On June 19, 2025, 18-year-old darts prodigy Luke Littler sharply responded to two-time world champion Dennis Priestley’s claim that he and Luke Humphries didn’t deserve their MBEs, per The Irish Sun. Priestley, 74, criticized the duo’s “disappointing” 8-4 loss to Germany’s Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko in the World Cup of Darts second round, stating they “let their country down” and hadn’t “done enough” for the honors, per Daily Record. In a now-deleted Instagram Story, Littler retorted, “Don’t deserve an MBE but done more in 12 months than he ever did… that’s what I would say anyway,” alongside a smug emoji, per Manchester Evening News.
Littler, the youngest PDC World Champion after defeating Michael van Gerwen in January 2025, and Humphries, world No. 1, received MBEs in the King’s Birthday Honours on June 13 for elevating darts’ popularity, per ESPN. Littler’s meteoric rise includes wins in the 2024 Premier League, Grand Slam, World Series Finals, and 2025 UK Open, amassing five major titles, per Wikipedia. Priestley, a PDC founder with titles in 1991 (BDO) and 1994 (PDC), argued their single World Championships and youth made the MBEs premature, per GiveMeSport. He also noted their lack of practice together, echoed by Gerwyn Price’s claim they “didn’t sit together,” per GB News.
Fans on X, like @TheConnorCain, backed Littler, citing his unmatched impact, while @DartsNews02 highlighted the feud, per. Littler’s response underscores his confidence, though the deleted post suggests restraint, per SPORTbible.
