Luke Humphries admits media attention on Luke Littler took burden off his back following World Championship success
An update from the world of darts that’s seen more media coverage and reach than ever before following the world championships. Luke Humphries and Peter Wright speak on current life on tour and the impact of Luke Littler.
As the Premier League nights tick on and more majors approach, these top players are looking to hit their peak patches of form at the right time.
As the Premier League nights tick on and more majors approach, these top players are looking to hit their peak patches of form at the right time.
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00:00 Luke Humphries finished 2023 with a flurry of major titles having listed his first at the World Grand Prix in Leicester.
00:09 Fast forward six months and he's flying at world number one and world champion.
00:13 Following a hat-trick of Premier League night victories he's not getting carried away and his confidence is sky-high.
00:21 Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to understand your role.
00:27 When you've done something that I've dreamed of doing and it's happened, all the pressure sits on your shoulders.
00:33 Maybe you try too hard to make everything happen.
00:37 The way I played on the back end of 2023 was fantastic. Maybe I was trying to replicate that too much.
00:43 For me, I think sport is in such a great place. It really does excite me as someone who hopes he's got many more years in the future of this sport.
00:50 Humphries may have felt hard done by following his success that Luke Littler has become the face of the sport.
00:57 He believes there's maximum scope for the teenager to go on to achieve great things and he suggests he needs to keep enjoying his darts at the highest level.
01:07 My dream is always to be world champion. The media that comes with it, I feel sorry sometimes for Luke because he has to take it all.
01:15 He's taken a big burden off my back in a way which I do feel sorry for him sometimes.
01:21 I think he's handling it really well. He could easily say no and he's not. He's doing it. He's working hard for our sport.
01:28 I really appreciate all the hard work he does. People don't realise how busy he is.
01:34 Peter Wright has been in and out of form throughout the calendar for the past few years.
01:40 He has shown the ability to pick and choose the major titles and come away with success on the big stages.
01:46 So where's his confidence at at the moment after a tough start to the year and what's his thoughts on Luke Littler's rise in darts?
01:55 I suppose there's a sort of pressure by the guys who do the commentating on TV and everything.
02:04 "Oh, you haven't won a major" or "You haven't won a floor tournament". But it's so hard now because there's so many good, fantastic darts players on the circuit.
02:15 And all these young kids coming through who don't care who you are. So it's getting harder and harder.
02:24 But hopefully I can win another major this year and hopefully it's the match play.
02:31 I was here at Bristol with Phil Taylor and Michael Van Gerwen. We all thought everyone on their day can beat anybody.
02:43 But this kid, he's just something else, something special. He's got something special.
02:50 And obviously we all got to step up our game otherwise we're going to be left behind.
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