Luke Littler branded 'rubbish' by darts rival as pressure piled on Luke Humphries
Luke Littler has been called out ahead of World Matchplay.
Darts star Gerwyn Price has revealed that he believes that Luke Humphries is the player that everyone should be afraid of at World Matchplay. The Welshman has also played down the threat of Luke Littler at the competition due to his poor recent displays.
Littler has enjoyed a stellar breakout year, winning the Bahrain Darts Masters, the Polish Darts Masters, the Austrian Darts Open, the Belgian Darts Open and the Premier League, among other competitions.
However, his off-stage performances have left plenty to be desired recently. The 17-year-old was recently beaten 6-5 in the first round of the Players Championship 1 by Robert Grundy, who was world no. 116 at the time of playing.
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As a result, Price has played down the threat of the youngster and believes that Humphries is the Luke who should be on the lips of darts fans rather than both players.
Speaking to Online Darts, he explained: "I think it's all eyes on one Luke at the minute. Luke Littler's not really doing much at all, he was rubbish on the weekend in the ProTours.
“I know he's probably like Dimi and Kevin Painter, he's a stage player. No doubt about it. But Michael (van Gerwen) what a first round game. I think Michael will come out fighting."
Littler and Van Gerwen have delivered some brilliant matches this year, and the pair are set to clash in the first round at World Matchplay. Humphries will take on rival Ricardo Pietreczko, with a match against Stephen Bunting of Ryan Joyce awaiting him if he can avoid an early upset.
Defending champion Nathan Aspinall will be hoping to make his mark on the competition as well and follow in the footsteps of Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen by defending his crown. The 32-year-old will face newcomer Luke Woodhouse in the opening game of the competition.
Price faces world no. 27 Daryl Gurney in his first match of the competition, though being victorious on the night may not be his priority.
The 39-year-old has been struggling with an unknown health issue that he is struggling to get to the root of which has taken its toll on his performances, even prompting him to pull out of representing Wales at the World Cup of Darts.
