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Luke Littler and Luke Humphries picked up their first ever win as England’s duo with an 8-5 victory over Spain in the last 16 at the World Cup of Darts, but are aware that they need to make improvements if they are to lift the trophy on Sunday.
Spain’s Cristo Reyes and Jose Justicia put on a real showing against the world No 1 and No 2 to make the game a real contest.
However, Littler and Humphries just had too much class for their opponents in the end and made sure old wounds were not reopened after they crashed out at this stage on their debut as a pairing in 2025.
It was a crucial win for England but not a perfect one, the pair missing 20 of their 28 attempts at a double.
The two Lukes are aware that, if they are to clinch England’s sixth World Cup of Darts title on Sunday, they have to make sure they turn things up a notch.
For Humphries, the last 16 was just about the essential victory but now, they can relax and ensure they light up the stage in their quarter-final against Wales’ Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny on Sunday.
“It feels great. First and foremost, we just wanted to win tonight,” Humphries said.
“Of course, everyone does expect you to hit these big, massive averages. We kind of expect those from ourselves.
“But today was just about getting through the first game, however that may be, just get over the line.
“We weren’t horrific, but we didn’t play our best. I certainly didn’t myself. We know that we are in tomorrow, so we can make sure that we are better, because we know that we need to be better to win the title.”
Humphries has won this title once before alongside Michael Smith back in 2024. That ended England’s trophy drought, with their last before that coming in 2016 courtesy of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis.
“If we were to win, it would be even more special because there is so much more pressure on us,” he added.
“I don’t think there was that pressure on me and Michael Smith to win. I think people had us as favourites, but I don’t think that was the expectation of ‘you have to win, you can’t lose this’.
“I think there is sometimes that added pressure on me and Luke. I feel like this year, if we could win, it would be more special because there’s so much pressure.”
Littler: It is time to build!
Reigning back-to-back world champion Littler believes there is less pressure on the England pair than there was a year ago.
“We needed a test. Obviously, we had a test last year, but we just weren’t good enough,” he said.
“If we were to win 8-0, 8-1, then it is not really a test so I am glad we have had a test and tomorrow we can just relax and throw our darts.
“I think coming into it this year, I have never felt better. I think last year there was obviously a bit of nerves.
“I have now been here and done it before. Our first game didn’t go to plan, but our second game has gone to plan and I think we can definitely build on it.”
What’s next?
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are back in action on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Darts against Wales’ Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny. You can watch the action live on Sky Sports Action from 12pm on Sunday.
Watch the 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts until June 14, live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream darts with no contract.
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries picked up their first ever win as England’s duo with an 8-5 victory over Spain in the last 16 at the World Cup of Darts, but are aware that they need to make improvements if they are to lift the trophy on Sunday.
Spain’s Cristo Reyes and Jose Justicia put on a real showing against the world No 1 and No 2 to make the game a real contest.
However, Littler and Humphries just had too much class for their opponents in the end and made sure old wounds were not reopened after they crashed out at this stage on their debut as a pairing in 2025.
It was a crucial win for England but not a perfect one, the pair missing 20 of their 28 attempts at a double.
The two Lukes are aware that, if they are to clinch England’s sixth World Cup of Darts title on Sunday, they have to make sure they turn things up a notch.
For Humphries, the last 16 was just about the essential victory but now, they can relax and ensure they light up the stage in their quarter-final against Wales’ Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny on Sunday.
“It feels great. First and foremost, we just wanted to win tonight,” Humphries said.
“Of course, everyone does expect you to hit these big, massive averages. We kind of expect those from ourselves.
“But today was just about getting through the first game, however that may be, just get over the line.
“We weren’t horrific, but we didn’t play our best. I certainly didn’t myself. We know that we are in tomorrow, so we can make sure that we are better, because we know that we need to be better to win the title.”
Humphries has won this title once before alongside Michael Smith back in 2024. That ended England’s trophy drought, with their last before that coming in 2016 courtesy of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis.
“If we were to win, it would be even more special because there is so much more pressure on us,” he added.
“I don’t think there was that pressure on me and Michael Smith to win. I think people had us as favourites, but I don’t think that was the expectation of ‘you have to win, you can’t lose this’.
“I think there is sometimes that added pressure on me and Luke. I feel like this year, if we could win, it would be more special because there’s so much pressure.”
Littler: It is time to build!
Reigning back-to-back world champion Littler believes there is less pressure on the England pair than there was a year ago.
“We needed a test. Obviously, we had a test last year, but we just weren’t good enough,” he said.
“If we were to win 8-0, 8-1, then it is not really a test so I am glad we have had a test and tomorrow we can just relax and throw our darts.
“I think coming into it this year, I have never felt better. I think last year there was obviously a bit of nerves.
“I have now been here and done it before. Our first game didn’t go to plan, but our second game has gone to plan and I think we can definitely build on it.”
What’s next?
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are back in action on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Darts against Wales’ Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny. You can watch the action live on Sky Sports Action from 12pm on Sunday.
Watch the 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts until June 14, live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream darts with no contract.
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| 📰 Publicación: | www.skysports.com |
| ✍️ Autor: | |
| 📅 Fecha Original: | 2026-06-13 09:22:00 |
| 🔗 Enlace: | Ver artículo original |
Nota de transparencia: Este artículo ha sido traducido y adaptado del inglés al español para facilitar su comprensión. El contenido se mantiene fiel a la fuente original, disponible en el enlace proporcionado arriba.
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