"Losing in the first round isn't how you'd expect a great champion to go out" – Vincent van der Voort sees big difference between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler

Although Luke Humphries remains the clear world number two, Vincent van der Voort sees a key difference compared to Luke Littler. According to the former professional, Humphries has the level to match the world champion, but he is simply far more vulnerable. That is exactly what makes Littler the undisputed number one in darts right now.

In the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort looked back on Humphries’ disappointing World Matchplay. The former world champion went out in the first round for the second year running and again fell short on the Blackpool stage. “Yes, another disappointing event. Losing in the first round isn't how you'd expect a great champion to go out.”

At the table, the question was raised whether the grueling Premier League campaign had taken its toll, but Van der Voort does not buy that. “I don't think so. There was quite a long break afterwards and he hasn't played that much outside of it. He was very good in America."

According to the Dutchman, the problem lies elsewhere. “Now you see that vulnerability creeping back in. That's the difference with Littler—Littler doesn't really have those vulnerable moments."

Van der Voort believes that difference shows most in the decisive moments of matches. “Exactly. With Humphries you still see his doubles let him down. Then he loses confidence and doesn't seem to have that extra gear to say, 'Right, enough is enough.'"

He says Humphries has excellent scoring power, but the doubles keep costing him at times. “His scoring is generally very good, but it's often the finishing that lets him down.”

The hosts referenced earlier examples, such as the lost finals against Mike De Decker at the World Grand Prix and Gian van Veen at the European Championship. In both cases, Humphries started as the favourite but could not turn that into a win.

Van der Voort sees a pattern there. “Usually it's those crucial doubles.” He also feels Humphries lacks an extra gear when needed. “That's just built into his game. Either it's working or it isn't, and he keeps doing the same thing, hoping the pressure eventually breaks his opponent."

Unlike Littler, Humphries does not have the series of explosive legs that can flip matches in a few minutes, Van der Voort said. “You don't often see him produce that burst of three incredible legs—11 darts, 11 darts, 12 darts.”

Humphries mainly applies constant pressure on his opponent with a high, steady level. “He just plays very well throughout the match and applies constant pressure until eventually his opponent cracks.”

When an important double is then missed, his demeanour shifts as well. “But if he misses a double, he becomes very negative. You can see he doesn't understand it himself, and that frustration shows.”

Van der Voort says Humphries has worked hard on that in the past. “ He has worked on it before, and for a while it was much less noticeable. But back then everything was going his way."

Despite that vulnerability, Van der Voort still sees Humphries as the player closest to Luke Littler. “Now you can see that when he's playing well, he's still the only player capable of keeping up with Littler.”

Still, he believes the big difference lies in the drop-off Humphries sometimes shows. “The problem is that his level drops much more than Littler's does.”

When asked whether Littler is just a bit better than Humphries or much better, Van der Voort was unequivocal. “He's not just a little bit better—he's a lot better. Otherwise everyone else would be much closer to him.”

Beyond Humphries, the development of Dutch darts also came up. With two Dutch semifinalists, the Netherlands enjoyed an excellent World Matchplay, something Van der Voort views as absolutely positive. “Last year we didn't have anyone in the semi-finals, so having two this year is great.”

He especially notices that different Dutch players keep showing up on the big TV stages. “What's also encouraging is that it's different players each time.”

Van der Voort is particularly upbeat about Gian van Veen. While the hosts wondered whether the Netherlands currently has a player in the absolute elite, Van der Voort didn’t hesitate. “Van Veen belongs in that group. Otherwise you don't reach a World Championship final and a World Matchplay semi-final. On the biggest stages, he's proving he can deliver.”

Finally, Van der Voort reflected on the tournament as a whole. He enjoyed the Dutch performances and several mouthwatering matchups, but again questioned the long legs format at the World Matchplay.

"I think we've seen a very good tournament. From a Dutch perspective, we stayed involved for a long time, saw some excellent matches, and even had some great all-Dutch encounters."

Still, he sees a recurring issue. “The only conclusion I always come back to is that the format is probably a little too long to stay exciting all the way through.”

He felt the tension was missing especially in the closing stages, though he immediately added one key caveat. “That's largely because of the ridiculous level Luke Littler produced.”

According to Van der Voort, the darts world currently revolves entirely around the 19-year-old Englishman, something reflected in the TV scheduling. “The whole day revolves around him—the PDC, the broadcasters, the sponsors. Everything is built around the wonderkid. That's simply the way it is."