LUKE Humphries has vowed to keep improving following his dream run to the PDC World Championship quarter-finals.

The Newbury ace, nicknamed Cool Hand, stunned reigning world champion Rob Cross 4-2 in the last 16, before going down to Michael Smith 5-1 in the quarters.

His performance against Cross was even more impressive as he lost the opening two legs, only to come roaring back with seven 180s, two ton-plus finishes and a final average of 99.71.

Against Smith the following night, Humphries could not quite hit the same heights, although he still averaged 94.18 and hit a stunning 170 check-out on the bull.

He had previously beaten former World Champion Stephen Bunting, two-time and reigning World Youth Champion, Dmitri van den Bergh, and Adam Hunt.

The 23-year-old collects a bumper £50,000 payday for his efforts, catapulting him up to 57th in the world rankings, and with no money to defend on the Order of Merit in 2019, he is likely to continue to soar.

And he said: "I'm hugely proud of myself with a great World Championship. Going home as a quarter finalist is a great achievement and I've enjoyed myself so much. I'm very thankful and I'm hoping to kick on from this and make more of a name of myself."

He continued: "I will definitely be back next year a better and stronger player. I want to start qualifying for more of the majors because if I can keep playing like I have on that stage, I can keep having good runs.

"A main target is also to be a World Youth champion. I have one year left to do it and it's what all youngsters want.