There's no denying Luke Littler and world No. 2 Luke Humphries are the ones to beat as we approach the 2026 World Darts Championship. The pair have ruled the roost in many of darts' major tournaments in recent years, sparking talk of a rivalry that could span a decade or more.

Humphries has nothing but praise for 'The Nuke' since they became the PDC's top duo, even though some would like to see some vitriol between the pair. However, 'Cool Hand' felt compelled to defending his own standing in the sport after feeling almost ignored when compared to Littler in the build-up to this year's World Championship.

"It just felt like the world was waiting for Luke to overtake me," he told talkSPORT last month. "There were no things about how I could stay at world No1. It was all about how Luke could get to world No. 1. There were no graphs out there from the media saying, 'This is what Luke needs to do to stay at world No. 1'.

"I felt like, 'Why aren't I getting that chance to be like this is what I need to do to stay?' So, I showed a lot of bottle, to be honest. I made three finals, I defended as best as I could, but obviously when you are against Luke he is a tough player to beat."

That's putting it mildly, and Humphries may well need to overcome Littler once more if he's to reclaim his crown at Alexandra Palace. He defeated Littler in their first encounter at the 2024 World Darts Championship final, but The Nuke has since exploded to take control of their head-to-head.

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The younger of the two now leads their rivalry with 16 victories to Humphries' 10. Speaking to Sky Sports after losing to Littler in last month's Grand Slam final, Humphries was asked whether he believed the pair were operating in "a league of their own."

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "I don't feel arrogant saying that. What can us two do? We're on opposite sides of the draw and people can't stop us. I am trying to stop him and I can't. It is up to everyone else to stop us.

"At the moment us two are playing a level of this sport that is better than everyone else. I want to play another world final against him."

Some within the darts world would relish seeing the two Lukes locked in a prolonged rivalry with a little more animosity between the two. Yet Humphries has made clear he can't bring himself to clash with his fellow Luke, viewing him more like a younger sibling.

"Darts has grown bigger than ever this year, but I feel like we've come through it together," he said on the eve of last year's World Championship. "It's not like he's knocking me off my perch or I'm knocking him off his perch.

"Do I feel almost like an older brother to Luke? Yeah, in a way I do because I'm probably the only person to really know who he was before. I've known him since he was 12 or 13, and I always knew he could be a fantastic player.

"He does his own thing, as all teenagers do, but we get along and it's just good fun being involved at the top end of the sport with someone of his talent. There's only a high respect for each other, no animosity, no need for any of that."

Cool Hand also admitted Littler pushes him to raise his game, bringing out the best in his performances. Humphries wrapped up by saying: "He's almost inspiring me to be a better player because I want us to keep enjoying it and keep having these battles on stage."