Is Luke Littler and Luke Humphries' friendship all a facade? Inside England stars' World Cup of Darts disaster

The Irish Sun

7 hours ago

NOT SINCE the pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard at the 2006 World Cup had two Englishmen fail to click and proven so uncoordinated on German soil.
Luke Humphries and
Darts
.
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Luke Littler and Luke Humphries early exit at the Darts World Cup emulated the fails of England's Golden Generation
Credit: X formerly Twitter / @SkySportsDarts
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Littler and Humphries lost 8-4 to hosts Germany in their first match
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Fans joked that Littler and Humphries were 'like Gerrard and Lampard'
Expectations were so high that they would be victorious that Phil Taylor was saying they should be given the trophy before a dart was even thrown in anger.
But World Cups can cause all manner of surprises and discombobulating displays – as England's Golden Generation found to their cost 19 years ago.
Gerrard and Lampard were among the best midfielders of their era, goal-scoring machines for Liverpool and
Yet despite their god-given talents, it never really worked for them in tandem when they donned a Three Lions shirt.
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Humphries and Littler are the best
darts
players of this era but they were
So, why didn't it work? Why did it go so spectacularly wrong?
Well, underdogs Martin 'The Wall' Schindler and Ricardo 'Pikachu' Pietreczko rose to
the challenge
superbly, winning their second-round tie 8-4 on Saturday evening.
There is
history
between the two Lukes and pesky Pietreczko – Littler
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The two Lukes can be compared to Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard
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The hostility that greeted the English duo when they walked out was unusual for darts – so, do not underestimate the impact that had on the No.1 seeds.
The noise was ear-splitting and we all know Littler has little time for Deutschland fans.
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries BOOED by German crowd on day they got their MBEs but fans love their 's---house' walk-on
Twice before, in Berlin and Munich, Littler had been left unhappy with the reception he got from punters.
The previous time it had happened over Easter, he wrote on
Instagram
he was glad he would not be back in the country until Dortmund in October, seemingly forgetting all about the World Cup in June.
He might be the world champion and a global icon but we forget that Littler is still only 18.
The Nuke stormed off stage, albeit after shaking hands, and just like when he lost the
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Humphries struggled to produce his best form
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Teenage sensation Littler was out of sorts
Credit: Getty
But as NFL legendary coach Vince Lombardi once said: Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser.
Parallels could be made with another
England
midfielder,
Littler is not yet in that same league but this is a huge setback in his career – his first senior
England
appearance ending amid a cacophony of boos and regrets.
It was so deflating that, the day after they had been recognised in the King's Honours List,
Sky
Sports pundit Wayne Marde joked: 'How quickly can
What was telling was the observation made by Gerwyn Price, whose Wales side lost 10-9 to Northern
Ireland
in the final.
In one of the revealing
interviews
this year, the Iceman claimed 'rubbish'
England
lacked 'a connection' and had no 'camaraderie off the stage'.
He said: 'When all the teams first turned up on the first day, the only two players who didn't turn up together, didn't sit together, didn't play as a team.
'You need to turn up together. You need to be as a team. You practice together, you sit together, it's a team ethic.
'It didn't show with
England
and it showed on the board. They are great players individually. But you need to be a team.'
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Gerwyn Price revealed shock details about Littler and Humphries disconnection
Credit: Getty
World No.1 Humphries and reigning world champion Littler are always so polite and respectful on stage, fist-bumping each other's high checkouts.
But is it all a facade? Are they really as compatible off the oche as they make out? Can they ever put aside their fierce rivalry for this team format?
Humphries is 12 years older than Littler and is like a
big brother
but if Price is right, they will have to work on their connection in a team situation.
They came over to
At least Gerrard and Lampard managed four games together at the 2006 World Cup before their quarter-final exit.
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Humphries and Littler are always so friendly when facing each other on stage