Luke Humphries sends classy message to 16-year-old Luke Littler after Ally Pally final loss
Luke Humphries paid tribute to Luke Littler in an emotional victory speech after beating 16-year-old Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace.
Humphries won five straight sets to win the world championship 7-4 on Wednesday night. The world number one showed his class with brutal scores, including a score of 23.180, to win his first World Championship title.
But he was pushed hard by Littler, who showed no signs of nervousness on the biggest stage, and at one point missed a dart for 5-2 in the doubles match. He secured a life-changing £200,000 payday by finishing second and is now ranked in the top 32 after starting the tournament outside the top 150.
After firing the winning dart, Humphries took a knee, composed himself and hugged his family before summing up why Littler’s run to the final captivated the nation. “I just don’t say that because it’s all like. Luke – it was a wonderful talent – not only on the dart panel. “He was very good at the media he created with it,” he told Sky Sports.
“He took the loss well at that point. He said, “Go and celebrate.” You’ll never see a more ordinary 16-year-old than him. He is a different person. I think he will play in the Premier League. If he doesn’t want to play there, that’s fair enough, but I think it would be a pleasure to play with him this year because he’s one of the best players in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”
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Littler took the loss and admits to only one regret about playing for Ally Pally. “Was awesome. “The only downside is I lost so much of my leg when I threw it because Luke broke me,” he said. “Please be fair to Luke. He deserves it.”
Asked about his rise up the rankings, he added: “I’d rather be in the top 32 than be in the development tour. I am very happy that I debuted and placed 32nd and 2nd. I made it to the finals, but I might not make it for another 5 or 20 years. “I could say I’m second, but I just want to win.”
Littler reached the final in recent weeks, beating Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross, but eventually lost to Humphries, who won four of his last five darts. The 28-year-old Briton came to his senses and couldn’t be stopped when he demanded a check for £500,000.
