Luke Humphries admits he will not apply with Luke Littler forward of World Cup of Darts

Luke Humphries has admitted he won’t practice with Luke Littler ahead of the World Cup of Darts as he gears up for his title defence this week

Luke Humphries has opened up on England’s World Cup of Darts title defence.

Humphries and Michael Smith brought it home for England last summer – and the World No.1 is looking to double up, this time alongside his great rival Luke Littler. And Littler and Humphries are ready for the latest chapter in their storied rivalry.

However, they won’t practice together ahead of the event, Humphries admitted to SportsBoom: “Look, when you’ve got two of the best players in the world, we’re not going to need to start practising together.

“Me and Michael Smith didn’t do that last year. You don’t need to change anything.”

“Michael Smith was probably the best player I could have played with last year and I was really happy to play with him and that’s why I put him first because great scorer, and I’ll do the same with Luke this year.

“He’s the best scorer in the world. Heavy scorer. I’ll do the same, but we’ll work hard and make sure that we play as a team and not singular and we’ll be fine.”

Humphries was then asked if their growing rivalry would affect their chemistry, and he continued: “Not much to be honest.

“Look, when you’ve got two of the best players in the world, we’re not going to need to start practising together. Me and Michael Smith didn’t do that last year. You don’t need to change anything.”

However, Humphries doesn’t think there’s any pressure: “There’ll be pressure on our shoulders of course. But what do you think me and Luke do? We thrive on pressure.

“We are involved in the biggest finals in the world. World finals, Premier League finals, Matchplay finals. It’s not going to be any different.

“I’m not going to look into it thinking we’re under pressure, we’ve got to win. We don’t think we’ve got to win, but we know we can win. That’s the most important thing.”