Luke Littler speaks out on the last time he played tonight's opponent when he was just 12-years-old

Luke Littler is set to go and play the biggest game of his life as he's made it to the final of the World Darts Championship.

While he's already broken records by being the youngest ever finalist in the competition's history, the accolade of being the youngest ever winner is now just one victory away.

That's easier said than done, however, as tonight he's got to face off against Luke Humphries, the reigning World Grand Prix champion, Grand Slam of Darts champion and Players Championship Finals champion.

There's a reason they call him 'Cool Hand Luke', and he's now ranked as the top darts player in the world.

While Littler has been riding a wave of hype and popularity thanks to his meteoric rise during this competition, Humphries will be the toughest opponent he's faced throughout the whole thing.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the final, Littler said: "Luke's got a quick throw, I've got a quick throw so it's gonna suit both of us for tonight."

Sky Sports

However, this isn't the first time the two Lukes have come up against each other, with Littler explaining that when they last played about four years ago it was Humphries who came out on top.

"That was like the last darts festival before the Covid and it's never been back since," the 16-year-old said of their last competition.

"I had to let him win, I was only 12!"

The last time they competed against each other was in November 2019 when Luke 'The Nuke' Littler was came up against the experienced pro.

Darts fans have dug up an old tweet of Littler's explaining that they met at the Hayling Island competition.

X/@LukeTheNuke180

The post was a picture of the two Lukes together, with a then 12-year-old Littler saying he'd lost but given his opponent 'a great game'.

He wrote: "Lost out in quarterfinals last night at Hayling Island comp to @lukeh180 missed a few chances to go ahead and a bull for a 164 but gave him a great game.

"Two Youth comps today Under 14’s and Under 18’s hopefully make tomorrow’s finals on stage."

Responding to the post is a joking comment from Humphries where he wrote: "Am I asleep there or something??"

Imagine telling both of those in the photo that just over four years later the two of them would be meeting in the World Darts Championship final with it all to play for.

Topics: Luke Littler, Sport

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker