Luke Humphries ready for World Championship warfare with Luke Littler
Luke Humphries is ready to go to war with Luke Littler in a bid to win the World Championship but is not prepared to turn nasty.
Humphries was displaced by his great rival at the top of the world rankings after Littler won the Grand Slam of Darts in November.
The only way the 30-year-old can regain top spot any time soon is by winning the Alexandra Palace extravaganza and reclaiming the title he first won in 2024.
The pair have dominated the sport for the last two years and this rivalry is up there with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in tennis or golf’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in terms of two people being so clear of everyone else in their sport.
And Humphries is ready to go into the trenches over the next three weeks, starting against Ted Evetts on Saturday, to get his hands back on the Sid Waddell Trophy.
“I don’t know the word you can use to describe two of the best darts players going at it, trying to be world champion. It’s war,” Humphries said.
“And it’s not like a physical statement, it’s pretty obvious what I mean.
“We’re both basically going to put it all on the line and try and really decide who can be number one, because if Luke wins, then he stays there for many, many years, and if I do it, then it’s a closer scenario.
“It’s tongue in cheek, but we’re going to go for it and see who can do it.
“There are people moaning that it’s boring. I mean, I don’t know what to say.
“We’re just doing our thing. I’m doing my thing. I’m winning. He’s doing his thing and winning.
“If you’re not beating him, you have got to beat me. And it’s a hard task.
“I’ve got to beat him to win. He’s got to beat me. It’s a hard game. You have to play well to win, it takes a special performance.”
Unlike some of the other great rivalries in sport, this is a friendly one, with the pair enjoying a positive relationship and often communicate when on stage together.
Humphries, who has often described himself as a big brother figure to Littler, is not prepared to turn nasty in order to get the edge.
Asked whether the rivalry was sometimes too friendly, Humphries said: “Not really, because I’m not really a nasty person, so for me, like going out there, trying to put on a facade of being like an angry man, it just doesn’t suit me.
“It’s never over-friendly. I can play well, even when I am like that.
“It’s just sometimes you get caught in the moment. You have a bit of fun. There’s nothing wrong with that, to be honest. I think it doesn’t impact my performances.”
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