Luke Humphries (Picture: PDC/Taylor Lanning)

Luke Humphries on his 'friendly rivalry' with Luke Littler, being in his shadow, breaking the £2million barrier and creating a legacy ahead of the PDC World Darts Championship

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Tue December 03, 2024 · 1d ago

Luke Humphries insists he's only driven by titles rather than riches as he finds himself on the verge of setting an eye-popping prize money record.

In a wide-ranging interview ahead of his World Championship defence at the Alexandra Palace, Cool Hand also opened up about whether he feels that he's still in Luke Littler's shadow despite everything he's achieved, and why their rivalry will never seem as fierce as many others down the years.

No player in history has ever broken the £2million barrier on the PDC's Order of Merit, which is based purely on ranked prize money over a two-year period, but Humphries' current earnings stand at a whopping £1,804,250 .

Due to the fact that £35,000 from a run to the fourth round two years ago is due to come off, he needs to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy once again and pocket another £500,000 if he's to set a new benchmark in the rankings as early as January 3.

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'I don't care about the £2million'

Humphries has put himself in with a chance of achieving the feat thanks to a dominant 13 months since October 2023 during which he's won six of the 11 major tournaments played and reached the final of two others.

He's already completed the World Championship-World Matchplay double while his recent triumph at the Players Championship Finals - when he defeated Luke Littler in the climax - saw him successfully defend a major for the first time.

Should Humphries manage to repeat the trick at the Ally Pally, then he'll become just the fourth different player behind Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson to retain their world titles and it's that kind of legacy that matters to him most.

As for the prospect of smashing the £2million barrier, Humphries said: "My goal is only to be back-to-back world champion. I do that then obviously the money comes with it.

"The money in darts is amazing and has been elevated a lot and what the PDC have done for the sport allows us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.

"But when you're comfortable with money, you kind of don't worry about it anymore. I'm only focused on winning titles.

"I get more of a buzz from winning the World Championship than I would from winning half a million. What I thrive on is winning titles. Everything else (that) comes with it as an extra."

Legacy

As for the legacy of going back-to-back, the 29-year-old said: "I think it would just be that absolute dream that you feel like you're never going to wake up from.

"When you're a one-time world champion, it's always amazing, but when you're a two-time champion, it kind of puts you up there in the higher elite of the players that have ever played this sport.

"This would be a great statement for myself to be a two-time world champion before I'm 30. It's set a good precedent for me to go on and win a lot more in the future, but it's going to be tough.

"I've got many years to go, but when I'm in this form, when I'm winning these titles and I'm at the top of my game, I feel like you want to take advantage of the way you're playing to go on and win more."

Humphries knows he can't rest on his laurels due to the rising standards of those trying to catch those at the top of the darting tree and knows time could well be at a premium when it comes to winning more world titles.

He said: "You want to go on and do it again. The toughness of how the sport's going, you kind of have to maybe think, try and get as many in as early as you can before maybe the new generation comes through.

"Like I said, I'm in that rich vein of form and I'm playing well over the last 18 months. So it's a great opportunity to go on and try and get as many titles as I can.

"You're always measured on the amount of world titles you win so if I can pick up a couple more in my career then I'll have a legacy of being one of the best players ever."

Living in Littler's shadow?

One player clearly standing apart as a barrier to further major success for Humphries is Littler, who won three more titles overall than Humphries with 10 during an astonishing debut campaign with the PDC - including the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts.

The 17-year-old's success ensured he enjoyed the lion's share of the limelight despite all of Humphries' achievements but Cool Hand has no qualms about living in Littler's shadow when it comes to media exposure and publicity.

He said: "Luke has got a bigger following, he's a bigger media star than myself, so he's going to get more headlines, more people liking posts and commenting on posts because he's got more fans than I have.

"So I don't think in a proper darts fan's eyes or a journalist's eyes I would be overlooked. I just think when you've got a bigger following and a bigger superstar you get more attention.

"It happens in all sports. You see it in snooker where Ronnie O'Sullivan will always be the star no matter who wins the World Championship.

"So that will be the same with darts now. I could probably win five world titles and he'll still be the star but rightly so. He's the biggest we've ever seen.

"I'm not too fussed about it. I'm just here to try and battle it out with Luke and have fun and hopefully we can have some great games in the next few years and probably contest more major finals."

Friendly fire

Humphries also spoke about why his 'rivalry' with Littler will never be heated or fiery like some other famous battles down the years such as Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld, Gerwyn Price v Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright.

The duo are always in positive spirits with one another during their matches while they even shared moments of laughter and fist bumps during their tussle in the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.

Humphries explained: "I just think we're two young lads at the top of the sport - we can't not enjoy that. We get along well and we enjoy playing each other.

"It's always exciting for the fans when we do. And I think that kind of thing allows you to relax and have fun.

"I know that the rivalry back in the day used to be more fierce than that, but I haven't got it in me. I don't want animosity and I don't think Luke does either. We just want to get along with our business and give the fans what they want - a great game.

"Of course when we play other we want to beat each other but there's always that element of enjoyment and respect between each other.

"We both came through to this level at a similar time - maybe I was four or five months before in terms of winning majors but it is very similar.

"We look at each other and think we can keep riding this out for another 10 years!"

Decade of dominance?

The pair have combined to win 17 titles between them in all competitions in 2024 (Littler 10, Humphries 7) while they've shared around £2.5million, with Humphries scooping the most with £1.3m.

Humphries insists its down to the other players to stop them taking such a hefty chunk of the available prize money.

He joked: "We're just leaving a few scraps! I saw a stat about how much we'd picked up this year and 17 titles between us so it's up to everyone else to get better and match us.

ALSO READ: HOW LUKE LITTLER WON £1MILLION IN ONE YEAR

Luke Littler has already won £1million in total prize money in his debut year with the PDC

"They are capable and there's a lot of great talent out there. It won't be long before you see more major winners emerging like we did this year with Mike de Decker and Ritchie Edhouse.

"But when you're at the top of the sport you need to set goals like a minimum of two majors a year and if I can keep doing that I'll overtake James Wade as the third most successful player.

"There'll be a race between me and Luke about who gets to 10 first - I may never win another, but I'd like to think I've got plenty left.

"The sport is in a great place and I'm happy to be at the forefront of it."

Collision course

The bookies see the World Championship as almost a two-horse race and most fans will expect to see them battling it out in the semi-finals.

Humphries said: "Of course a semi-final with Luke is on everybody's lips. Everyone wants to watch us play against each other. It's usually a great game but it's never a foregone conclusion. You don't just make a semi-final in the world by ease.

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"If you look at the draw brackets there's a couple of legends in my one with Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade.

"Mike de Decker and Stephen Bunting are also in my section just to get to the semi-finals. I'm not going to be doing it by luck. It's going to have to be by pure grit, determination and good performances. And I think Luke will be the same. "

Fear factor

It has been said that Littler has the biggest fear factor out of anyone in darts right now but Humphries doesn't concur with such statements.

He said: "Even when he's not his best, he has a fear factor because of what he's achieved. He's a big, big personality.

"I think I've got it because you see some players struggle near the finishing line against me even when I'm not at my best.

"Luke has got it in the sense you feel beaten if 4-1 down while MVG still has it because we know what he's capable of.

"But overall most players know we can all beat each other so I don't think anyone thinks about it too much."

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Year as a whole

Whatever lies ahead at Alexandra Palace, Humphries is proud of himself for how he's handed his first year as world champion and didn't take anything for granted.

He said: "The way I was playing at the back in the last year, it would have been easy for me to just think I was going to win, but I thought winning major tournaments and then winning World Championships are completely two different things to do.

"It's so much harder. I didn't realise how hard it was, but it was mentally challenging. I rode my luck in moments and maybe I might have to do that this year if I do win, but you've just got to believe in yourself.

"The good thing for me is I'll take from that as I know how to do it. Experience will help.

"I didn't have the best of six weeks before the Players Championship Finals but winning there will give me confidence ahead of the worlds.

"It's the perfect preparation to win that last tournament and gives you that good feeling which I really need sometimes to play to my best."