Luke Humphries launches passionate Luke Littler rant – 'That's the argument'

Luke Humphries has hit out critics who have complained about his frequent matchups with after beating the teenager in the final of Night 14. It was the 30-year-old's second nightly win of the season, and moves him to within nine points of table-topper Littler in the overall standings.

It was the sixth time the pair have faced each other in this year's competition - and the fourth time their clash came in a final - leading some fans to express frustration over the rivalry's repetitiveness and a perceived lack of variety.

, however, dismissed those concerns, insisting he and Littler are the two best players in the and that fans should savour their high-level battles rather than complain.

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"I think it all depends on what you want to see," he told Sports Boom after the match. "Do you want to see the best players in the world playing against each other, or do you not want to wait six months for it? That's, that's the argument.

"A lot of people say, oh, it gets boring. But I tell you what, I love watching the two best sportsmen in the world going against each other, to be honest, in [all] sports.

"You watch , and you see you Eubank Jr and Benn, what a fight that was, do I wanna see that 20 times? Yeah, I would, because it was great fight, you know. I wouldn't want to go and watch them fight against other people that aren't as good because it wouldn't be as fun."

Both Humphries and Littler have already secured their spots in the end-of-season play-offs, where the top four performers will battle it out in a final knockout tournament for the Premier League title.

The duo previously met in last year's final, and Cool Hand has made it clear - he's hungry for a rematch. "Hopefully, in my opinion, I want to see him in the Premier League final as well, because I just love playing against him," he said.

"No disrespect to anyone else, but when you are playing against him, you have to be at your best. If you're not, you'll get beaten. It gets you out of bed and makes you want to play better. I enjoy it more than any other game of darts."

The Nuke has been in blistering form this season, racking up a record five nightly wins. He came within a whisker of a sixth in Leeds on Thursday, but a missed bullseye in the final leg opened the door for Humphries, who coolly sealed victory with a 52 checkout.

The result keeps Humphries' hopes of overtaking Littler alive - though only just. To claim top spot before the end of the season, he'll need to win both of the remaining nights and hope the 18-year-old exits in the quarter-finals on both occasions.

, currently third in the table with three nightly wins, has also secured his play-off place. That leaves , Nathan Aspinall, , and Chris Dobey to fight it out for the fourth and final spot, with bottom-of-the-table unable to make up the ground.