Luke Humphries pleads with PDC about Premier League rules after beating Luke Littler

Luke Humphries is ready to team up with Luke Littler at the upcoming World Cup of Darts in a refreshing change from their frequent head-to-head battles - and he has pleaded with the PDC not to change the format of the Premier League. Cool Hand Luke secured his ninth victory over Littler in 105 days, cementing his status as the world No. 1 with a decisive 11-8 win in the Premier League play-offs final at London's O2 arena on Thursday night.

Humphries joined an elite group as only the fourth player to achieve the Triple Crown of darts - capturing the world title, World Matchplay, and Premier League champion - joining legends Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, and Gary Anderson. His £305,000 prize money haul, bolstered by three £10k bonuses during the Thursday night extravaganza, positions him as the primary challenger to 18-year-old prodigy Littler's burgeoning dominance in the sport.

Humphries wouldn't mind facing Littler every week, despite the potential for their high-profile rivalry to become commonplace due to frequent encounters. He said: "If it's me and Luke in the final of every tournament, you will see us playing each other 40 or 50 times a year.

"If we play in every Players Championship on the floor and European Tour event, plus every TV major and every Premier League, that's what could happen. But the only reason we play each other so much is because we end up making the finals - I don't know how you stop it.

"People talk about changing the Premier League format, but why would I want to change it when I reached the final one year and won it the next? The magnitude of darts now is such that we could meet three or four times a week if we made every final.

"But if you are the two best players in the world, performing so well, and making the final every week, that's how it works. I would not even dream of suggesting they change the Premier League format - it's up to the PDC, they know what they are doing.

"The fans still come in their thousands, it still gets good numbers on Sky Sports. It's up to people like me to work hard and win titles. Let's not change it."

After an exhausting Premier League campaign where he led the table for nearly four months, Littler, alongside Humphries, will represent the defending champions England at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt.

Luke 'the Nuke' expressed his excitement: "I can't wait for the World Cup. He won it last year, so now he can lead me to victory."

Darts legends Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis, who clinched the title four times in five years from 2012 to 2016, have tipped the duo known as the Two Lukes to be formidable opponents - a sentiment echoed by Humphries. He said: "It will take good darts to beat us. They will have to play well. We have got a lot of pressure on our shoulders, but we will thrive on it.

"I love Luke, I think he's a good kid and a close friend of mine in darts. When I am around him, we always speak, we always chat. He's a great kid.

"It's always nice to share the stage with him. Of course, he will probably win more than I will ever win in my career because he's so young and he's a great talent. I am happy when I nab one here and there, but I am sure he will get me back many times in the future.

"It's another final in the Luke and Luke saga. The next big one is the World Cup, between all the big nations, and I really want to win that again. I will hopefully guide Luke to World Cup glory, and I hope our rivalry continues.

"But there is always someone else that comes around the corner. In five years' time there could be 10 players as good as me and Luke.

"I'd love to say over the next 10 years we will battle it out over many finals. We probably will. But there will probably be a lot of other names in and around and involved with us."