Luke Littler and Luke Humphries dubbed ‘rabbits in headlights' by darts legend

The Sun

4 hours ago

LEGENDARY referee Russ Bray admits the pressure left Luke Littler and Luke Humphries looking like 'rabbits in headlights' at the World Cup.
Top seeds England were dumped out of the last 16 after losing 8-4 to Germany in Frankfurt.
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World No.1 Humphries and world champion Littler were favourites to win the major but fell at the first hurdle.
Legendary referee Bray believes the weight of expectation left the pair frozen.
He said: 'With the two Lukes they looked like rabbits in headlights. They just couldn't get their game going at all.
' They were under a lot of pressure I think because of the hype, and you know world number one and two.
'People were saying they were going to win and nobody will touch them. I just thought that caught up with them a little bit.'
'The Voice of Darts' questioned how well the duo gelled as a team.
He added: 'And they are both very much individual players. I know dart players are.
'It's very much different being an individual and going out on your own than it is playing as a team. You've got a different mindset.'
Bray also reckons the lethal Lukes rhythm was disrupted by the stop-start nature of doubles play.
He explained: 'The two Lukes are also very much rhythm players. They're out of rhythm because they are not following the next player.
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'They throw their three darts, and they have to wait for another six before they get back on again. There are lots of things involved.'
Northern Ireland won the tournament for the first time with an epic victory over Wales in a final-leg decider.
While others tipped the Three Lions for the title, Bray saw it differently
He revealed: 'If I'm being honest, I didn't expect the Irish boys to win it [Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney] — but I also didn't expect England to either.
'I thought Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton would be the ones to win it — alongside Scotland, would you believe, who got absolutely blasted out of sight.'
Gerwyn Price was quick to claim that England's failure was down to Littler and Humphries not playing as a team.
He said: 'I think you need a connection. I think you need to have that camaraderie off the stage.
'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.
'I'm not saying who they are. But they didn't win their first game. But 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.
'I wanted them to do well but they didn't. I'm not just saying that, but they were rubbish!'
Meanwhile two-time world champion Dennis Priestley, 74, slammed world the pair for "letting their country down" after the early exit.
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