Luke Littler vs Luke Humphries darts rivalry draws Coronation Street comparison

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have drawn comparisons to a pair of Coronation Street characters after the Grand Slam of Darts, as their rivalry at the oche grows

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Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have contested six major finals since the start of last year(Image: George Wood, Getty Images)

Phil Taylor has likened the rivalry between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries to the legendary feud between Coronation Street characters Mike Baldwin and Ken Barlow. The comparison comes after Littler’s ascension to world number one.

Littler overtook Humphries on Sunday, hours before defeating him in the Grand Slam of Darts final. He triumphed 16-11 in Wolverhampton, and at 18, he is the youngest ever number one in PDC history, having eclipsed Michael van Gerwen‘s previous record set at 24 in 2014.

The sport’s top two stars have now clashed in six major finals since the start of last year. They are honours even at three victories each, though Littler has triumphed in their previous two encounters.

Sixteen-time world champion Taylor believes their battles are generating massive interest in the sport. “Of course, you need your rivalries,” he told The Sun, speaking on behalf of BetGoodwin. “It creates interest.

“I mean, if you put Coronation Street on television where somebody whacks somebody, you get the best viewing figures ever. Remember Mike Baldwin hitting Ken Barlow? It was probably about 100million viewers!”

Litter agreed when asked after the final whether they are in a league of their own, saying on Sky Sports: “I think we are. The finals show it, the stats show it, and if everyone’s getting bored of me and him, then someone needs to stop us; otherwise, we’re going to keep winning.

“We’re always going to meet in the final if we get past our opponents, and we’ll make it continue. Now I’ve got that number one spot, obviously, he wants it back, but now we’re going to be battling even more.

“I think we’re going to keep playing well because he wants it back, and obviously, I don’t want to give it away. You’re going to see many more great games.”

Humphries concurred: “Yeah, I do. I don’t feel arrogant saying that. What can us two do?

We’re on opposite sides of the draw, and people can’t stop us. I am trying to stop him, and I can’t. It is up to everyone else to stop us.

“At the moment, us two are playing a level of this sport that is better than everyone else. I want to play another world final against him.”

 

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Phil Taylor has opined on Luke Littler becoming darts world number one and dethroning Luke Humphries(Image: Getty)

 

Taylor also stressed that being displaced as world number one is not necessarily a bad thing to happen for Humphries. “Look, it’s horrible when you go down to number two or number three in the world,” he told The Sun.

“Luke Humphries now, he’s got something to get up and practice for, so it doesn’t do you any harm. It just makes you think, ‘right, I’ll get up now and start playing a bit better and get back on form again.'”