Humphries ended the 17-year-old’s dream run at Alexandra Palace over the winter by coming from 4-2 down to lift his first world title with a 7-4 victory in the final.
Since their maiden clash on the Ally Pally stage, Littler has triumphed over ‘Cool Hand’ four times, including in the quarter-finals of his first-ever Premier League night win last week in Belfast.
Humphries recovered with an incredible performance in the German Darts Grand Prix, thrashing seven-time Premier League champion and three-time world champion Van Gerwen 8-1 in Monday’s final.
After the no-contest, the 29-year-old hailed Van Gerwen, insisting they were the world’s two best players and that they would face off in many finals in the future.al.”
Humphries was unhappy with how his words of praise for Van Gerwen were framed in an online article and a day later he took to the platform to hit back.
He wrote: “One thing that really annoys me since the World Championship is all these media outlets spouting absolute rubbish about the players!!
“Never once did I say this?? As a high-profile media outlet… You should really do better!”
Humphries didn’t mention Littler once in his praise for Van Gerwen, who is currently second in the PDC Order of Merit.
“The way I’ve played this weekend is the levels you have to be to win – that’s how crazy the game’s got, and that’s how good you have to be to beat the likes of Michael,” the Premier League leader after Monday’s final.
“He’s been here for ten years consistently one of the best players in the world and I look up to him a lot, so to beat him in another final is fantastic.
“I just love playing him to be honest, he shows a lot of respect and it was a great final. That’s elite sport – sometimes it’s your day and today was my day.”
Littler is second in the Premier League table ahead of Thursday’s action in Manchester. The teenage tungsten sensation trails Humphries by four points but is one ahead of Van Gerwen in third.
He is 26th on the PDC Order of Merit—decided by prize money won over the previous two years—but will undoubtedly soon join darts’ biggest names in challenging for the top spot.
