Luke Humphries makes honest confession that has impact on Luke Littler

Luke Humphries has confessed that his dominance in darts may not always continue, opening the door for rising talent Luke Littler. The legendary Wayne Mardle shared how the world champion had been feeling in an interview with Adrian Lewis on the Club 501 podcast.

Mardle enjoyed a couple of rounds against Lewis during the conversation, where the 51-year-old discussed Humphries' success in the sport over the last year. He asked his guest: "Luke Humphries has dominated really the last kind of seven, eight, nine months - do you see that continuing? Do you see someone else stepping in? Or do you just see, just say there's 10 big events a year, do they get shared out for the next 10 years?"

Lewis explained he believes there won't be a single player dominating darts in the next 10 years, replying: "I think so, I think he's like having a big steak and everybody's having a little piece of it. I do think everyone will have like a little piece, I don't think anyone's going to dominate clearly, like an MVG [Michael van Gerwen] or a Phil [Taylor], I can't see that."

Mardle then revealed a personal conversation he had with 'Cool Hand Luke' and shared that the world number one isn't confident that he will be a dominant force in the sport for years to come - despite his current success. He said: "I was chatting to Luke Humphries just last week and I said 'this is some run [you've been on]'.

"And he was like 'I can't dominate all the time'. I said 'you kind of are though'. He went 'I think I'll keep winning but at this rate, probably not' and I'm in agreement with him, and obviously you. Because darts is not like it was when Phil was dominating."

Lewis concurred, adding: "Yeah, well everybody always says that the standard has obviously gone from there to there (higher up). I think the fact that the standards obviously gone there, I think what's happened is there is more players that can average over and under consistently."

Humphries has seen his darts career propel him to glory over the past year, clinching the World Championship by defeating close rival yet friend Littler in the Ally Pally final and holding the title of world number one in darts.

The 29-year-old also bagged the World Matchplay title last month, adding to his collection of five major titles. On the other hand, Littler currently holds the Premier League title and has also triumphed in six world series finals in 2024 - including the Belgian Darts Open and the Poland Darts Masters.

The 17-year-old is set to compete with Humphries for many more championships, but one thing is clear - the future of darts is in safe and successful hands for the foreseeable future.