Luke Humphries weighs in on Luke Littler's feud with darts icon after England duo were accused of 'letting their country down' at World Cup
Luke Humphries has weighed in on Luke Litter's feud with a darts icon after the world No 1 and 2 were accused of 'letting their country down' at the World Cup.
The duo, who are widely regarded as the best two players in the world given both their rankings, recent World Championship success and their major wins, teamed up to represent England at the World Cup of Darts last week.
They were heavy favourites to take home the crown - which would have meant Humphries would have defended the title he won a year earlier with Michael Smith - but they crashed out in the first round.
After skipping the group stage due to being seeded, England were drawn against home favourites Germany in the first knockout stage, and were targeted by the crowd from the off as they fell to defeat by Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko.
After, Dennis Priestley, a double world champion, opened fire at Littler and Humphries as he accused the team of 'letting their country down' and claimed they didn't deserve their MBEs.
Littler hit back, and Humphries has now too weighed in - though with a slightly more toned down response.
Littler claimed he did more for darts in 12 months than icon Dennis Priestley 'ever did'
'Disappointing to hear a top former pro who I admired ay such a damaging thing to me and Luke,' Humphries wrote on X. 'I didn't let my country down last year tho did I.
'One bad game for us and we will be back next year to go again. Let's move on now.' He accompanied the post with a hiding emoji and laughing emoji.
Littler, meanwhile, took a more aggressive stance. In a hastily deleted Instagram story, he wrote: 'Don't deserve an MBE but done more in 12 months than he ever did... that's what I would say anyway.'
Priestley had told OLBG in full: 'Luke Littler and Luke Humphries let their country down at the World Cup of Darts. From what we've heard they weren't sitting together or practising together.
'When I was playing in pairs with Phil Taylor we practised together and sat together, we played all over the world and I only remember us getting beaten once.
'To be brutally honest, I don't think either Luke Littler or Luke Humphries have done enough to earn their MBEs just yet.'
Priestley holds the distinction of being the first player to win both the PDC and the BDO World Championships, though the latter was dissolved in 2020.
A former coal merchant from Yorkshire, Priestley, nicknamed 'the Menace,' only entered the professional darts circuit in his late 30s.
Gerwyn Price claimed Littler and Humphries played 'rubbish' and questioned their teamwork
He added: 'I think in time they could've done enough to warrant it (the MBE) but it feels very early, they have both won one World Championship each and are still young in their careers.
'Littler has been recognised for raising the popularity of darts which is great, but he can still do so much more.
'If he is getting an MBE this soon then you'd have to think he is on the right path to a knighthood, nothing would surprise me now.'
Rival and Welshman Gerwyn Price stuck his boot in on the two Lukes too, saying during the tournament: 'When we turned up on the first day, and I'm not just saying this because they lost, but the only two players that didn't turn up together, didn't sit together, didn't play as a team - I'm not saying who they are - but they didn't win their first game.
'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.
'You need that team ethic. You need to be as a team all the way through but it didn't happen.
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