Luke Humphries gave a surprising excuse after losing to Luke Littler in a thrilling Premier League Darts final on Thursday night, claiming a ‘massive wind’ had put him off his game at London’s O2 Arena.
Littler, 17, stormed to his first major PDC title in some style, winning 11-7 in front of a 14,000-strong crowd in the capital, in what was a repeat of January’s all-time classic World Darts Championship final.
On his way to victory, Littler almost took the roof off the arena as he threw his fourth nine-darter of 2024 in the 11th leg after the halfway break to go 6-5 in front.
The match had been a tight affair but the teenage sensation ensured he was firmly in the driving seat from that point onwards, with world number one Humphries left trailing in his wake.
After nailing double top to clinch a memorable win, Littler was embraced by Humphries before enjoying the moment with his loved ones in attendance.
Humphries made sure to congratulate Littler as he spoke to Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath of his defeat before bizarrely complaining of a strong breeze at the venue which he felt had hampered his game.
‘I was trying to stick in there – there was a massive breeze coming across the stage all night and it’s so hard to deal with, Humphries said.
‘It’s credit to Luke, he managed it all night so well. When I went to the break 5-5 I had stuck in there.
‘But then all of a sudden the breeze stopped and he’s played much better – he’s such a fantastic player, he really is.
‘I think me and Luke are the two greatest players in the world at the moment and this was another great battle.
‘I just love playing him – I know I lose a lot [seven of the past nine meetings have gone in Littler’s favour] but I just love playing him and we are going to have many more battles in the future.’
Later at his post-match press conference, Humphries claimed Littler had also been unhappy with the ‘massive wind’ that was blowing across the oche at the O2 Arena.
‘You can’t win everything at the end of the day. I thought I played alright tonight,’ he told reporters.
‘There was a massive wind coming across the stage. That’s not bitter but it’s been like that the last five out of six weeks, to be honest, so it’s something I’ve had to get used to.
‘Luke had to deal with it, we spoke about it before the final. He said he struggled with it, I struggled with it, we still managed to put on a good game.
‘After the tenth leg it was lovely, it allowed us to be able to play a great gamebecause the wind stopped coming across the stage and I was able to play a fantastic game.
‘If it would have been like that from the zero leg, the result would probably have been the same but it might have been an absolute thriller. But he did fantastic tonight and he’s the rightful champion.’
On Littler’s future in the game, Humphries added: ‘I think everybody is desperate to see him win, everybody wants to see Luke Littler win.
‘It will get to the point where probably in ten years time it’ll end up being like Phil Taylor where nobody wants to see him win anymore because he wins everything and that’s the unfortunate events that happen.
‘But he’s won his first major title, we all knew it was coming. We didn’t know when it was going to be but it was always going to happen.
‘Of course he’s beatable but tonight he wasn’t and if we look at it as a whole, he was definitely a deserved champion and I’m sure he’ll win many, many more.’
Littler said he was unsure of ‘what to do’ as he struggled to get to grips with what he had achieved, but gathered himself to send a message to his ‘doubters’.
‘One thing I was just want to say for all the doubters, hello!’ Littler said while cupping his ear in the direction of the crowd.
‘I’ve just picked up this [trophy], you’re not doubting me anymore! That’s it. It’s so good to win in front of my family, my girlfriend and my manager, Garry [Plummer] from Target, Karl [Holden] from the Saint Helens Darts Shop.
‘I don’t know what to do! I just said to Luke [Humphries] that I don’t know what to do!’
On his stunning nine-darter, Littler continued: ‘That’s another record. I hit one in the World Series and I’ve hit one here.
‘I’d just come off the break, I needed the toilet and thought: “This is it, let’s do it!”.
‘We love a break, play our darts and come back on.’
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