'Someone is going to have to step up' - Wayne Mardle sees Littler and Humphries dominance continuing

According to Sky Sports analyst Wayne Mardle, we need not expect an end to the dominance of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler for the time being. After the sweltering final night of Premier League Darts at the O2 Arena in London, Mardle is calling on other players to pick themselves up and really battle the two Lukes.

For the 23rd time, the Premier League Finals brought a mutual duel between the current numbers one and two in the world. Littler qualified for the final after a 10-7 victory over Gerwyn Price, while Humphries dealt with Nathan Aspinall in the other semifinal, also 10-7.

Before the start of the final, Littler held a 13-9 lead in their mutual duels, but Humphries changed that by winning 11-8 to secure his first-ever Premier League title, his eighth major title overall. In doing so, Humphries completed the coveted "Triple Crown" of darts, having previously captured the world title and the World Matchplay title.

The dominance of the two top stars seems unwavering for now. "The Lukes are going to be the mainstay of the darting world. People are going to have to play really well to get the better of these two," Mardle said as per Sky Sports.

"If they have that hunger for four, five, 10 years then someone is going to have to step up. Maybe we don't know the next champion."

The numbers underscore Mardle's vision. Humphries, who did not win his first major title until 2023, now has eight majors behind his name. That puts him close to established names like Gary Anderson and Peter Wright, who both stand at eight. Only greats like Phil Taylor (87 majors), Michael van Gerwen (47) and James Wade (10) have more.

Humphries is already looking ahead to his next goals. "I have still got the UK Open and European Championships to go and the World Series finals to complete the whole collection, but like I said, if I don't achieve that then I have got the top three," he said.

"That was just another final in the Luke and Luke saga," he added. "I am still relatively young in the game and I am a couple of titles away from being possibly the third most successful darts player."

With eight titles in just 21 months since his first major win, the rise is impressive. "When you win 10 major titles, that is some unseen territory. So, I'll keep pushing, keep working hard to make sure that I can.

"I want to get over the 10. So, I hope I can do that in the next couple of years. Don't forget my first major title was only 21 months ago."