THE FUSE

Reigning world champion and world number one Luke Littler says Phil Taylor is still the greatest darts player of all-time after Luke Humphries said the youngster deserved the title.

Littler became the joint-third most successful player in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era of the sport by beating Humphries in the final of the Masters on Sunday night.

It led to 2024 world champion Humphries calling the 19-year-old "the greatest darts player who has ever lived", although Littler disagrees with that claim.

"It's really good to hear but I'm not one of those to go off and say 'yeah, I am the best' because I'm not the best," said Littler.

"Phil Taylor will always be the best, unless I somehow win more than him, and what he's done for the sport. So we can only see what happens in my career.

"Unless I go on and win 16 worlds and 16 Matchplays, or 17 then I'll get one over him then I'll be the best, but until someone breaks his records then he'll always be the best."

Littler's triumph at the Masters in Milton Keynes put him level with James Wade on 11 major PDC titles, behind only Michael van Gerwen who has 48 and 16-time world champion Taylor who has 79.

Addressing his post-Masters comments at the 2026 Premier League launch, Humphries admitted he could have worded his praise of Littler differently.

"I said it in the moment, but I still stand by it, I'm not going to backtrack on it," said Humphries.

"Using the words 'the greatest', maybe what I meant to say was that he's the most talented player ever.

"Phil achieved so much, it's harsh not calling him the greatest, so maybe I used the wrong term, but I definitely stand by the fact that I think he's (Littler) the most talented darts player ever.

"Not just his ability to throw good darts, it's his temperament, his way of being so good under pressure, he has all of the credentials."

Gian van Veen - who lost to Littler in the 2026 World Championship final - feels Littler will continue to be the dominant force in darts for years to come.

Speaking ahead of his debut campaign in the Premier League, the Dutchman said: "I think Luke Littler is still going to be on top of the world in five or 10 years.

"He's not unstoppable, but he's not shown too much signs of being stoppable."

Littler suggested influencer and close friend Angry Ginge will compete at qualifying school to earn a darts tour card in the future.

"I didn't go through Q-school, so I don't know what it's like to play in there, but I see some of the results every year when people are losing to 105 averages," said Littler.

"For Ginge himself, if he gets the luck of the draw, he could win a few games.

"But if he wants to do a few hours a day constantly, he'd obviously get better himself. We'll see him at Q-school one day."

It comes after two-time world champion Gary Anderson branded the involvement of certain influencers in darts as "a load of rubbish".

Speaking during the Masters, Anderson said: "I don't [watch] YouTube, but I'm watching - what do you call them? - influencers. 'How to play darts' - I've never seen the bloke in my life.

"I've watched him play darts, he's absolutely rank at it, so why watch him?

"Who is he? They're actually pros and they actually know about darts, do they?

"It's a load of rubbish. So for young kids, it ain't good."

But Littler defended those who boast a significant social media following and are looking to make the crossover into darts.

"They're just trying aren't they," Littler said.

"They're trying to throw darts, trying to create a following and obviously most of them have got a few sponsors."