Luke Littler and Luke Humphries unite in PDC World Cup pursuit

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The pair, pictured in their England kit, say they "have a mutual respect for each other" and "don't hold animosity towards anybody"

"We get along really well. I was only kind of achieving what I'm doing now about three months before Luke came around, so you know we've both kind of, dare I say, dominated the sport together. We have a mutual respect for each other," Humphries says, as Littler nods approvingly next to him. "You spend so much time together, you get to know one another and get on well. There's no nonsense. We don't hold animosity towards anybody. We just let our darts do the talking."

But seriously, who's better?

"Just look at the stats. Luke's the high performer, but hasn't stopped me from winning major titles," Humphries, who pipped Littler in the final of the PDC Premier League last month, continues. "I can still do it, but he's definitely the best. I'm glad I got my world championship done because you just never know what's going to happen. I might never win another one, but I've won one."

Even in defeat, Christmas in 2023 belonged to "The Nuke". Insiders had long been aware of Littler's potential -- "He beat me when he was 12!" Humphries exclaims -- but nobody could have predicted quite how madly a nation would become fixated with a 16-year-old from Warrington.

Despite it being Littler's PDC debut, facing down grown men at the oche was hardly a novel experience for a prodigy who started playing darts on a magnetic board at 18 months. "I'd been playing people a lot older than me for many years. I was rocking up to pubs -- I shouldn't have been out until 10pm but I was still smashing up the men, but that first World Championship was different gravy," says Littler, who led the final 4-2 when he missed a crucial chance.

But adjusting to fame was inevitably a longer process. "For me and my family it was different, being followed by paparazzi. I didn't like it, but it's just natural now. You've just got to get on with it. I've always been the same, level-headed, and long may it continue," he says.

Given the 12-year age gap, the pair have more in common than one might think. To switch off, after putting his two-year-old son to bed, Humphries plays the video game Call of Duty "for a good three or four hours some nights. That's my release."

Littler is the same and famously vowed to spend his World Championship prize money in 2024 on in-game purchases on Fifa. "You might see me on TikTok now and again streaming [his Fifa matches] to thousands of people," he says, smiling. That is their chosen -- and portable -- refuge from the hectic schedule.

Humphries even admitted in April that he was considering taking a break from darts altogether because the schedule had left him run down and "emotionless", but he is also perhaps able to savour the success more acutely. "I know what it is like to get up at 6am and home at 5pm and get £400 a week, so now the money in darts is crazy. It does make you appreciate what you didn't have," he says. "It is tiring and we do do a lot more [media] than everyone else, but it's a good thing because it means you're relevant."

After Littler claimed his maiden World Championship in January -- the final was watched live by nearly four million people -- the season-long prize money will increase by £7 million next year. The talk of him breaking Phil Taylor's record of 16 world titles has been tempered, though. "I don't think it'll be me [stopping him]," Humphries says. "There are going to be so many kids hungry seeing Luke's success. They want a piece of it. Everyone's like, 'These two could dominate for the next 20 years,' but there's going to be a new breed coming in the next five years."

"Me and Luke, by the time we retire, we will obviously want a couple," Littler interjects.

"I'd like to be a multiple world champion, two or three. You'll be looking at least five, six, seven," Humphries responds.

That the pair have both been recognised in the King's birthday honours is a testament to their impact. In the booming world of darts, there is space for two Lukes on the mountaintop, even on the same team. "I couldn't think of anyone better to be sharing it with," Humphries says. "We've both brought the game on incredibly well. It's a really nice moment that we get to share together."