Luke Humphries has made a candid admission about his approach to partnering Luke Littler for England at the World Cup of Darts — revealing that he has no intention of training with the world number one ahead of their campaign together, insisting that two of the best players on the planet simply do not need to practise as a pair.
The revelation takes on an extra layer of significance given what transpired last time the two men joined forces in Frankfurt. England were eliminated in their opening match by host nation Germany, with Littler and Humphries struggling to find rhythm or cohesion under pressure. That shock defeat, inflicted by Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko in front of a roaring home crowd, remains one of the most jarring upsets in the World Cup’s recent history — and one that England’s dream pairing will be desperate to avenge when the two nations meet again at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt.
The Refusal — And the Reasoning
Humphries has gone on record to explain his decision not to practice with his partner, telling Sportsboom: “When you’ve got two of the best players in the world, we’re not going to need to start practising together.”
It is a position rooted in self-confidence rather than complacency. Humphries’ logic is straightforward: he and Littler are the two finest individual players on the PDC circuit. When they walk to the oche together, they carry the weight of their world rankings. In his view, that quality speaks for itself.
The Premier League champion also reflected warmly on his previous World Cup experience, saying: “Michael Smith was probably the best player I could have played with last year. I was really happy to play with him and that’s why I put him first because he’s a great scorer, and I’ll do the same with Luke this year.”
The strategy of putting his partner on to throw first — a decision Humphries applied against Smith in 2024 when England beat Austria — was central to how he envisaged the pairing working. “I will probably put him first,” Humphries revealed. “You’re going to put your strengths forward. You put him first — he is probably better at going for the bullseye than I am, getting the throws. Only if he’s comfortable with it. If not, I’ll go first, but I played the anchor role last year. I felt really good going second, so maybe that is my role for this year as well.”
Backing Littler Against the Boos
Humphries also spoke ahead of the previous campaign about one of the unique challenges he and Littler would face together in Germany — the notoriously hostile German darts crowds that have repeatedly targeted the world number one.
Humphries promised to rally round England team-mate Luke Littler if he was targeted by German fans. Littler had previously claimed he would skip tournaments in Germany after being booed in Munich and Berlin, having faced similar treatment after defeat by Peter Wright in the German Championship final. But Humphries said: “It’s just about not getting involved in the crowd, isn’t it?”
Humphries added: “As you saw when we won, the emotion that comes out of you, you don’t expect it but it does because you’re just so buzzing. It’s really special and he will understand. He may even feel a little bit nervous at the start, or for the first game we play, because all eyes are on us, everyone will be expecting us to be powerful every game we play. But I did say to him, it doesn’t matter how we play as long as we win the trophy — that’s what really matters.”
What Went Wrong in Frankfurt
Despite all the optimism and all the talent, it unravelled spectacularly. The showdown did not start well for England after they were booed by German fans as they walked out to the stage. Littler started nervously and the Germans took the first two legs. A burst of five consecutive legs from Germany catapulted them to the brink of victory at 7-2, with Ricardo Pietreczko landing nerveless 106 and 101 finishes during this spell.
England averaged just 93, managing a return of only four doubles from the 11 chances they created — a figure that proved costly as Schindler and Pietreczko completed a sensational 8-4 victory.
The fallout was swift. Gerwyn Price, who reached the final with Jonny Clayton before Wales were beaten in a dramatic 10-9 final against Northern Ireland, was blunt in his assessment. “I think you need to have a connection. You need to have that camaraderie off the stage and connection — because when we all turned on the first day — and I’m not just saying this because they lost — but the only two players that didn’t turn up together, didn’t sit together, didn’t play as a team,” Price said, making clear he felt the England pair had lacked the team ethic required.
A Second Chance: Frankfurt 2026
The nations competing at the World Cup of Darts 2026 have been officially confirmed, with England once again represented by Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, the world numbers one and two. The tournament will take place from 11 to 14 June at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt — the same venue where it all went wrong twelve months ago.
Despite arriving as the sport’s dominant individual forces, the pair head into this year’s event with unfinished business after a turbulent debut together. For Littler and Humphries, Frankfurt represents a chance to reset the narrative and demonstrate that individual dominance can still translate on the sport’s most demanding team stage.
The story of that partnership — and whether its raw, elite talent can finally be channelled into cohesive doubles darts — will be one of the defining narratives of the 2026 tournament. Humphries’ refusal to practice together going in may prove to be a masterstroke of calm confidence, or it may again attract questions about whether individual greatness alone is ever enough to win the World Cup. Germany, and Frankfurt, are waiting.
The Weight of Expectation
Humphries spoke plainly about his belief that the pressure of being world numbers one and two would be something the partnership would handle, not crumble under. “We are involved in the biggest finals in the world. World finals, Premier League finals, Matchplay finals,” he said. “It’s not going to be any different. I’m not going to look into it thinking we’ve got to win. We don’t think we’ve got to win, but we know we can win. That’s the most important thing.”
It is that self-belief — cool, measured, quietly formidable — that has defined Humphries at his best throughout his career. The question for England is whether it will translate, this time, into team gold. If the preparation looks unconventional from the outside, the results must do the talking on the dartboard in Frankfurt.
Comments are closed.