BRAY ADMITS LETHAL LUKES STRUGGLED TO HANDLE SPOTLIGHT
16/06/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
RUSS BRAY admits the pressure and unfamiliar team dynamics left Luke Littler and Luke Humphries looking like “rabbits in headlights” at the World Cup.
Top seeds England were dumped out of the last 16 after losing 8-4 to Germany in Frankfurt.
World No. 1 Humphries and world champion Littler were favourites to win the major — but fell at the first hurdle.
Legendary referee Bray believes the weight of expectation left the pair frozen.
He said: “With the two Lukes they looked like rabbits in headlights.
“They just couldn’t get their game going at all.
“They were under a lot of pressure I think because of the hype, and you know world number one and two.
“People were saying they were going to win and nobody will touch them.
“I just thought that caught up with them a little bit.”
‘The Voice of Darts’ questioned how well the duo gelled as a team.
He added: “And they are both very much individual players. I know dart players are.
“It’s very much different being individual and going out on your own than it is playing as a team.
“You’ve got a different mindset.”
Bray also reckons the lethal Lukes rhythm was disrupted by the stop-start nature of doubles play.
He explained: “The two Lukes are also very much rhythm players.
“Their out of rhythm because they are not following the next player.
“They throw their three darts, and they have to wait for another six before they get back on again.
“There is lots of things involved.”
Northern Ireland won the tournament for the first time with an epic victory over Wales in a final-leg decider.
While others tipped the Three Lions for the title, Bray saw it differently
He revealed: “If I’m being honest, I didn’t expect the Irish boys to win it [Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney] — but I also didn’t expect England to either.
“I thought Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton would be the ones to win it — alongside Scotland, would you believe, who got absolutely blasted out of sight.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
