In the aftermath of a shocking World Cup of Darts exit, teenage sensation Luke Littler has found himself at the center of a fiery controversy, trading verbal darts with darts legend Dennis Priestley over his newly awarded MBE. The 18-year-old, who became the youngest PDC World Champion in January 2025, didn’t hold back when responding to Priestley’s claim that he and teammate Luke Humphries “don’t deserve” their honors following England’s humiliating 8-4 loss to Germany. Littler’s bold retort—“I’ve done more in 12 months than he ever did”—has set the darts world ablaze, amplifying tensions and highlighting the pressures on the sport’s brightest young star.
Littler and Humphries, the world’s top-two ranked players, entered the Frankfurt tournament as overwhelming favorites, fresh off receiving MBEs in the King’s Birthday Honours for their transformative impact on darts. Littler’s meteoric rise, from a 16-year-old World Championship finalist to a 17-year-old world champion, has drawn millions to the sport, with 3.68 million tuning into his 2024 final against Humphries. Humphries, the 2024 world champion and 2025 Premier League winner, has also elevated darts’ profile. “This is an amazing and unexpected honour,” Littler said of his MBE, adding, “It’s unbelievable what I’ve done for my sport.” Humphries echoed the sentiment, noting, “We’ve changed the face of darts over the last couple of years.”
Yet, their World Cup campaign unraveled against Germany’s Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko, who capitalized on a hostile home crowd and England’s sloppy play. Booed to the strains of “Vindaloo,” Littler and Humphries struggled, hitting only four of 11 doubles and averaging a lackluster 93. “Luke and Luke were feeling the stresses and strains of being massive favourites,” pundit Wayne Mardle observed, suggesting the duo “buckled under pressure.” Former World Cup winner Damon Heta added, “They probably relied on each other, thinking ‘he’ll do the business,’” while noting the brutal crowd atmosphere. The defeat, England’s earliest World Cup exit in years, drew fierce criticism, with Priestley leading the charge.
The 1994 world champion didn’t mince words, accusing Littler and Humphries of “letting their country down” due to a lack of preparation. “From what we’ve heard, they weren’t sitting together or practising together,” Priestley said, contrasting their approach with his successful partnership with Phil Taylor. He went further, questioning their MBEs: “To be brutally honest, I don’t think either Luke Littler or Luke Humphries have done enough to earn their MBEs just yet. Littler has been recognised for raising the popularity of darts, which is great, but he can still do so much more.” Priestley’s comments, made to a betting outlet, sparked outrage among Littler’s supporters, who flooded social media with defenses of his achievements.
Littler’s response was swift and scathing. “I’ve done more in 12 months than he ever did,” he fired back, pointing to his five major titles—2025 World Championship, 2024 Premier League, Grand Slam, World Series Finals, and 2025 UK Open—compared to Priestley’s single PDC world title. The jab, reported widely across darts media, underscored Littler’s confidence and the generational divide in the sport. Fans rallied behind him, with one posting, “Luke’s impact on darts is unmatched by anyone else,” while others labeled Priestley’s critique “out of touch.” However, Welsh star Gerwyn Price piled on, suggesting Littler and Humphries lacked camaraderie: “The only two players who didn’t turn up together, didn’t sit together, didn’t play as a team.”
Rob Cross, the 2018 world champion, offered a passionate defense, calling the duo “the two best players in the world” and praising their MBEs as “great for the game.” “Fair play to both of them, they deserve it,” Cross said, highlighting Littler’s explosive arrival and Humphries’ consistent excellence. Despite the backlash, Priestley remained optimistic about their future, urging Littler to focus on darts amid sponsorship deals: “If he’s getting an MBE this soon, you’d have to think he’s on the right path to a knighthood.”
As Littler prepares for the World Matchplay in Blackpool, where he aims to claim another major title, the controversy has only fueled his fire. The teenager, who has earned over £1 million in prize money and inspired a new generation of darters, faces mounting expectations. His World Cup setback, compounded by Germany’s hostile crowd—prompting fears he may skip future events there—marks a rare stumble. Yet, with Humphries by his side and a legion of fans behind him, Littler’s defiant response to Priestley signals a resolve to prove his doubters wrong, one dart at a time.
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