Darts ace Nathan Aspinall has credited Luke Littler and Luke Humphries for giving the elite players a kick up the backside.
Littler burst onto the scene earlier this year when he reached the final of the World Darts Championship, only narrowly missing out to eventual winner Humphries.
The teenage sensation got revenge last month when he demolished Humphries in the final of the 2024 Premier League.
Widely recognised as the two best players in the world right now, competitor Aspinall has praised the pair for giving the sport the boost it needed.
Speaking at the US Darts Masters in New York, Aspinall said: “Luke is amazing. I keep saying in my interviews, he’s the best player on the planet.
“You’ve got no idea what a nice guy he is off the oche. We’re good friends. What he’s done for the sport as well as the other Luke [Littler] has been amazing over the last four months.”
Aspinall later added: “He’s kind of given myself and others a kick up the backside I think we’ve all needed.
“Them two are dominating and we don’t like it. We want to be part of that conversation.”
It’s no surprise Aspinall is yearning to be like Humphries and Littler, given the prizes the dynamic duo have won in recent months.
Humphries sits top of the PDC Order of Merit having pocketed a whopping £1.5million from ranking events across the past two years.
Given Littler only started to make a name for himself last December, the 17-year-old’s earnings are lower.
But Littler is expected to build on his close to £650,000 fortune earned from competing at events so far in 2024.
Starting with the US Darts Masters, which Littler progressed into the quarter-finals of with a 6-0 blitz over Canadian number one Matt Campbell.
Littler raced to victory during the event at Madison Square Garden, defeating Campbell in under 10 minutes.
Speaking after his dominant win, Littler said: “I couldn’t wait to get on that stage tonight.
“I felt really comfortable and everything just went well. I can’t wait to play tomorrow now.”
Before later adding: “With the amount of top athletes that have performed here, it would mean the world to lift this trophy, and hopefully I can go all the way.”
Littler will now take on Canadian Jeff Smith at the last-eight stage.
As for Aspinall, he’ll get an opportunity to prove his worth against world No.1 Humphries when they meet in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross face off, while Gerwyn Price takes on Peter Wright.
