A rivalry across eras has developed between young gun Luke Littler and veteran icon Phil Taylor. ‘The Power’ and his vast array of darting records have long been considered untouchable, and it has taken a talent of Littler’s calibre for fans to discuss the possibility of them one day being toppled.
One Taylor benchmark for Littler to hunt down is his haul of six Premier League Darts titles – one shy of Michael van Gerwen on seven. ‘The Nuke’ already has one to his name, having romped to the title on his debut 12 months ago. But he was unable to defend his crown on Thursday night, when Luke Humphries beat him 11-8 at The O2 to avenge last year’s defeat.
And ‘Cool Hand’ subsequently let slip that Taylor had a part to play. With Littler threatening to chase down darting records at break-neck pace, 14-time world champion Taylor was on hand to give Humphries a few wise and encouraging words which helped propel him to victory over ‘The Nuke’.
“Phil Taylor has given me a lot of support over the last couple of weeks or so,” Humphries told Sky Sports. “Phil, if you are watching, thank you. He gave me a lot of advice and that extra support.”
When asked during his post-win press conference for the specifics around the guidance he received from Taylor, Humphries kept his cards close to his chest.
He said: “I’ll keep it private between me and Phil. He just gave me confidence and was supportive of me. When you’ve got the greatest darts player in the world showing support and belief in you, it’s always nice. It feels good.”
The 30-year-old continued: “[Our chat] was nothing to do with Luke [Littler], it was all about me. He was never going to give me advice on how to beat people, he was just going to give me advice about me. It was all about me.
“He was telling me stuff about myself, just believing in me to be honest. It’s nice to have support from someone like that, who was the greatest in the world. I would never, ever say specifically what he’s told me because that’s our business but he’s just really knowledgeable and really supportive, and he’s given me that bit of advice.”
Littler, who is still only 18, is expected to wade into the GOAT debate by the time the curtain closes on his darts career. He and Taylor were billed to face off in an exhibition match earlier this year, but it turned out to be an April Fools’ hoax, and the only showdown fans got was a friendly game of Jenga.
