Humphries defends Littler after 'unnecessary hate' and insists rival 'never does anything wrong'

LUKE HUMPHRIES reckons Luke Littler has become the victim of "unnecessary hate" despite the teen sensation "never doing anything wrong".

The world No3 believes Littler has been unfairly targeted by fans as his incredible dominance continues.

Humphries, 31, knows exactly what it feels like after receiving abuse himself when he denied Littler's fairytale ending in the 2024 World Championship final.

Cool Hand fought back from 4-2 down to beat the then 16-year-old 7-4 and lift the Sid Waddell Trophy at Alexandra Palace.

Since then, however, Littler has gone on to dominate the sport and establish himself as the biggest force in world darts.

The Warrington wonderkid has won FOURTEEN major titles, become world No1 and the first player to pass the £3million mark on the PDC Order of Merit.

His relentless success has also seen him jeered and booed at several venues across the UK, with some supporters admitting they would rather see an underdog come out on top.

Humphries insists Littler's incredible achievements should be celebrated rather than used as a reason for spectators to turn against him.

He told the Tops and Tales podcast: "He gets a lot of unnecessary hate and stuff for no reason.

"I mean, I experienced it when I beat him in that final. The amount of hate that come my way for being the world number one or world champion, it's like, what did I ever really do wrong?

"I didn't really do anything. I just, of course, upset people by beating him and that fairytale not coming true.

"Now it's been flipped where he's now number one and winning everything, and now everyone likes to hate on him."

Littler is known for his boisterous personality and showboating antics on stage, where he often comes to life in front of the crowd.

Humphries revealed the side of Littler fans rarely see when the cameras are turned off.

He added: "It's just everyone can have their opinion on players, but if you actually knew him as a person, you wouldn't hate him because he never does anything wrong.

"He's quiet, he won't talk to you unless you talk to him, so you have to create the conversation.

"That's just a nervous and shy energy from him.

"I know that about him. A lot of people might think, he doesn't speak to anybody, so he's arrogant and this and that.

"But I can read people and I know that Luke is the type of person that maybe feels slightly anxious to start a conversation off."

The pair have developed a close friendship away from the oche, with Humphries often taking the lead when they're together.

He continued: "I'm always the first one to go up to him and talk because I know that I can read him and I know that he may struggle in that.

"Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but I'm just reading the situation from how I see it.

"When you get to talk to him, he's full of life and he's good fun."

The England team-mates also celebrated World Cup of Darts glory together earlier this year, beating the Netherlands 10-5 in the final.

He said: "We've done things together like racing and gone to the boxing and football, stuff like that and he's a great kid and I respect him so much and I get on well with him.

"We enjoy each other's company but there also is that rivalry that we have on the board that we both want to be better than each other.

"I think it's good for the sport."

Words: Aaron Nijjar

Image: Taylor Lanning