Aspinall: Humphries best player in the world ‘by a million miles’

Nathan Aspinall says Luke Humphries is the best darts player in the world “by a million miles” and that his Premier League rivals cannot beat him if he is at his best.

World No 1 and reigning world champion Humphries sits top of the Premier League standings on 26 points with five weeks left of the regular season, ahead of Luke Littler by virtue of nightly wins.

Cool Hand won three evenings on the spin in March, in Brighton, Nottingham and Dublin, while Littler went back-to-back in Belfast and Manchester on Nights Nine and 10 respectively.

Spotify

This content is provided by Spotify, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spotify cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.


Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spotify cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spotify cookies for this session only.

Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once

Aspinall triumphed on Night 12 in Rotterdam last week, beating Humphries in the semi-finals, and sits third in the table on 23 points ahead of his quarter-final meeting with Humphries in Liverpool on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm.

Aspinall told Sky Sports’ Love The Darts Podcast: “Standard-wise, Humphries is the best player in the world by a million miles. When he brings his A-game, we can’t beat him.

Trending

“He has been producing numbers that are obscene. I don’t even do that in a practice room, let alone on the stage.

“I beat him last week and can hopefully count on that experience and get another result but he is definitely the best player out there at the moment.”

Image:
Humphries and Luke Littler are the top two in the Premier League Darts Table after Night 12 in Rotterdam

Littler amazing for darts – but he is getting under our skin!

The Asp also said that the media attention teenager Littler has received after his run to the World Championship final at Alexandra Palace in January, at which he lost 7-4 to Humphries, has “got under the skin” of his Premier League opponents, although admits Littler has been a “fantastic addition” to the Premier League.

“What he has done for the game is amazing,” Aspinall said of The Nuke.

“He has kind of got under everyone’s skin because of what he is doing and what he is getting.

“We are like: ‘Who is this kid that got to the final of the Worlds and is now getting this, that and the other?’ It does kind of get under your skin and we are there to knock him down as much as we can.

“But there is no denying that he is a fantastic talent and a great addition to the Premier League.”

Aspinall: Premier League only thing I care about

Aspinall – who thinks he is four points away from securing a top-four place and heading to London’s O2 Arena for the play-offs on May 23 – skipped last weekend’s European Darts Grand Prix, a tournament Gary Anderson won after beating Ross Smith 8-6 in the final.

The Asp said: “I am concentrating solely on the Premier League, I don’t care about anything else.

“You play for the big titles, the big paychecks, the big trophies, and apart from the World Championship, there is nothing bigger than the Premier League.

“I hate going to ProTours, I just hate them. I am a big-stage player. I first picked up a dart to play in big arenas, big tournaments, so I am concentrating purely on the Premier League

“Granted, I have fallen down the ProTour rankings and I won’t be a seed but I don’t care. I play these guys week in, week out and if I turn up and play Michael van Gerwen first round, so be it.”

On the battle for play-off positions, Aspinall added: “After [Michael Smith and I] made the final in Rotterdam, we believe Van Gerwen [in fourth on 22 points, two points ahead of Smith] is the one under pressure.

“Even the top boys aren’t safe on 26 points, so it is going to make an interesting watch over the next five weeks.”

Watch Night 13 of Premier League Darts, in Liverpool, live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm on Thursday April 25 or stream with NOW.

Premier League Darts, Night 13, Liverpool – live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm Thursday

Quarter-finals

Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price

Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall

Peter Wright vs Michael van Gerwen

Michael Smith vs Rob Cross

Ad content | Stream Sky Sports on NOW

Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League and EFL, plus darts, cricket, tennis, golf and so much more.

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp

You can now receive messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel. Find out more here…