Nathan Aspinall has made a stunning revelation about one of darts’ biggest names: his mates aren’t fans of Luke Humphries—and he has no idea why.
The candid admission came as Aspinall defended the world number one from a wave of online criticism, revealing that even his own friends who love darts “can’t stand” Humphries despite never having met him.
It’s one of the most bizarre dynamics in modern darts: the reigning world champion and world number one is simultaneously one of the sport’s most successful players and one of its most inexplicably unpopular figures.
And Nathan Aspinall, who counts Humphries as a colleague and friend, finds the whole situation baffling.
The Shocking Admission
Speaking in an interview with SportsBoom in April 2025, Nathan Aspinall was asked about the online criticism Luke Humphries had been receiving after opening up about his mental health struggles.
Aspinall’s response was as supportive as it was revealing:
“He is an absolute credit to the sport. It’s disappointing. I have no idea. You know what, I have a lot of mates that love darts, and no one likes Luke. Honestly, I can’t give you that answer. A lot of my mates can’t stand him. I don’t know what it is.”
The admission is remarkable. Here’s Nathan Aspinall—trying to defend his fellow professional from unjustified negativity—simultaneously admitting that his own social circle shares that very same irrational dislike.
“People don’t know him. People don’t know the real people,” Aspinall continued. “I just don’t understand it, and you know, hopefully, it will change at some point, because he’s a great guy.”
The comments paint a picture of a perplexing disconnect: Luke Humphries the person is apparently a “great guy” who is “an absolute credit to the sport,” but Luke Humphries the public figure inspires an almost universal dislike—even among people who have never met him.
The Context: Humphries Under Fire
Aspinall’s comments came after Luke Humphries received harsh online criticism for speaking honestly about his mental health.
In an emotional interview with Sky Sports during the 2025 Premier League, Humphries admitted he was struggling with the relentless darts schedule:
“I feel a little bit emotionless. It’s not that I don’t want to be here, it just seems a chore for me at the moment. I feel like my emotions are just all over the place.”
The admission was raw, honest, and vulnerable—exactly the kind of mental health transparency that sports organizations encourage and that society claims to support.
Instead, Humphries faced significant criticism online.
Fans accused him of being ungrateful. Others mocked him for complaining despite earning huge sums of money. The backlash was swift and widespread.
Humphries responded on X (formerly Twitter) with understandable frustration:
“Considering the comments, people not understanding what I meant… Will be the last time I ever confess my real feelings to the public. Everything I say or ever do just never seems to be good enough for anybody.”
It was a damning indictment of how fans treat vulnerability from public figures—and a clear sign that Humphries felt attacked for simply being honest about his mental state.
Enter Nathan Aspinall, who had just beaten Humphries 6-4 in the Manchester Premier League final that same night, to offer a robust defense of his colleague.
Why Don’t People Warm to Luke Humphries?
This is the million-pound question—and even Nathan Aspinall, who knows Humphries personally, can’t answer it.
“I have no idea,” Aspinall admitted. “Maybe it’s jealousy ’cause he’s so good.”
Jealousy seems like the most logical explanation. Luke Humphries is:
- World number one
- 2024 PDC World Champion (beating Luke Littler 7-4 in the final)
- 2025 Premier League Champion (beating Luke Littler 11-8 in the final)
- Winner of multiple majors including back-to-back World Championships (2024, 2025)
- The best player in the world by some distance (according to Aspinall himself)
Success breeds resentment. It’s a tale as old as sport itself. Humphries’ dominance, particularly his ability to beat the wildly popular Luke Littler in big finals, may have made him a villain by association.
But there’s likely something more nuanced at play. Aspinall’s comment that “people don’t know him” suggests a perception problem—that Humphries comes across differently on television or social media than he does in person.
Perhaps it’s his confidence that reads as arrogance to some. Perhaps it’s his interview style that occasionally comes across as self-centered. Perhaps it’s simply that he’s not Luke Littler, the teenage sensation with a down-to-earth personality that has captured the public imagination.
Whatever the reason, the dislike appears to be widespread and largely irrational—the sporting equivalent of “I can’t put my finger on why, but I just don’t like him.”
The Berlin Apology Story
The most revealing part of Aspinall’s comments came when he recounted a specific incident from the Premier League event in Berlin.
“There were two lads who came away with me to Berlin last week, who both hated Luke,” Aspinall said.
These were friends of Aspinall’s—people who presumably trust his judgment and who had heard him speak positively about Humphries before.
But they still didn’t like Luke Humphries. Why? Because they’d formed an opinion based on what they’d seen on television and heard online, without ever having met the man.
Then something interesting happened.
“We had a few beers in a hotel bar after, and they went ‘I need to apologise to you, I didn’t like you, but you’re a great lad and that’s it.'”
Translation: Aspinall’s two friends, who had convinced themselves they didn’t like Luke Humphries, actually met him for the first time. They had a few drinks. They realized their preconceived notions were completely wrong. And they apologized.
It’s a perfect microcosm of the entire problem. People who actually meet Luke Humphries walk away thinking he’s a “great lad.” People who only know him through screens continue to dislike him for reasons they can’t articulate.
The Mental Health Issue
The timing of the criticism Humphries received makes the situation even more troubling.
Luke Humphries opened up about feeling “emotionless” and finding the schedule a “chore.” He was clearly struggling with burnout and mental exhaustion—common issues in professional sports, especially in the grueling world of darts where players can spend 20-25 days a month away from home.
This should have been met with sympathy, understanding, and support.
Instead, Humphries was mocked and criticized. Fans told him to be grateful for his salary. Others accused him of being weak or entitled.
It’s a stark reminder that despite increased awareness around mental health, athletes are still often held to impossible standards. They’re expected to be grateful robots who never complain, never struggle, and always maintain a positive public face—no matter what’s happening behind the scenes.
Nathan Aspinall, who has his own battles with dartitis (a psychological condition affecting his throwing action), understood this immediately:
“He is an absolute credit to the sport. It’s disappointing,” Aspinall said, condemning the criticism Humphries received.
Aspinall emphasized that fans only see televised matches and don’t understand the full scope of the players’ schedules:
“People only see the games we play on TV. They don’t see the exhibitions, the ProTour events, the travel, the time away from family.”
The abuse Humphries received for being honest about his mental state sent a clear message to other players: don’t be vulnerable publicly, because you’ll be punished for it.
Humphries himself seems to have internalized that lesson, declaring he would never “confess my real feelings to the public” again.
Aspinall’s Relationship with Humphries
What makes Nathan Aspinall’s comments so interesting is that he’s not some neutral observer—he’s a direct rival who had literally just beaten Humphries on the biggest stage.
Aspinall defeated Humphries 6-4 in the Manchester Premier League final, coming from 3-0 down to secure his first nightly win of the 2025 season in front of his hometown crowd.
It would have been easy for Aspinall to stay quiet, enjoy his victory, and let the online mob continue attacking his opponent.
Instead, he immediately came to Humphries’ defense, calling the abuse “disgusting” and praising Humphries as “the best player in the world by a million miles.”
In another interview during the 2024 Premier League, Aspinall had said of Humphries:
“Standard-wise, Humphries is the best player in the world by a million miles. When he brings his A-game, we can’t beat him. He has been producing numbers that are obscene. I don’t even do that in a practice room, let alone on the stage.”
This is high praise from a fellow elite player—and it underscores just how irrational the public dislike of Humphries appears to be.
The best player in the world, widely respected by his peers, considered a “great guy” by those who know him… and somehow still unpopular with large sections of the darts-watching public.
The Luke Littler Factor
It’s impossible to discuss Luke Humphries’ unpopularity without mentioning Luke Littler.
Littler burst onto the scene at the 2024 World Championship, reaching the final at just 16 years old. He lost to Humphries 7-4, but captured the public imagination with his down-to-earth personality, love of kebabs and FIFA, and incredible talent.
Littler became an overnight sensation—the teenage darts prodigy who played with maturity beyond his years while still maintaining the enthusiasms of a kid.
Luke Humphries, by contrast, beat the people’s champion in the final and won the trophy that many fans wanted Littler to win.
When they met again in the 2025 Premier League final, Humphries won again, this time 11-8.
It’s not hard to see how Humphries might have become the villain of this narrative—the experienced player who keeps denying the lovable underdog his moment of glory.
But being better than Luke Littler shouldn’t make someone unpopular. If anything, it should inspire respect.
The problem is that Humphries is being judged not on his merits, but on the fact that he’s not Luke Littler. And in the current darting landscape, not being Luke Littler seems to be an unforgivable crime in some fans’ eyes.
Aspinall’s Premier League Struggles and Dartitis
The irony of Aspinall defending Humphries from mental health-related criticism is that Aspinall himself has been incredibly open about his own struggles with dartitis.
Dartitis is a psychological condition that affects a player’s ability to release the dart smoothly. It can be debilitating, career-ending, and incredibly frustrating.
Aspinall has dealt with it for years, and it’s often visible during matches when he pauses mid-throw to re-grip his dart.
After his Manchester victory over Humphries, Aspinall spoke candidly about considering quitting the sport:
“I’ve got a few issues, and sometimes it doesn’t look pretty on TV or whatever, but I found a way to cope with it. It affects me, but I’m winning, and I’m winning tournaments, and it’s one of them, either quit and give up and go home, or you own it, and you make it part of the game and that’s what I’ve decided to do.”
Aspinall knows what it’s like to struggle mentally while performing at the highest level. He knows what it’s like to be judged harshly by fans who don’t understand the full picture.
Perhaps that’s why he was so quick to defend Humphries—because he recognizes the same kind of unfair scrutiny being applied to a fellow professional who simply had the courage to be honest about his struggles.
The Humphries Perception Problem
So what is it about Luke Humphries that people don’t like?
Based on Aspinall’s comments and the general discourse around Humphries, it seems to come down to perception versus reality.
The Perception: Humphries comes across as arrogant, self-centered, and lacking in personality. He’s the villain who keeps beating the lovable Luke Littler. His interviews can feel staged or insincere.
The Reality: According to everyone who actually knows him—Aspinall, Chris Dobey, and others on the circuit—Humphries is a “great guy,” supportive of his fellow players, and deserving of respect for his incredible achievements.
The gap between these two versions of Luke Humphries is enormous.
And the Berlin bar story illustrates perfectly how easily that gap can be closed: just meet the guy, have a conversation, and realize your assumptions were wrong.
But most darts fans will never get that opportunity. They’ll only ever see the version of Luke Humphries that appears on their screens—confident, successful, beating their favorite players, and occasionally saying things that rub them the wrong way.
The Broader Issue: Judging Athletes We’ve Never Met
Nathan Aspinall’s revelation about his mates not being fans of Luke Humphries speaks to a broader issue in sports fandom: our tendency to form strong opinions about people we’ve never met based on limited, curated glimpses into their lives.
We watch athletes for a few hours on television. We see carefully edited interview clips. We read headlines designed to generate clicks. And from this limited information, we decide we “know” these people well enough to love them or dislike them.
The reality is that we don’t know them at all.
Aspinall’s friends thought they didn’t like Luke Humphries. Then they actually spent time with him and realized they’d been completely wrong.
How many other darts fans are in the same boat—convinced they dislike Humphries based on a perception that has little to do with who he actually is?
The Consequences of Being Unpopular
The widespread dislike of Luke Humphries has real consequences.
When he opened up about his mental health, he faced criticism rather than support. This will likely make him—and other players—less willing to be vulnerable in the future.
When he wins major titles, the celebrations are muted because large sections of the fanbase are rooting against him.
When he does interviews, he has to walk on eggshells, knowing that “everything I say or ever do just never seems to be good enough for anybody.”
This is the cost of being inexplicably unpopular: you can’t be yourself publicly without facing backlash.
And all of this is happening to someone who, by all accounts from people who actually know him, is a good person who plays incredible darts and deserves to be celebrated rather than vilified.
What Aspinall Wants to See Change
Nathan Aspinall was clear about his hope for the future:
“I just don’t understand it, and you know, hopefully, it will change at some point, because he’s a great guy.”
He wants fans to give Luke Humphries a fair chance. He wants people to judge Humphries on his actual character rather than vague perceptions. He wants the player who is “an absolute credit to the sport” to receive the respect he deserves.
Whether that change will actually happen remains to be seen.
Public opinion is a stubborn thing. Once people have decided they don’t like someone, it can be incredibly difficult to change their minds—especially when those opinions are based on feelings rather than facts.
But Aspinall’s Berlin bar story offers hope. His two friends didn’t like Humphries until they actually met him. Then they apologized and changed their minds.
Maybe the same thing can happen on a larger scale.
Maybe more fans will start to question why they dislike Luke Humphries when they can’t actually articulate a good reason.
Maybe they’ll give him credit for his incredible achievements, his mental health advocacy, and the respect he shows to fellow players.
Or maybe they’ll just continue to dislike him for no particular reason—the way Aspinall’s mates did before they actually got to know him.
The Player Who Struggles with Public Opinion
The title of “most disliked darts player” is not one Luke Humphries would have chosen for himself.
He’s world number one. He’s world champion. He’s won multiple majors and dominated the sport at the highest level.
By any objective measure, he should be celebrated as one of the greats of his generation.
Instead, he’s the player that Nathan Aspinall’s mates “can’t stand”—and they’re not alone.
It’s a peculiar position to be in: too successful to be an underdog, not charismatic enough (in some fans’ eyes) to be a beloved champion, and unlucky enough to be competing in the era of Luke Littler, who has captured hearts around the world.
Nathan Aspinall’s honest admission has shone a light on one of darts’ strangest phenomena: the world-class player who is inexplicably unpopular with fans who don’t actually know him.
“People don’t know him,” Aspinall said. “People don’t know the real people.”
Maybe it’s time they did.
Because according to everyone who has actually spent time with Luke Humphries, he’s not the villain casual fans have made him out to be.
He’s just a “great guy” who happens to be the best darts player in the world—and who found out the hard way that success and honesty don’t always earn you the love of the crowd.
The Bottom Line: Nathan Aspinall revealed that his mates aren’t fans of Luke Humphries despite never meeting him. Those who actually know Humphries—including Aspinall himself—defend him as a “great guy” and “an absolute credit to the sport.” The disconnect between perception and reality highlights how fans judge athletes they’ve never met, and how easily opinions can change when people actually get to know the person behind the public image.
Sometimes the player who struggles with popularity turns out to be exactly the opposite when you actually meet them.
Just ask Nathan Aspinall’s mates.
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