In something of an anticlimax last Sunday in Leicester, Luke Littler emerged comfortably victorious against Luke Humphries, as their rivalry continues to dominate Darts.
The World Grand Prix is one of the more interesting events on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) calendar, as it features the ‘Double-in’ rule. While players, of course, have to check out on a double at the end of each leg, the different rules in the Grand Prix mean players need to find a double to start each leg, too.
This usually acts as something of a leveller, and the tournament has seen some surprising winners in the past, with Robert ‘The Thorn’ Thornton winning in 2015, and Daryl ‘Superchin’ Gurney winning in 2017. Last year saw something of a shock too, with Mike De Dekker winning his first major title against Humphries in the final.
Such is the class of the world’s two best players, though, that the two Lukes always seemed destined to meet in the final. Their dominance sees them now at a stage where beating them requires both a supreme performance and a severe dip in form from either Littler or Humphries.
In the quarter-final, even when out of rhythm, Littler was able to overcome Gerwyn Price, producing a stunning 152 check-out to steal the win in a fascinating match.
Fortunately for Littler, the result in the final was far less uncertain. Humphries could not find his best scoring, and Littler romped into a four-nil lead. Even though each set had been tight, Littler was always able to turn the scoring on when it mattered most, and Humphries was forced to scrabble for each leg he did win.
Even though Humphries won the fifth leg, victory remained a distant possibility, and Littler eventually sealed the win six sets to one.
This marks the latest chapter in the rivalry which has dominated Darts for two years. Humphries was victorious in their biggest game to date, the 2024 World Championship Final, but Littler’s huge talent has seen him win virtually everything by the age of 18. He can now add the Grand Prix to his collection, and in doing so, with such dominance, he lays down a marker for the World Championship this winter, where he’ll look to defend his World Champion status.
Image credits: “2025-04-03 Premier League Darts Berlin 2025 by Sandro Halank–124” by Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.