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Topics: Darts, Luke Littler
Luke Davies
A rival has sent Luke Humphries and Luke Littler a warning ahead of their World Cup of Darts appearances on Saturday.
Littler, 18, and Humphries, 30, will represent England in this year’s World Cup of Darts but will not make an appearance until tomorrow’s second round.
Although the tournament did get underway on Thursday and the Netherlands dominated the first day at Frankfurt's Eissporthalle.
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The Republic of Ireland and Germany were also first-night winners in the group stage.
Doubles matches will be played throughout instead of singles – a new format that was brought in for the 2024 edition, which England won.
The first round involves 36 teams split into three groups of 12, while the top four-seeded duos – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – begin their campaign on Saturday.
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The pairing of Littler and Humphries are heavy favourites to take home the crown but have still been warned about their egos by a fellow player.
The Republic of Ireland’s William O’Connor made the claim when speaking to Darts News after a 4-2 win over Gibraltar on Thursday.
"It's not singles like, we'll see how egos go," said O'Connor.
“If egos go against you, then you never know how that doubles will go, don't know how those pairs will gel like, they might not gel together.
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"Yes, they have the potential to just whitewash everyone in their way, but also they have the potential to fall apart, so we'll see.”
Teammate Keane Barry added: “Obviously they're the team to beat, yeah, but again everyone is beatable and you just have to go up there and be the best team on the day.
"They are the team to beat, but you just have to concentrate on what you're doing, it doesn't matter what form anyone is in, on the day, anything can happen. We know we're playing well enough together, and we'll just see what happens."
So, what have Littler and Humphries said ahead of their appearance at the tournament?
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"I've not spoken to anyone about putting the shirt on for your country, but I am sure it is one of the best feelings you'll ever have,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“I'm sure me and Luke I are ready for it.”
Meanwhile, Humphries has promised to rally round his teammate if the German crowd greet Littler with a negative reception.
“We've just got to make sure that if they're on his back, I'll be there to say, 'don't worry about what they're doing, focus on your game' and if we play against Germany that's going to be hard but I think he'll learn from the occasions of playing against crowds that are hostile,” Humphries explained.
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"I've been there, I've had it a little bit before and you just have to focus on the game and not worry about what is going on behind you."