LUKE Littler lost to Luke Humphries in Thursday’s Premier League Darts final and immediately showed his class in defeat.
After the match the two embraced and raised ‘ hand above his head in celebration of the better man on the night.
The gesture – mimicking a referee announcing the winner – showed the respect the 18-year-old has for the world number one.
Humphries showed the feeling was mutual when he spoke out after his victory.
The 30-year-old former world champ told Sky Sports: “When you know you’re playing against Luke Littler you know you’re not going to get away with mid-game performances, you need to be at your best to beat him.
“We weren’t at our best but it was a decent final and I do seem to raise my performance against him.”;
Both players progressed through the night with comfortable wins before Humphries edged the final 6-5 win.
Littler beat Nathan Aspinall 6-4 in the quarters and Gerwyn Price 6-3 in the semis. Humphries beat both Stephen Bunting and Michael van Gerwen 6-4 on his way to the final.
It was written in the stars for the victor who wanted to continue the celebrations in the town of his beloved , who last weekend.
Humphries unveiled a in honour of the Whites getting promoted to the top flight.
Despite being 2-0 down to the Nuke on the night, Cool Hand Luke ended his 10-week wait for a nightly victory.
The competition extended beyond just the players as Littler fought back against hecklers in the crowd.
The fan was met with boos from the crowd in Leeds – their historic rivals – but before winning his semi-final.
Littler is now seven points ahead of Humphries at the top of the table, while third-placed Gerywn Price has also qualified for the play-offs.
Van Gerwen occupies fourth spot ahead of Nathan Aspinall with two nights remaining before they head to the O2.
