- Luke Littler and Luke Humphries picked up their MBE awards on Friday
- The duo have propelled the explosion of the sport in England and internationally
Luke Littler hailed it as a triumph for himself and for darts as he picked up his MBE.
The Nuke, 18, was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours on Friday alongside Luke Humphries.
Their awards show the growing influence of darts in the year that Littler became the youngest-ever World Champion while Humphries claimed his maiden Premier League crown.
A peak audience of 3,680,000 tuned in for their World Championship final in 2024, which Humphries won, and they have gone from strength to strength since.
The pair become the sixth and seventh darts stars to receive the distinction after Fallon Sherrock, Keith Deller, John Lowe, Trina Gulliver, and the late Eric Bristow.
‘I’m very happy for myself. I didn’t think I’d ever receive one,’ Littler told Sky Sports.
Luke Littler called his MBE honour ‘unbelievable for myself and for my sport’ on Friday
The Nuke was recognised alongside Luke Humphries in the King’s Birthday Honours
Humphries said it ‘gives them more fire’ to go and achieve more and further grow their sport
‘And obviously Fallon Sherrock, she received one for her World Championships in the past. But for myself and what I’ve done, it’s unbelievable and for my sport.
‘I’m happy, my family is happy, and I can’t wait to receive it.
‘This award that we’ve got, it doesn’t come very often. Like we’ve said, we’re the sixth and seventh darts players that have ever received one.
‘For myself, like we’ve said, so early in our careers, but what I’ve done for myself, opened up my own darts academy, seeing the younger generation come up, it’s a massive boost for us two coming into the World Cup this weekend.’
Littler and Humphries pair up and will face Germany on Saturday as they enter the World Cup in the last 16 in Frankfurt.
Last year Humphries and Michael Smith teamed up and beat Austria in the final to claim the crown in a tournament which has been dominated by British teams since its inception in 2010.
Humphries added on his MBE; ‘I’m incredibly proud. It’s obviously a proud moment for my family as well. I didn’t expect to get it. When I got the letter it was quite unexpected for me.
‘It’s not something I was thinking about so soon in my career,’ said the 30-year-old. ‘Usually you get it quite later on in your career but me and Luke have had a massive impact on the workd of darts, especially Luke, he has brought in an incredibly young generation of darters that will build the sport massively more than it is now.
Littler lifted the World Championship in January a year after losing to Humphries in the final
‘It really is a privilege. Really excited to go and receive it.
‘It’s a fantastic achievement. You don’t get an MBE for nothing, you have to have brought so much to a sport or provided so much.
‘I feel like I’ve done that with the way I’ve gone through it a lot in the last four or five years and manage to shoot myself up the rankings and win so many major titles.
‘And then Luke, his first major final at 16, we’ve come up at the same time and it’s nice that we get to share the moment together. This is a special moment for our families because we’ve achieved so much in darts but when you achieve something of the highest order, it really is a privilege.
‘It gives us a little bit more fire as well. It makes us want to get out and perform even more now because it’s quite a special achievement and it would be lovely to finish the weekend off with another World Cup medal for us both.’
Humphries has come close to quitting darts in the past due to anxiety and panic attacks and even admitted in April that the demanding schedule is ‘not good’ for his ‘mental state’.
Receiving an MBE underlines the impact that he and Littler have had on a sport which is exploding in popularity and commercial potential.
