“Do I feel almost like an older brother to Luke? Yeah, in a way" - Luke Humphries has nothing but respect for World Darts Championship rival Littler

Luke Humphries and Luke Littler look set for a rivalry that could define the sport of darts over the coming years. Away from the oche though, there is much respect and admiration between the pair, with Humphries even seeing the 17-year-old Littler as a younger brother figure.

“Darts has grown bigger than ever this year, but I feel like we’ve come through it together. It’s not like he’s knocking me off my perch or I’m knocking him off his perch," the world number one says of his and Littler's rivalry in quotes collected by Mirror Sport. "When you look back at the years when Phil Taylor ruled and then Michael van Gerwen came along and knocked him off his perch, maybe Phil didn’t like it and Michael was loving it. But Luke and I are not here to end one era and launch another - hopefully over the next 10 years, we can share it out and create our own legacies. When I leave the sport I want to be remembered as one of the best there’s ever been, and I don’t need rivalry to get there."

Follow the 2025 World Darts Championship via our LIVE SCORE!

Read also

Schedule PDC World Darts Championship 2025 opening night: Reigning champion Luke Humphries begins title defence

Humphries and Littler have met in three major finals over the course of 2024. First, Humphries took victory at the Alexandra Palace in January to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy. Then, Littler gained revenge in the Premier League Darts final, hitting a nine darter en route. In the final event before the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship though, it was Humphries again who came out on top, defeating Littler in the final of the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.

“Do I feel almost like an older brother to Luke? Yeah, in a way I do because I’m probably the only person to really know who he was before. I’ve known him since he was 12 or 13, and I always knew he could be a fantastic player," Humphries continues. “He does his own thing, as all teenagers do, but we get along and it’s just good fun being involved at the top end of the sport with someone of his talent. There’s only a high respect for each other, no animosity, no need for any of that. At the moment, we are battling it out with each other for trophies and if he takes his game to another level, I’m going to have to work so hard to catch him. He’s almost inspiring me to be a better player because I want us to keep enjoying it and keep having these battles on stage.”

As is custom for the defending champion, Humphries headlines on opening night of the World Championship this evening against either Thibaut Tricole or Joe Comito. “It will be an emotional feeling when I drive up the hill and see Ally Pally again. But I need to put that to one side because if you get too emotional it only puts you under more pressure," he assesses, admitting a first round exit would be crushing. “To lose on the first night as defending champion would destroy a lot and ruin my Christmas, but there are no foregone conclusions at this level now. There is so much depth you can have a tough time in the first round."

“Since Gary Anderson won it (in 2015), there hasn’t been a world champion who defended the title. Climbing Everest is always harder second time around - when you are the favourite, with all the expectation on your shoulders, that can make it a struggle at the start of the tournament," he concludes. “Last year I managed to get through a couple of tight games against Ricardo (Pietreczko) and Joe (Cullen) but I managed to show the real side of me, and from the quarter-finals I played great darts. My life has changed beyond recognition as a world champion - things like going to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister is something not every person gets to do - and it will stay with me forever.”

Read also

TV Guide World Darts Championship 2025: Here's how to watch every dart thrown at Ally Pally on Sky Sports