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  "path": "/sport/darts/luke-littler-luke-humphries-world-cup-of-darts-2677006825",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-06T10:17:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Graeme Souness bemoans state of modern football as England star called out",
    "Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur rushed to hospital ahead of Monaco Grand Prix",
    "Gareth Southgate lands new role before England begin World Cup campaign",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nLuke Littler has admitted he and Luke Humphries failed to click as a partnership during last year's World Cup of Darts as England prepare for another shot at glory.\n\nThe world's top two players will once again join forces for the tournament after suffering a shock early exit in 2025.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLittler and Humphries arrived as overwhelming favourites last year but were dumped out in the second round following an 8-4 defeat to Germany's Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko.\n\nBacked by a passionate home crowd in Frankfurt, the German duo produced a memorable performance to send England crashing out.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nNow, with another World Cup campaign approaching, Littler has reflected on what went wrong.\n\nThe reigning world champion admitted England never fully settled as a team on stage and believes their partnership can improve significantly this year.\n\n\"Me and Luke, we are up for it and hopefully we can get an easier draw this year,\" Littler told Sky Sports.\n\n\"I think of Ricardo and Martin. They definitely played a good game with each other.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Me and Luke had a few good moments in the game, but we just didn't really bond on that stage.\n\n\"Hopefully, this year is a lot different.\"\n\nEngland will again enter the tournament as the No 1 seeds, alongside fellow heavyweights the Netherlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland.\n\nThat seeding means Littler and Humphries will receive a bye through the opening round before beginning their campaign in the second stage.\n\n### LATEST SPORTS NEWS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Graeme Souness bemoans state of modern football as England star called out\n  * Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur rushed to hospital ahead of Monaco Grand Prix\n  * Gareth Southgate lands new role before England begin World Cup campaign\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nWhile the pair remain fierce rivals on the PDC circuit, Littler believes they will quickly switch into team mode once this week's Nordic Darts Masters concludes.\n\n\"This week is a lot different with Luke because we are playing against each other,\" he explained.\n\n\"We all want to win this title. We all want to win games.\n\n\"I think next week is when me and Luke really knuckle down and try and get the win.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDespite the pressure that naturally comes with representing England, Littler believes expectations were actually higher 12 months ago.\n\n\"I don't really feel the pressure's building,\" he said.\n\n\"I think there was more pressure last year than there is this year.\"\n\nThe teenager also admitted England were unhappy with the draw that paired them against the host nation in front of a partisan German crowd.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Drawing the Germans last year, we didn't want that,\" he added.\n\n\"We wanted someone else. But hopefully we can do better this year.\"\n\nHumphries, meanwhile, echoed those sentiments and described the atmosphere as one of the toughest situations the pair could have encountered.\n\nThe former world champion believes Littler is now better equipped to deal with hostile crowds following several difficult experiences over the past year.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Luke probably has learned to deal with it, the booing, a lot more over the last 12 months,\" Humphries said.\n\n\"He has probably gained a lot of experience from what's happened over the last couple of months.\"\n\nHumphries was keen to stress, however, that there were never any issues between the two players away from the stage.\n\n\"I don't think we didn't bond well,\" he said. \"Nothing changed. We weren't separated on the practice board. We always get along really well.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Luke Littler explains Luke Humphries problem as World Cup of Darts nears"
}