced into a 3-0 lead, producing a remarkable 132.62 set average in the opening set — the highest set average in World Grand Prix history. Humphries appeared to be heading towards another painful night in a major final.
Instead, he produced the response of a champion.
A crucial 105 checkout helped Humphries finally get himself on the board, and the momentum began to shift. He won six of the next seven sets to complete an extraordinary 6-4 comeback and reclaim the title he had first won against Price in 2023.
The victory was bigger than simply adding another trophy to his collection.
Humphries had suffered a string of painful defeats in major finals, including four consecutive televised ranking-final losses dating back to the World Masters last February. Winning in Leicester finally ended that run.
It also made him the first player to reach four consecutive World Grand Prix finals and only the fourth player ever to win the tournament multiple times.
So while the forehead mark may have grabbed plenty of attention, the real story from Leicester was Humphries proving that he could absorb enormous pressure and still find a way to win.
What happens next?
The next step is simple: Humphries wants professional advice rather than continuing to guess what caused the mark.
That is important because his original explanation was never confirmed. He suspected makeup or creams from the Bullseye filming had triggered an allergic reaction, but he openly admitted that he did not know.
Now that the mark has remained for longer than expected, getting it checked is the logical move.
For darts fans, there is also something strangely memorable about the whole episode. Humphries arrived at the World Grand Prix with a mystery mark on his forehead, spent the week being asked about it, battled through one of the toughest tournaments on the calendar and walked away as champion.
If the mark disappears after a visit to the doctor, it will probably become nothing more than a funny footnote to one of the biggest victories of his career.
But for now, the mystery remains.
Humphries has his World Grand Prix trophy back, his confidence has received a huge boost, and his forehead has somehow become part of the story.
The darts world will surely be watching to see what the doctor says — and whether the strange mark that followed Humphries around Leicester finally disappears.