Luke Littler is aiming to take Luke Humphrie’s world number one title (Image: Getty)
Luke Littler has sent rival a warning as he stakes a claim to become the world No.1 in darts in the near future. The current though, was knocked out of the World Masters by Jonny Clayton on Sunday afternoon at the quarter-final stage, losing the match 4-2, before Clayton went on to lose the final to – of course – Humphries.
Despite this, teen sensation Littler is still aiming for more success in darts in the near future, warning Humphries that he’ll be coming for his No.1 position soon enough. The 18-year-old has had an unbelievable year in the sport, winning the coveted World Championship trophy last month, as well as the World Series Finals, the Grand Slam and the 2024 title in his debut campaign.
Littler was recently very firm about his target for 2025. He said: “I know Luke Humphries, I said it earlier on, he’s got a lot to defend so maybe I could get to world No.1.”
When prompted further by the interviewer, Littler explained that he doesn’t have the same amount of pressure on himself as Humphries does, adding that he or other darts players could do enough to knock ‘Cool Hand Luke’ off his perch.
The teenager said: “Yeah. Obviously, we all know Luke’s got the capability to go, and well not retain everything, but to go and defend all the prize money that he won two years back but I’m hoping that I can either stop him or other players can stop him, so I can get to No.1.”
Littler, currently ranked second in the world, has some revenge to seek against Humphries, after the elder Luke won the World Championship final back in early 2024 to dash The Nuke’s hopes at the final hurdle. Since then, Littler went on to win the coveted title in a 7-3 win over veteran star Michael van Gerwen.
Littler has been put out of the World Masters (Image: Getty)
He won’t be adding the World Masters title to his list of recent achievements, however, as Clayton put that dream to bed by putting out the current world champion to advance to the semi-finals. Speaking about Littler after his win, Clayton told ITV: “He’s a cracking guy, a great darts player and he has big future ahead of him.
“He’s given me a lesson the last two times I played him. It went my way. It was my day. I hope it carries on tonight and I can win this trophy. I’m relaxed I’m enjoying the tournament and hopefully it can carry on.”
Next up for Littler is the return of the of Darts, where he will begin his defence of the title against the likes of Van Gerwen, Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting. Thursday’s opening night in Belfast sees Littler face off with Van Gerwen, in a repeat of last month’s World Championship final, while Humphries takes on Nathan Aspinall.