Luke Humphries fires warning to Luke Littler and speaks out on 'feud' with rival
Luke Humphries has sent a fiery warning to the likes of Luke Littler.
Luke Humphries has warned Luke Littler and his other darts rivals that he could be top of the world rankings all year. The reigning world champion has been in excellent form in Premier League Darts and is now only three points behind Michael van Gerwen.
Humphries has enjoyed a positive year having beaten Littler in the World Darts Championship final in January. The 29-year-old defeated Michael Smith to win night six of the tournament last Thursday.
Cool Hand is top of the PDC’s Order of Merit and insists that his current form will keep him there all year.
"You saw that in Premier League Darts last Thursday, if I keep playing like that, I'll be top of the world all year,” Humphries warned his rivals.
A surprise defeat saw Humphries lose the UK Open final against Dimitri van den Bergh earlier this month. He was frustrated by his opponent slowing down the match when he had matchdarts.
However, Humphries has insisted that there is no ‘feud’ with the Belgian and revealed that the pair have known each other since they were young.
"We kind of grew up with each other anyway. So there's really no sort of feud developing now, not at all,” Humphries insisted.
“Dimitri is a great darter and a top guy. We always wish each other the best. There was even a period when I looked up to him. First he dominated on the Development Tour, then it was me. Then suddenly he won a major, which was my big dream.
"I've been thinking about [the defeat] but in a positive way. I was in another major final and if I had played at my best, there would have been a different winner. I felt a little tired and Dimitri did an excellent job of winning the match.
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“I was the one who got lucky by getting two more match darts in the end. I felt like the lesser player through that whole final. But I did draw confidence from that whole tournament."
Pressed on the incident, Humphries added: “That moment where Dimitri slowed the game down? That didn't do anything to me. He adjusted his own rhythm and won. We were gold for Photoshop afterwards I'll admit that. I've seen myself in a McDonald's and a museum.”
Humphries’s attention now turns to night seven of the Premier League Darts. He faces Smith in the quarter-final at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.