Michael van Gerwen says it is unfair that Luke Littler ‘hype’ has overshadowed Luke Humphries’ excellent year. The Dutchman insists Humphries is the best player in the world heading into the World Darts Championship.

Teenage sensation Littler rose to stardom at last year’s Alexandra Palace event. He reached the final, where he lost to Humphries, and used his form in the tournament as a springboard to enjoy an incredible amount of success across 2024.

The 17-year-old is ending his first full season in professional darts as the Premier League, Grand Slam and World Series Finals champion. Littler won a host of other titles and has dominated headlines this year.

However, Van Gerwen insists the ‘hype’ is unfair because Humphries remains the best player in the world.

Van Gerwen was asked on Dutch channel Viaplay who he thought the best player in the world is. “I think it’s Luke Humphries,” was the emphatic response.

The host pointed out that most people would argue that Littler is better, prompting him to brutally respond: “But I don’t agree with that. That’s just because there’s a Littler hype, which kind of overshadows Humphries, and that’s not really fair.”

Sitting alongside Van Gerwen was fellow Dutch star Vincent van der Voort, who agreed. The 48-year-old said: "I do think Littler's peak might be a bit higher [than Humphries'], but Humphries is the most complete player right now.

"Littler is spectacular. When he's in full flow, you think, 'Wow, what am I even watching?'. But if you look at the results across the whole year, Humphries is just much more consistent."

Humphries' 2024 included winning the World Championship, the Players Championship, World Matchplay and and the World Cup. He spent the year far and away as the No. 1-ranked player in the sport, with nobody truly threatening his position at the top of the PDC's order of merit.

Meanwhile, Littler will be hoping to go one better when he competes at Ally Pally this winter. He was beaten 7-4 by Humphries in a thrilling final in January. The duo are the strong favourites to win again.

But Littler insists that if the same media frenzy follows him around London this year, he will hide away to ensure he can concentrate on his performances.“If the same happens, I’ll hide away again, no one will find me,” he told the Telegraph.

The Nuke insisted that his preparation would simply include: “A lot of sleep, practice, Xbox, chill[ing] out. An hour to an-hour-and-a-half [a day] on the board. Keep the arm loose. [But] mostly just chilling… [see] some mates… go out with them sometimes, otherwise just chilling in my bedroom on my own, playing my game, on my phone.”

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