Luke Littler and Luke Humphries came under fire from fellow darts star James Wade, who blasted the duo as ‘lazy’.
The two Lukes are commonly seen as the best players on the PDC circuit currently, with Littler the reigning world champion and Humphries the world champion before him and current No. 1.
Littler defeated Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the World Championship final earlier this month to become the youngest champion ever at the age of 17.
Last year, the Nuke reached the final before losing to Humphries before going on to win the Bahrain Masters days after.
Luke Humphries and Luke Littler came under fire from James Wade
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In his maiden campaign in the Premier League, the teenager also beat former world champions like Van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Rob Cross en route to winning the tournament.
Humphries, meanwhile, has had a barnstorming couple of years, winning the World Championship, World Matchplay and UK Open in 2024, having won the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam in 2023.
However, Wade, who beat Mike de Decker 3-2 in the opening round of the World Masters on Friday, has insisted that the duo are nowhere near as good as Phil Taylor before calling them ‘lazy’.
“I don’t believe that anyone’s amazing apart from the Luke and the Luke [Littler and Humphries],” the Machine told after his victory over the Belgian in Milton Keynes.
“They can be quite lazy. They are not Phil Taylors. They are not Michael van Gerwens at their best.
“But they are phenomenal players but there are gaps in the market. It is what it is.”
Wade will face Littler in the second round of the tournament where they can settle their grudge match on Saturday.
But the 41-year-old is in a confident mood as he looks to claim revenge on the darts prodigy after their last meeting ended 10-7 to Littler in the second round of the UK Open last year.
Luke Littler became the youngest world champion of darts ever earlier this month
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“I don’t really care who I play. I know if I play well, I do well,” Wade added.
“I think that [playing Luke Littler] is a thing for the press and the crowd. I genuinely, hand on heart, don’t care who I play.
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Luke Humphries is the current No. 1 in the world
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“If I play well, I put up a fight and I do well. Obviously, Luke is doing amazingly well.”
Littler looks in a rampant mood after demolishing Andy Baetens 3-0, averaging 104.33 and dropping just one leg along the way.
It took just under 10 minutes for the world champion to claim victory as he looks to win the World Masters at the first time of asking.