- Luke Humphries crashed out of the championship after defeat by Peter Wright
- The world No 1 came into the tournament at Alexandra Palace as the favourite
- Humphries claimed first title last year with a thrilling win over Luke Littler in final
Luke Humphries has revealed who he would like to succeed him as the winner of the World Darts Championship this month.
The 29-year-old suffered a shock last-16 defeat by two-time winner Peter Wright at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.
The world No 1 entered the tournament as favourite, while teenage sensation Luke Littler was also heavily tipped for success.
But Humphries, who beat Littler in last year’s final, is not backing the Warrington native, instead he’s thrown his support behind his close friend Stephen Bunting, who stormed into the quarter-final after a 4-0 win over Luke Woodhouse.
Humphries and Bunting are practice partners who often meet up to play each other in the build-up to competitions. After Bunting’s triumph over Woodhouse, he revealed a touching message he received from Humphries.
‘I spoke to him (Humphries) this morning,’ said Bunting. ‘He wished me luck and he said he would love to hand the crown over to me and give me his World Championship. So, that means a lot.
Luke Humphries crashed out of the World Darts Championship after defeat by Peter Wright
Teenage sensation Luke Littler progressed to the quarter finals after tense win over Ryan Joyce
Humphries had backed his close friend Stephen Bunting to go on and claim his first PDC World Darts Championship title
‘He is a massive friend of mine and we’ll continue to practice after this tournament. But, for now, I have put all friendships aside and make sure that I am 100 per cent and I know I can go all the way. It’s about doing it!’
Bunting has the chance to avenge his friend when he takes on Wright on New Year’s Day. Should he succeed then a semi-final against Littler or Nathan Aspinall will await the Liverpudlian.
But Bunting insisted that he’s not getting ahead of himself and trying to focus on the task at hand.
‘It’s pointless me thinking about who I’m going to play because things happen. Listen, Luke (Humphries) didn’t win last night.
‘He’s the best player on the planet, he’s unbelievable. But, Peter (Wright), 70 per cent or more on doubles, played a fantastic game.
‘So, regardless of who would have played, I also know that I needed to be at my best to win that game. Nothing has changed from my point of view. I’ve got a different opponent in front of me, I probably did expect to play Luke to be fair.
‘In our practice sessions, when we practice behind the scenes, we talked about playing in the quarters. I kept my end of the bargain, but unfortunately Luke just fell short, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.’
