Luke Littler strengthened his grip on the bragging rights over Luke Humphries after another enthralling chapter of the growing rivalry between the world's top two players.
The 18-year-old claimed a third successive victory over Humphries, retaining his Grand Slam of Darts title with a 16-11 victory in Wolverhampton, hours after dethroning him as world No 1.
Humphries had topped the PDC Order of Merit since beating Littler to victory in the 2024 World Championship final at the Alexandra Palace, but 'The Nuke' is now officially the best player in the world after beating Danny Noppert in the semi-final of the Grand Slam of Darts to move top.
Humphries' second successive runner-up finish at the World Grand Prix came after winning the World Masters and beating Littler in the Premier League final earlier in the campaign, with 'Cool Hand' describing matches between the two Lukes as the 'biggest game in world darts'.
Littler won the World Championship, UK Open and World Matchplay during an impressive 2025, along with two World Series events, then beat Humphries in the World Grand Prix final to secure that trophy for the first time.
And Grand Slam of Darts victory over Humphries followed as Littler celebrated his ascent to world No 1 by retaining a major title for the very first time at the expense of his rival.
Ahead of the pair likely meeting in multiple more occasions in the months and years ahead, we look back at every occasion Humphries and Littler have beaten one another in the final of a TV event…
Littler captured the interest of the sporting world with his memorable Alexandra Palace debut, where the then 16-year-old beat former world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross during a remarkable run to the final.
The Nuke looked on course for a famous victory when he won three consecutive sets to move into a 4-2 lead, only to miss a crucial D2 for a three-set cushion and allow Humphries to reduce the deficit in a final-leg decider.
Humphries then won each of the next four sets to close out victory, a fourth TV major title in as many months, while Littler's runner-up finish saw him selected for the following year's Premier League.
Littler hit the ground running in his debut Premier League season, winning four events nights on his way to topping the standings, then capped off the campaign with another impressive victory over Humphries at London's O2 Arena.
The teenager had already beaten Humphries in each of their previous four meetings of the regular season, including both the first two weeks, with Littler extending that run and becoming the youngest Premier League champion.
The first-to-11 contest was locked at five each when Littler delivered a sensational nine-darter to send the crowd into a frenzy, before following it by winning five of the next seven legs to secure the £275,000 first prize.
Littler arrived as Grand Slam of Darts champion and looking to cap off a stunning first full year on the professional circuit with another TV title, only to come unstuck against Humphries in a high-scoring final.
He fired four ton-plus checkouts during the match, including 170 and 164 finishes during a three-leg burst, as he battled back from 5-1 down to move within a leg of Humphries and set up a thrilling finish.
The pair remained locked together until Humphries claimed the last three legs to pull clear and wrap up an 11-7 triumph, seeing him extend his advantage as world No 1 and join Michael van Gerwen as the only players to successfully defend their Players Championship Finals title.
The two Lukes dominated the regular Premier League campaign, winning nine nights between them, with the pair going head-to-head eight times - including in five finals - on their way to finishing the top two in the standings.
Humphries looked in danger of losing to Littler at the O2 Arena for the second successive year after falling 3-0 and 5-3 behind, but the world No 1 flipped the match by claiming five of the next six legs to open up an 8-6 advantage.
'Cool Hand' closed out an 11-8 victory despite Littler posting a 100.29 average and ten maximums in the match, with Humphries' win his second TV title of the year and seeing him become just the ninth player to win the Premier League title.
Littler raced to his third title in less than a month, following World Matchplay and Australian Darts Masters victories with a record-breaking display against Humphries in Auckland.
He averaged 115.02 - the highest average ever in a World Series event final - during another impressive display, which extended his winning streak and earned a fourth World Series title of his young career.
Littler raced into a 3-0 lead and extended his advantage to 6-2 with 13-dart and 11-dart legs, then responded to back-to-back legs from Humphries by wrapping up an 8-4 win with successive 11 darters.
The two lived up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites at the Mattioli Arena, with Littler following a dramatic final-leg thriller against Gerwyn Price by trashing Jonny Clayton 5-1 and Humphries reaching the final for the third consecutive year.
Littler added his name to the illustrious roll of honour in the double-start event after winning each of his opening four sets in deciding legs, which included him coming agonisingly close to the perfect leg after missing the bullseye with his ninth dart.
Humphries produced a timely burst to open his account in set five, before Littler won back-to-back legs to pocket the £120,000 and further close the gap in the race to end the season as world No 1.
The first and second seed made sure to meet once again at the WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton as Littler kept his remarkable unbeaten run at the Grand Slam alive.
Littler became just the fourth player ever to retain his title, joining the illustrious list of Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, and Gerwyn Price.
It was also the event at which Littler had taken the world No 1 spot from his rival by making the final, the semi-final victory over Danny Noppert enough to move him to the top of the world.
The next TV major live on SportNews is the PDC World Darts Championship from December 11 to January 3 at Alexandra Palace.
