Luke Humphries did not sit on the fence when asked who the best darts player in the world is right now.
‘Cool Hand’ tops the world rankings and won the opening Premier League Darts night in Belfast on Thursday. But Luke Littler is the red-hot reigning champion who dethroned Humphries to become the youngest-ever world title winner last month.
When asked by commentator Rod Studd which of the two Lukes would prevail in a first-to-seven-sets battle on current form, Sky Sports pundit Glen Durrant refused to answer, intentionally changing the subject to Chris Dobey’s set-up shot in the match they were calling.
Picking between the top two players in the world has been tricky business since Littler burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old wonder-talent. But Humphries is happy to accept the position of second best as things stand.
He told SportsBoom: “I don’t want to make it too much about him – it’s my night – but Luke is the best player in the world. We all know it. It’s not something that you want to fight. He’s the best player, he’s performing the best. He’s just been a bit unlucky.
“He’s got a target on his back, being the world champion. Everyone wants to beat him, and this will happen. This will happen over his career. But for me, I always know that I can compete with the best and you don’t get to number one for nothing.”
Humphries’ modest verdict came despite him picking up the £10,000 bonus prize and five Premier League points for his overall win in Belfast. The 29-year-old breezed past Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals, edged out Michael van Gerwen in the semis and beat Dobey at a canter in the final.
Even though Littler fell at the first hurdle, he still asserted himself against Van Gerwen with a dizzying 113.91 average in a tight 6-5 defeat. The teenager’s scoring has been formidable of late, and Humphries will have a fight on his hands to top the table.
“He does drive you on,” said ‘Cool Hand’. “He makes you want to be better and he’s a fantastic talent. He’s just going to be so great over the next 20 years and it’s up to me to get better to try and challenge him.”
Premier League Darts returns next Thursday as the eight heavyweight stars head to Glasgow. Littler faces Rob Cross in his opening match, Humphries will play Dobey, while Van Gerwen takes on Stephen Bunting and Gerwyn Price will do battle with Aspinall.
