"We’re going to have plenty more battles in the future" - Luke Humphries praises Luke Littler as the pair put on another epic contest in Premier League final

Luke Humphries came up just short in the 2024 Premier League Darts final. A repeat of the World Darts Championship final from earlier this year, Luke Littler managed to gain revenge over Humphries, hitting a nine-darter in the process.

Earlier in the night, Cool Hand Luke had managed to get past Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals of the playoffs. Humphries was able to keep pace with Littler until the interval too with the scores locked at 5-5. After the break though, something seemed to have awoken in Littler as he struck perfection to move in front, then courtesy of a mid-match spurt, the 17-year-old gained a lead that would carry him all the way to a Premier League Darts title win, a first PDC major title for The Nuke.

“I was trying to stick in there, but credit to Luke, he was fantastic there," reflected Humphries post-match, gracious as always in defeat having thrown an average of 102.47 in the final compared to his opponent's 105.60. “Tonight Luke was much stronger than I was, and if you look at the season as a whole, he deserved to be Premier League champion."

With the two generational talents of Humphries vs Littler seemingly set to battle it out in many finals over the coming years, Cool Hand admits he thinks there is no one better currently than the pair. “I think we’re the best two players in the world at the moment, and it was another great battle," the world champion and world number one explains. "I just love playing him, and we’re going to have plenty more battles in the future."

So after seventeen long weeks, satisfaction prevails for the 29-year-old Englishman despite his near miss on the title. "I’m really proud to make the final. Of course I’m gutted not to win, but I’ve made six out of seven major finals now, and I can only build on this,” Humphries concludes.

Humphries, like Littler by the way, will now turn his attention to getting ready to travel to New York. The US Darts Masters, a tournament that is part of the World Series of Darts, will be played there next weekend at the iconic sporting venue of Madison Square Gardens.