Luke Humphries responds after James Wade brands him and Luke Littler ‘lazy’

Luke Humphries has hit back after darts rival James Wade branded him ‘lazy’, insisting there is no player that ‘works harder’ than him on the circuit.

Wade booked his place in the last 16 of the PDC World Masters on Friday, digging deep to defeat Mike De Decker 3-2 at Milton Keynes’ Marshall Arena.

The 41-year-old was understandably pleased with his performance, which came just weeks after his disappointing second-round elimination at the World Darts Championship.

However, it was Wade’s comments after his win which really caused a stir among darts fans, with ‘The Machine’ taking aim at both Humphries and world champion Luke Littler – his last-16 opponent – for their apparent laziness.

‘I don’t believe anyone is amazing apart from probably Luke and Luke and, after that, they can be quite lazy,’ he said after downing De Decker.

‘They’re not Phil Taylors, they’re not Michael van Gerwens at their best, but they are phenomenal players.

‘But there’s gaps in the market and it is what it is.’

Looking to put his last-16 exit at the World Darts Championship behind him, Humphries booked his spot in the Masters quarter-finals with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Josh Rock this afternoon.

Speaking shortly after the one-sided whitewash, ‘Cool Hand’ appeared to respond to the comments made by Wade, underlining his professionalism on tour and unwavering desire to better himself.

‘I’m searching for something better,’ Humphries – the 2024 world champion – told reporters.

‘I’m really happy with my performances over the last 18 months, I’ve been really good, but if you’re going to keep up you’ve got to get better and I want to set the standard.

‘There’s no player that works harder than me. Yesterday, I was the only player here practicing because I want to be performing at the highest level.

‘I want to challenge Luke [Littler], Michael [van Gerwen and Gezzy [Gerwyn Pryce], I don’t want it to phase out and not to aspire to something great.

‘I’m working incredibly hard and that’s all I care about. If it doesn’t work out for me then so be it.

‘But all I can tell myself is I’m working hard from the ability I’ve got and I’m just trying to find something that can make me even better and challenge everybody.’

On his display against Rock, Humphries added: ‘I felt there was more to give and I think you could see that in my performance, there was so many missed opportunities to play better.

‘But when you win 4-0 you can’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve done what you needed to do.

‘I felt for Josh there, he missed a few crucial doubles to win certain legs and it could have been a lot closer.

‘I think 4-0 was not so fair but I’m clinical under pressure sometimes and I that’s what took me through. Not my best but I know there’s another level in me that I can bring out when it’s needed.’

Humphries – who faces Damon Heta in the next round – stressed that securing the Masters title was his sole focus, even if it meant ‘winning ugly’.

‘Sometimes it’s frustrating when you feel like you could have performed at a high level and you don’t but when you win, that’s what matters,’ he added.

‘For me, like I said to a lot of people on Thursday, I’m not here to set out markers or to hit massive averages, I just want to win.

‘Win ugly or win great, it doesn’t matter. As long as I’m here tomorrow that’s probably when I’m at my most dangerous.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.