First blood Luke Humphries! World No 1 sends strong message to arch rival Luke Littler ahead of World Championships with thrilling win over 17-year-old at Players Championship
- Luke Humphries defeated rival Luke Littler 11-7 at the Players Championship Finals
- Littler failed to exact revenge for his 2024 World Cup loss to Humphries
- However, the 17-year-old is still the favorite for this year’s competition
Luke Humphries won the Players Championship Finals for the second consecutive year after beating Luke Littler 11-7, despite the 17-year-old notching a number of crucial checkouts.
The world number 1 sent his rival a major statement ahead of the World Championships in December, where Humphries defeated debutant Littler 7-4 last year.
Sunday night’s win secured the 29-year-old the seventh major title of his career as he held a 5-1 lead at one point in the day.
The Englishman started strongly, as young Littler showed some nerves in the packed arena in Minehead.
However, he recovered by checking a maximum of 170, eventually reducing the deficit to 6-4. The teenager’s efforts ultimately fell short as he spent the entire match simply trying to overtake his arch rival.
Humphries then took back-to-back legs to move him closer to back-to-back wins at the Players Championship Finals and when Littler missed on double 20, he hit the ball and sealed the deal.
World No. 1 Luke Humphries won his second Players Championship Finals in a row on Sunday
Luke Littler once again fell behind his rival, to whom he lost in the 2024 World Cup final
Humphries tipped his hat to Littler, noting that he enjoys playing the teenager while pushing him to become a better player.
“I’m really proud of that because I didn’t feel like I was playing this week,” he said as confetti rained down.
“There’s something Luke does to you, he really drives me and makes me want to be a better player. I enjoy playing with him.’
He further argued that himself and Littler are the two best darts players in the world, but admitted that statistics would show the latter overshadowing him.
“If you go by the statistics, Luke is by far the best player in the world, but there is something about me that never gives up.
“He’s made me a little hungrier, to practice more, to try a little harder, because if no one sticks with him, he’s going to win everything. I really believe we are the two best players in the world.”
Littler, the favorite for Monday’s World Cup draw, regretted his mistakes. Despite closing the gap and scoring points, his mistakes ultimately left him wanting.
“It was tough, I missed a couple of doubles,” Littler said. ‘If you don’t take risks in the beginning, it costs a lot to come back. In the end, I didn’t have enough,” he said.