NEW YORK — For a few minutes Friday night, it looked like Luke Littler might finally have the edge. The 17-year-old prodigy had clawed back from 4-1 down, then surged ahead 7-5, leaving the defending champion on the ropes at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Then Luke Humphries did what he always does.
He won. The 8-7 victory gave Humphries back-to-back US Darts Masters titles, a first in the event’s history.
It also extended a rivalry that has come to define the top of the sport — a rivalry that was born not in a singles final, but on a team stage earlier this month. Humphries and Littler were partners, not opponents, when they helped England win the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt on June 16. They shared a trophy, shared the press duties, shared the credit.
Twelve days later, they were back in the same city where Humphries had beaten Littler in the 2024 final, this time separated by a throw line and a crowd of 5,000 — a record for darts in the United States. “Me and Luke always have fantastic games,” Humphries said after the match.
“It’s just another brilliant game in the saga of Luke v Luke.” The saga has a clear pattern. Humphries, the world number one, tends to start fast. He did Friday, averaging over 107 in the opening legs.
He built a 4-1 lead. Then he missed two darts that would have made it 5-1. The pendulum swung hard.
Littler rattled off four straight legs. He won the next three as well, going up 7-5.
The crowd, which Humphries called “absolutely amazing” and “insane,” roared for the younger man. Littler feeds on that energy. He’d said earlier in the week that he wanted to win the US Darts Masters for the first time.
He was one leg away. Then Humphries averaged 104 in the final leg.
He held his nerve. He held his throw. He held the trophy.
“It’s great to go back-to-back,” Humphries said. “I’m always out to set records and do things that not many players have done.” The record he set Friday — first back-to-back champion at this event — matters beyond the statistic. It cements Humphries as the dominant figure in a sport that has seen a youth movement led by Littler.
The two Lukes have met in major finals, in World Series events, in exhibition matches. The older one, 29, keeps finding ways to win.
Humphries acknowledged the difficulty. “I feel if I can keep performing like this then I can keep pushing him, because he’s unbelievable,” he said. “He’s the toughest player in the world to beat.” Littler, for his part, offered a pointed observation about the atmosphere.
The crowd had been loud, partisan, occasionally raucous — the kind of energy that makes Madison Square Garden iconic in American sports. Humphries called it “the most iconic venue I think darts will ever go to.” “Every year we come here it gets better and better,” he said.
“The fans have been absolutely amazing.” The US Darts Masters has grown steadily since its debut. Friday’s sell-out crowd of 5,000 was a record for darts in the United States. The event now sits alongside the World Series finals in Amsterdam and the Premier League nights in London as a fixture on the calendar.
For Humphries, it’s a place where history gets made. For Littler, it’s a place where history keeps slipping away — just barely, just at the end, just by a leg or two.
