Luke Humphries managed to defeat Premier League champion and rising star Luke Littler but will not have been content with his performance in Basel when competing for the Swiss Darts Trophy
Luke Humphries took victory in his latest battle with Luke Littler, but neither player will be content with their performance in the Swiss Darts Trophy according to Dan Dawson.
The PDC commentator lent his voice to the battle as Humphries recorded a 6-3 victory over his 17-year-old opponent. The youngster has beaten the wolrd no.1 eight times in 2024 but was unable to do so in Basel as Cool Hand earned his fourth win of the year over Littler after their first meeting in the World Championship final.
When world champion and Premier League champion meet there will always be a sense of occasion, even if it is only in the last-16 of a competition. Humphries even believes their rivalry offers the biggest match in darts currently.
Speaking before their match, the 29-year-old said: “I think me against Luke is the big game in darts at the moment We both enjoy playing each other, so hopefully we can produce a classic and give the fans a great game.”
Humphries will undoubtedly be pleased to take the win in Switzerland but the match perhaps did not live up his expectations. PDC TV commentator Dawson noted that, as Humphries hit double 20 to seal progress in the competition.
“To beat Littler, on the Euro Tour again. It’s Humphries that wins the battle of the Lukes. Neither man happy with how they’ve played. It’s their C, D, maybe their E game and yet it’s still mid-90s averages. The world No. 1 goes on into the final session of action in the first-ever Swiss Darts Trophy.”
Littler’s advantage was short-lived. The teenager was left frustrated as Humphries fought his way back and tension ramped up with the scores level.
The seventh leg saw both players miss darts at doubles before Humphries finally managed to take the lead and Littler was unable to recover in the race to six. The Newbury-born star clinched victory by hitting double 20 to see up a tie with Josh Rock, who defeated Rob Cross.
Humphries and Littler recorded averages of 95.2 and 93.3 respectively and managed a maximum each in their match. The former will expect to need more to win the competition.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Martin Schindler progressed into the final eight after defeating Stephen Bunting 6-4. The German will face Raymond van Barneveld after the Dutch legend defeated Ross Smith. James Wade will take on Callan Rydz after defeating Wessel Nijman 6-4 in his match.
