MICHAEL VAN GERWEN believes that it is “unfair” that the hype surrounding Luke Littler has “overshadowed” Luke Humphries’ exceptional year.
The trio are all set to compete in the World Darts Championship later this month.
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Littler, 17, has had an incredible 2024, having burst onto the scene at last year’s Alexandra Palace showpiece.
But Van Gerwen still believes that Humphries reigns supreme.
Asked by Viaplay who the best player in the world is, the Dutchman claimed: “I think it’s Luke Humphries.”
When it was put to him that many may prefer Littler, the 35-year-old added: “But I don’t agree with that.
“That’s just because there’s a Littler hype, which kind of overshadows Humphries, and that’s not really fair.”
Littler has won the Premier League, Grand Slam and World Series of Darts this season.
Humphries, meanwhile, holds the World Championship, the Players Championship, World Matchplay and the World Cup, while being far clear at No1 in the PDC’s Order of Merit.
Van Gerwen’s Dutch compatriot Vincent van der Voort, 48, agrees with MVG’s stance.
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He added: “I do think Littler’s peak might be a bit higher, but Humphries is the most complete player right now.
“Littler is spectacular. When he’s in full flow, you think, ‘Wow, what am I even watching?’.
“But if you look at the results across the whole year, Humphries is just much more consistent.”
Littler was today confirmed as the most Google searched athlete of 2024 in the UK, ahead of the likes of Lamine Yamal and Simone Biles.
He was the third-most Googled person in the UK this year, only behind Kate Middleton and Donald Trump, and ahead of the likes of Keir Starmer and King Charles.
Darts World Championship full draw
Second round draw (seeded vs first-round winner)
- Luke Humphries vs Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito
- Raymond van Barneveld vs Nick Kenny or Stowe Buntz
- James Wade vs Jermaine Wattimena or Stefan Bellmont
- Peter Wright vs Wesley Plaisier or Ryusei Azemoto
- Stephen Bunting vs Alan Soutar or Kai Gotthardt
- Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Madars Ramza or Christian Kist
- Damon Heta vs Connor Scutt or Ben Robb
- Mike De Decker vs Luke Woodhouse or Lourence Ilagan
- Luke Littler vs Ryan Meikle or Fallon Sherrock
- Ritchie Edhouse vs Ian White or Sandro Eric Sosing
- Danny Noppert vs Ryan Joyce or Darius Labanauskas
- Ryan Searle vs Mensur Suljovic or Matt Campbell
- Rob Cross vs Scott Williams or Niko Springer
- Gian van Veen vs Ricardo Pietreczko or Xiaochen Zong
- Nathan Aspinall vs Cameron Menzies or Leonard Gates
- Andrew Gilding vs Martin Lukeman or Nitin Kumar
- Michael Smith vs Kevin Doets or Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Krzysztof Ratajski vs Richard Veenstra or Alexis Toylo
- Chris Dobey vs Stephen Burton or Alexander Merkx
- Josh Rock vs Karel Sedlacek or Rhys Griffin
- Jonny Clayton vs Mickey Mansell or Tomoya Goto
- Daryl Gurney vs Florian Hempel or Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Gerwyn Price vs Kim Huybrechts or Keane Barry
- Joe Cullen vs Wessel Nijman or Cameron Carolissen
- Michael van Gerwen vs James Hurrell or Jim Long
- Brendan Dolan vs Chris Landman or Lok Yin Lee
- Gary Anderson vs Jeffrey de Graaf or Rashad Sweeting
- Ross Smith vs Jim Williams or Paolo Nebrida
- Dave Chisnall vs Ricky Evans or Gordon Mathers
- Gabriel Clemens vs Niels Zonneveld or Robert Owen
- Dimitri Van den Bergh vs William O’Connor or Dylan Slevin
- Martin Schindler vs Callan Rydz or Romeo Grbavac