There’s little doubt titleholder Luke Littler and world No. 2 Luke Humphries will be two of the big names to watch heading into the 2026 World Darts Championship. The duo have dominated many of the major tournaments in recent years, with many teeing theirs as a rivalry that could last for a decade or more to come.

But despite any hunger for a feud, Humphries has been highly complimentary of ‘The Nuke’ since they emerged as the PDC’s top pair. And even while defending his own status in the sport amid Littler’s growing support, Humphries can’t help but compliment his adversary. “It just felt like the world was waiting for Luke to overtake me,” he told talkSPORT last month. “There were no things about how I could stay at world No1. It was all about how Luke could get to world No. 1. There were no graphs out there from the media saying, ‘This is what Luke needs to do to stay at world No. 1′.

“I felt like, ‘Why aren’t I getting that chance to be like this is what I need to do to stay?’ So, I showed a lot of bottle, to be honest. I made three finals, I defended as best as I could, but obviously when you are against Luke he is a tough player to beat.”

That’s an understatement, and it could be Humphries has to overcome Littler again if he wants to get his hands back on the title at Alexandra Palace. ‘Cool Hand’ beat Littler in their maiden matchup at the 2024 World Darts Championship finale, but The Nuke has since turned things in his favour and leads their head-to-head with 16 wins compared to Humphries’ 10.

Humphries spoke to Sky Sports following his Grand Slam final defeat to Littler last month. Following the result, he was asked if he felt he and his nemesis were in a “league of their own.”

“Yeah, I do,” came his response. “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.”

There are those in the darts community who want the two Lukes to engage in a long-term war that would set the sport alight. However, Humphries has established he can’t bring himself to feud with his namesake given he views him more as a little brother.

“Darts has grown bigger than ever this year, but I feel like we’ve come through it together,” he said on the eve of last year’s World Championship. “It’s not like he’s knocking me off my perch or I’m knocking him off his perch.

“Do I feel almost like an older brother to Luke? Yeah, in a way I do because I’m probably the only person to really know who he was before. I’ve known him since he was 12 or 13, and I always knew he could be a fantastic player.

“He does his own thing, as all teenagers do, but we get along and it’s just good fun being involved at the top end of the sport with someone of his talent. There’s only a high respect for each other, no animosity, no need for any of that.”

Cool Hand went on to acknowledge how Littler is helping him get the most out of his own game by forcing him to be his best. Humphries concluded at the time: “He’s almost inspiring me to be a better player because I want us to keep enjoying it and keep having these battles on stage.”