Luke Humphries speaks out on battling ‘massive breeze’ at O2 after losing Premier League Darts final to Luke Littler
LUKE HUMPHRIES has revealed he was battling a “massive breeze” as well as the storm cooked up by Luke Littler last night.
Luke the Nuke, 17, gained revenge for his loss to Cool Hand at the World Darts Championship at Ally Pally to become the youngest-ever Premier League Darts champion.
Littler broke down in tears as he banked £315,000 following a 11-7 victory over world No.1 Luke Humphries in the O2 Arena final.
His stunning nine-darter, which came after a quick bathroom break, was the first to occur in a Prem final since the legendary Phil Taylor struck two in 2010 against James Wade.
The most famous darts player on the planet received £275,000 for this stunning triumph and will also collect a £40,000 bonus for the four nightly victories, which saw him top the table.
The teen roared at the doubters he had silenced as he collected the pyramid-shape trophy before he was congratulated by Manchester United and Harry Maguire on his triumph.
However, Humphries cut a frustrated figure as he claimed that there was a draught on stage that affected his throwing.
The 29-year-old, who pocketed £165,000 in tournament prize money, said: “I tried to stick in there. There was a massive breeze all night to deal with.
“Credit to Luke, he handled it well. He played much better.
“He is a fantastic player. Me and Luke are the two greatest players in the world.
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“I love playing him. He deserved it throughout the season.
“We’re living in a Luke world and hopefully we will have a lot more battles like this.”
The big turning point in the thrilling match in front of a record PDC UK crowd of 14,000 occurred after Littler made a quick bathroom trip during the TV ad break after 10 legs.
He returned to produce an incredible nine-darter before storming to victory.
Littler revealed: “When it went 2-0 to me, I needed the toilet. I had to wait until the break.
“I went to the toilet. I thought, this is it, we are on until the end. Let’s do it.
“All of us players love a break and then come back on and do what we do.
“It’s so good to win in front of my family, girlfriend and manager. I don’t know what to do with this trophy.”
Inside Littler's massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has since joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
The wonderkid has now cemented his place among the tungsten elite by winning the Premier League Darts final – and the £275k top prize.
Check out all of our Luke Littler stories here.
Meanwhile, Littler revealed that he ditched his usual habit of picking up the Fifa console during the hour-long break before the final and went on the practice board instead.
He said: “I’m just enjoying it at the moment and we’ll see what the future brings.
“I was watching this at home on the telly 12 months ago.
“It’s been a crazy six months. I’d get stopped a lot in the street but that’s all part of it and I imagine that will happen a bit more now!
“Tonight was probably the most I’ve practised in a long time. I’m very proud of my achievements – the practice has paid off.”