Luke Humphries vows to chase down Luke Littler and says how he plans to do it

Luke Humphries has declared war on Luke Littler after claiming he did not get enough attention while he was world number one.

Humphries was displaced at the top of the rankings by the relentless Littler, whose inevitable rise took less than two years.

The 18-year-old celebrated his official status as the world’s best player by beating Humphries to claim the Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday – his fifth major title of the year.

Humphries’ stint as world number one has been overshadowed by the arrival of Littler, who has transcended the sport to become a global star.

The 30-year-old has vowed to regain his crown and win the World Championship.

“I’m ready for the Worlds now. I’m going to win the Worlds,” Humphries said during his on-stage interview after losing to Littler.

“One game a day, it suits me, we’re going to go to war: World Championships, meeting him in the final.

“We’re going to see who’s the number one there. I said to him, ‘He deserves everything he gets’.

“He’s been a massive advocate for darts, and he deserves to be the world number one. He really does.

“I’ve never felt like the world number one. Never really got that attention that I deserve but I feel like I’ve done myself justice. I feel like at the World Championships this year, I’m really going to give everything.”

But Littler is ready for the battle.

“It’s definitely war. If someone obviously takes it off you, then you want it back,” he said.

“You don’t want to be second. And obviously it’s took me 19 or 20 months to get to world number one. So now I want to stay there for a few years.”

The pair’s rivalry is up there with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in tennis or golf’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in terms of being so clear of everyone else in their sport.

They have met in six major finals over the last two years – winning three each – and Littler says it is up to other people to stop it.

Asked if they are clear of the rest of the field, he said: “Yeah, I think so. The finals show it, the stats show it.

“And like Luke said, if everyone’s getting bored with me and him, then someone needs to stop us. Otherwise, we’re going to keep winning.

“As one and two we’re always going to meet in the final if we get past our opponents, and long may it continue.”