Luke Littler has confidently admitted that Luke Humphries must take full advantage of his mistakes ‘before I start winning’ after losing the final of the Players Championship on Sunday.
Humphries secured glory in Minehead, with the 29-year-old winning 11-7 to retain the title he won last year.
Speaking in the aftermath of the contest, Humphries admitted that he needed to take full advantage of any Littler slip-ups in order to prevent the 17-year-old from winning the big prizes.
And Littler has shown his confident side by agreeing with his rival following his defeat, while also showing a touch of class by congratulating his opponent.
Luke Littler has confidently admitted that Luke Humphries must take full advantage of his mistakes ‘before I start winning’ after losing the final of the Players Championship on Sunday
ITV
Speaking to ITV, he said: “It was tough, I missed a few doubles.
“Luke could’ve been 5-0 up, I could’ve been. If you don’t take your chances early on, it’s a lot to come back. I hit the 170 and the 164 but I just didn’t have enough in the end.
“It’s just like Luke said, he needs to take advantage before I start winning them.
“I don’t blame him! Sound. It’s been a good past two weeks.
“I can’t wait to go home, chill out and obviously practice at home for the Worlds. That’s it now, leading up to the big one.
“We always produce our best against each other. But like I said that first session, I didn’t have enough to get it back and Luke took full advantage.
“So fair enough to him.”
While Littler was unable to come out on top, Humphries’ victory shows he’s why he’s the best player on the planet right now.
And the Newbury-born star was thrilled after securing glory, especially after a weekend where he felt he didn’t perform at the peak of his powers.
“This trophy was in my living room a couple of months ago and now I’ve got it back!” he said, with a big smile on his face.
“I’m really, really proud of that one to be honest.
“I didn’t feel myself this week, playing-wise, I felt like I was a dart behind in a lot of the scenarios.
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“There’s something that Luke does to you, he really drives me. He makes me want to be a better player. I enjoy playing him. He let me in really early in that first session to go 4-1 up but I never looked back.
“I’m proud the way I didn’t take my foot off the gas like I have this whole weekend.
“A lot of the games, I’ve taken my foot off the gas and allowed people to come back at me. I was very fortunate against Dirk [van Duijvenbode], I rode my luck, but I got into the final and was in my comfort zone.
“These big games are what I live for and what I dream of, being a major champion, this is what I do it all for. I travel the world for these moments. Really, really pleased.
Luke Littler hailed Luke Humphries after his rival won the Players Championship on Sunday night
GETTY
“A special moment to Luke, a fantastic game again, them finishes were unbelievable. He’s just a special talent.
“He’s right, I said to him ‘I’ve got to get these early before it’s na-nights and I don’t win any.’ So I’m really, really pleased to beat him there.”