Luke Humphries Reveals How He and Luke Littler Plan to Tackle the World Cup of Darts

The PDC World Cup of Darts returns this Thursday in Frankfurt, where England will aim to defend the crown, they claimed last year with a resounding victory over Austria in the final.

But this time around, there’s a change to the English line-up — and what a change it is. World number one and reigning Premier League champion Luke Humphries is back, but he’ll be joined by teenage sensation and reigning world champion Luke Littler, replacing 2023 teammate Michael Smith.

It’s a mouth-watering combination that has fans and pundits alike tipping the duo for glory. With BetVictor backing them as overwhelming 2/5 favourites, and the Welsh pair of Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton trailing at 5/1, expectations could hardly be higher.

Humphries and Littler have dominated the 2025 calendar so far, splitting the three major televised titles between them. Their individual brilliance is undisputed — but now they must turn that into team chemistry.

We caught up with Humphries to hear his thoughts on the partnership, how their fierce rivalry might play into the tournament dynamic, and whether the pressure of being favourites is weighing on them.

Rivalry? What Rivalry?

Humphries and Littler may be battling for supremacy at the top of the sport, but that doesn’t mean they’re letting egos get in the way when it comes to team play.

“Not much to be honest,” Humphries said when asked if their growing rivalry would affect their chemistry. 

“Look, when you've got two of the best players in the world, we're not going to need to start practising together. Me and Michael Smith didn't do that last year. You don't need to change anything.”

Instead, Humphries is keeping things simple — and familiar.

“The only thing we'll do is we'll practise probably on the same board, have a couple of games at 121 or scoring and stuff like that.

“If you start thinking into it too much and you're starting to change everything, let's have 10 practise sessions together, you don't need to do that. We know what we're doing.”

The confidence is clear — and so is the strategy. Humphries believes both players are more than capable of handling their own games and doesn’t see the need to overcomplicate things.

No Need to Overthink It

Rather than force compatibility, Humphries prefers a more natural approach when it comes to doubles strategy — just like he did with Michael Smith.

"He's played many doubles games before in his career. I've played last year in the World Cup, and I know what to do so nothing will change. It'll just be a scenario of do what you want to do and I'll do what I want to do.”

He added: “The same as with Michael Smith last year, his double is different than what I like. I like double 16, and double eight. He loves tops and tens [double 20 and 10]. Luke's [Littler] the same.”

“I'll say to Luke, you do what you do, and I'll do what I do. If I start saying leave me this, I'll leave you that, it confuses things. So, we won't change much. Just go with your own game and if we perform to our best we can go on and win it.”

It’s a pragmatic philosophy — one based on mutual respect and confidence in each other’s ability. The message? Trust the process.

Replacing Smith, But Not Replacing the Blueprint

Humphries also spoke about the transition from playing with Smith to now partnering Littler, and why it doesn’t feel drastically different despite the change in personnel — or the added expectation.

“Not really because I felt like it was a great partner in Smith. He was such a heavy scorer. Luke was still new, so I wasn't thinking about playing with Luke," he told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

It’s that focus on scoring power that has shaped Humphries’ tactical decision to once again let his partner throw first.

“Michael Smith was probably the best player I could have played with last year and I was really happy to play with him and that's why I put him first because great scorer, and I’ll do the same with Luke this year.”

"He's the best scorer in the world. Heavy scorer. I'll do the same, but we'll work hard and make sure that we play as a team and not singular and we'll be fine.”

It’s another example of Humphries using what’s worked before — but applying it to a new, equally talented teammate.

Thriving Under the Spotlight

Given the team’s form, world rankings, and current dominance on the tour, it’s no surprise that England are favourites heading into Frankfurt. But Humphries insists there’s no added pressure — if anything, the pair relish it.

“Absolutely not. There'll be pressure on our shoulders of course. But what do you think me and Luke do? We thrive on pressure.”

“We are involved in the biggest finals in the world. World finals, Premier League finals, Matchplay finals. It's not going to be any different. I'm not going to look into it thinking we're under pressure, we've got to win. We don't think we've got to win, but we know we can win. That's the most important thing.”

With that kind of mindset — and two of the sport’s most in-form players joining forces — England’s title defence looks not only achievable, but perhaps inevitable.

The rest of the field has been warned. When the two Lukes are locked in, they’re more than rivals — they’re a ruthless partnership.