Luke Littler has lavished praise on rival Luke Humphries ahead of the PDC World Championship at Ally Pally next month. Less than 24 hours after the teenager landed his first major TV ranking title, Littler spoke about both the character and ability of the world No.1.
‘The Nuke’ appeared on Sky Sports News to reflect on his Grand Slam of Darts win on the weekend, and also look ahead to the game’s most prestigious tournament.
And he was asked by presenter Mike Wedderburn if he would be able to beat Humphries this time around, having been denied in the final by his compatriot at the beginning of this year.
“I’ll try,” he replied, while laughing. “He’s obviously a class player. And not only is he one of the best, but he’s also one of the soundest players on the tour.
“Obviously we go way back, I was playing him when I was 12-years-old. And now you look at both of us now, both in the top five in the world.”
Littler will now head to Minehead for the PDC Darts Players Championship Finals, the last major event before the World Championship gets underway on December 15. And he shared his ambitions for the remaidner of the campaign, saying: “I have two big tournaments left this year and I want to win them both.”
The rivalry beween Littler and ‘Cool Hand Luke’ has captivated darts fans throughout 2024. Following his final defeat at Ally Pally, the youngster gained a measure of revenge by beating Humphries to be crowned the Premier League Darts champion.
But Littler denied that the pair were solely responsible for taking the sport ‘into a new era’. And he praised the efforts of Martin Lukeman after the 39-year-old played in his first major final on Sunday, although he was no match for the prodigy with the final scoreline 16-3.
Despite his latest triumph though, Littler appears to have remained grounded. He explained how he would be spending his few days off before his heads to Butlin’s.
“I’m going to chill with my friends like I’m doing now,” he said, speaking from the back of a car. “And get ready to make the long journey down to Minehead. Chill, go for some food – obviously I didn’t take my X box with me so been playing that all day today.”
Littler has a tough assignment first up when he plays next Tuesday. He’ll face former world champion Rob Cross, while Humphries will begin his title defence against German player Gabriel Clemens.
