Luke Littler produced a magnificent comeback to defeat Luke Humphries 5-4 at a 'A Night At The Darts' exhibition held at Mecca in Blackpool, culminating the evening's action in dramatic fashion. Humphries had stormed out into a 4-1 lead, seemingly sending out a statement of intent against his big rival, but Littler clawed his way back to seize the bragging rights.
The pair are braced for a number of high-calibre matchups as the big tournaments come thick and fast. Humphries defeated Littler in the final of the US Darts Masters a few months ago, but their most recent contest in the Czech Darts Open went the way of 'The Nuke' as he won 8-6 to clinch the title in Prague. For the time being, Littler still has the edge over Humphries, an ominous sign.
Both players were also in action earlier in the evening. Littler began with a 3-1 win over John Henderson, averaging over 97 in the process in a comfortable win. Humphries also managed to get a win on the Blackpool stage when he whitewashed Robert Thornton 3-0 in a fairly swift and dominant win. Henderson would redeem his earlier loss with a commanding 4-1 triumph against Thornton.
While only an exhibition, it is still important for these players to get these types of contests under their belts ahead of a busy period while trying to claim the bragging rights in the process, which could help them going forwards. There is more exhibition action taking place in Rotherham and Knotty Ash with the top players getting more matches ahead of the World Grand Prix commencing from September 28 – October 4. Littler is the reigning champion after defeating Humphries in a one-sided final display last year.