Luke Humphries sends five-word message to Luke Littler after Grand Prix demolition

Luke Humphries had nothing but praise for Luke Littler after The Nuke came out on top in the World Grand Prix final. The pair met in Sunday's decider in Leicester, with Littler taking each of the first four sets by a narrow 3-2 margin on his way to a 6-1 victory.

"Been so happy with my darts this week and all the work has paid off," Littler wrote in a social media post celebrating his win at the Mattioli Arena. Humphries was humble in defeat, replying: "Well done mate! Well played".

Humphries wasn't the only one offering congratulations under Littler's post. "The best!!!!!" declared Tottenham midfielder James Maddison, while "Never in doubt" was the verdict from Love Island star Gio Russo.

Littler needed to come through a tough quarter-final on Friday, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Gerwyn Price 3-2 in a dramatic encounter. However, he dropped just two sets across his other four matches in the tournament.

In the final, both Humphries and Littler averaged above 92, with Humphries boasting more 100s and 180s, as well as a higher checkout percentage and the highest checkout of the match. That wasn't reflected in the final score, though, with Littler punishing his rival at key moments.

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"He was so clinical in the first four sets," Humphries told Sky Sports after his defeat. "When I was 4-0 down I just wanted to give the crowd something. I wasn't playing for myself, I was playing for the crowd because the game had got away from me.

"It's hard to take. It's disappointing because I felt I was going to give him a better game than I did. I have to just get better. I have to work harder. If I don't, he will walk away with it all the time. I need to work harder than I ever have because I want to match him."

The last two World Championship winners have just two months until this year's tournament begins at Alexandra Palace. Littler lost to Humphries in the 2024 final but went all the way in January of this year to claim the first world title of his young career.

Before then, they have a busy schedule which includes November's Grand Slam of Darts. Littler won that tournament last year as well, destroying Martin Lukeman 16-3 in a devastating final performance, with Humphries suffering a surprise group stage exit.

"I've got to perform the big out-shots, the big scores when Luke [Humphries] does put me under pressure," Littler said after his World Grand Prix victory. "I think I played very well tonight. Luke was always behind me, I couldn't step off the gas. I'm very happy to win."