Furious Luke Humphries slams pundit’s ‘made-up’ insult as he denies ‘giving in’ to fierce rival Luke Littler

Luke Humphries has hit back furiously at a darts pundit after being quoted as saying he was “giving in” to world number one Luke Littler, branding the comments “absolutely clueless” and insisting the remarks were completely fabricated.

Humphries, ranked world number two, is the reigning Premier League champion and has won six major titles — including a World Championship — since 2023. He has been one of the most dominant forces in the sport over the past two years, and the suggestion that he is mentally crumbling under the pressure of Littler’s rise clearly touched a raw nerve.

The controversy was sparked by darts content creator Charlie Murphy, who had been asked to give his assessment of the current Premier League standings. Murphy told OLBG: “He’s never been full of aura, but he doesn’t seem to have that stage aura or confidence that he used to have when he was winning. I know you get that with winning, and he is not winning that much right now. I am worried about him. I just think it is like he is giving in to Luke Littler. Now that gap is just going to get bigger and bigger. I would probably say he is not the second-best player in the world right now.”

Those words did not sit well with Humphries, who wasted no time in firing back. The world number two made clear he felt the comments were not only disrespectful but entirely without basis, labelling Murphy “absolutely clueless” for making such a sweeping judgement about his mental state and standing in the game.

Murphy later responded publicly, stating that he felt his words had been “completely taken out of context” and that he had “little to no control over the editing,” adding: “I think I need to learn to be a lot more careful with what and how I say things. Apologies from me.”

While Humphries was furious about the pundit’s characterisation of his rivalry with Littler, he has separately been refreshingly honest about just how big the gap between them currently is. With a massive £1,754,500 separating the pair in the Order of Merit, Humphries admitted he is not chasing Littler, using a striking analogy: “If we were in a marathon and if I was chasing him, he would be on the 14th mile and I would be at the start.”

Littler has won five successive major titles and is closing in on becoming the sport’s first £3 million earner, making him virtually untouchable at the summit right now.

Yet Humphries refuses to be written off. Despite his frustrations, he remains confident, stating: “I know I am still one of the top two players in the world, regardless of results and whatever happens.” He has also called on the PDC to review its ranking system, arguing it fails to reward consistent performers throughout the season.

This season Humphries has reached the World Masters final and won Players Championship 4 — hardly the form of a man surrendering. One thing is clear: ‘Cool Hand’ Luke is not ready to hand the throne over just yet.