Wayne Mardle has hailed Luke Humphries as 'classy' after the world number one consoled an emotional Luke Littler following their dramatic Premier League Darts final. Littler, 19, secured his second Premier League title by beating Humphries 11-10 at the O2 Arena in London.
Emotional Victory for Littler
After the match, the teenager broke down in tears and admitted in a post-game interview that he had considered quitting the competition. Littler faced criticism after a clash with Gian van Veen in Manchester last month, where he called the Dutchman a 'cry baby'.
Humphries' Classy Gesture
Despite the defeat, Humphries approached Littler and embraced him as he became emotional. Sky Sports pundit Mardle praised the gesture: "What has to be said is Luke Humphries coming over and giving him a hug there, that is the classiest thing you will see this evening. That's a proper champion. Luke Humphries has just been beaten in a final he so wanted to win, and he still had the heart to do that to Luke Littler. Full credit to him there, what a champion."
Mardle added: "There's more that goes on in a Premier League than just showing up week after week. It's a rollercoaster for every player; if you're struggling to win games, it's a rollercoaster, if you're doing alright, it's a rollercoaster. Because it lasts so long it is tough. We know as jobs go there are worse jobs, we're not saying that. But for a darts player, it's an endurance test. This is a culmination, the effort that goes into it week after week after week, that's what's come out tonight in Luke Littler. And he was inconsolable. It's fair enough."
Mardle continued: "We've seen it before with Gerwyn Price threatening to pull out and Phil Taylor and with other players. It is not a rarity for the Premier League to become too much. Week after week it is an endurance test. Sometimes you can feel down and if you feel down, you become mentally weaker. We know how strong Luke Littler is mentally but when you are feeling like you're public enemy number one, you can feel like you don't want to turn up, but he did turn up and this is now the by-product of turning up."
Final Match Drama
Humphries started the final strongly, leading 6-2 before Littler turned the match around to go 9-4 ahead. However, Humphries fought back to force a last-leg decider, which Littler edged to claim victory.
Littler's Rollercoaster Journey
Reflecting on his campaign, Littler said: "It's been a rollercoaster. The first four weeks at the bottom, on the fifth night won my first night. I had to pick myself up. I think I went to Brighton and had a 79 average. It was tough, I was down bad. I'm here with the trophy. After Brighton I think I came off stage and the incident in Manchester, I was sat at home saying to Faith [his partner], 'I don't want to do it anymore, just the crowd every week'. I said to her, 'I'm down bad'."
