Lost to Luke Littler and saw Leeds crash out in the play-off final but still won £165,000

LUKE HUMPHRIES reckons his matches with Luke Littler are the Talk of the Town.

The Lukes of Hazard will have top billing in New York this week as the Arrows take off across the States.

The two-day US Masters of Darts kicks off Friday at The Theater at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

Littler, 17, is newly crowned Premier League champion thanks to an 11-7 victory over Cool Hand Luke a week ago in London.

And world No.1 Humphries believes their rivalry, which includes a meeting in the last world final, takes the sport to a new level.

Humphries – who shared an open-top bus with Littler and Peter Wright around Lower and Central Manhattan – said: “The sport is booming.

“And the other Luke brought up the sport. I also do my part and try to develop the sport for the younger generation.

“I feel that we, Lukes, represent the best game of darts. When we play, the fans cheer them on.

“You could see us struggling for the next 10 or 15 years. There will be players who will come and test us. They might even be better than us.

“We’ve already played enough. That is the only unfortunate thing. I’ve already played seven times since January 3rd.”

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Humphries, 29, is still reeling from the Prem final defeat and then watches his beloved Leeds United lose their Championship play-off final at Wembley.

The Berkshire hurler, who is in the Big Apple with girlfriend Kayley, said: “A lot of people have been tagging me and texting me saying I’ve had the worst week possible.

“But I won £165,000 on Thursday. Not too bad a week. I have suffered worse, I can assure you of that!

“Obviously I know we lost the final on Thursday and Leeds lost on Sunday.

“Thursday was a great game to be a part of. I didn’t walk away from that disappointed or thinking “What if?”

“I did my best and it wasn’t good enough. Luke played fantastic, he deserved the win.

‘WHEN IT RAIN IT POURS’

“It was the same in the world final. He also played fantastically and didn’t win and I did.

“It’s two fantastic major finals we’ve shared together and it’s one for each.

“I thought going to Sunday Leeds would give me a glimpse of getting some fun during the week.

“I also felt it might not happen because sometimes when it rains, it pours.

“I’m very disappointed that Leeds didn’t go up, but it’s football, it’s sport. you come back

“It’s just the little things that can change things and unfortunately for Leeds it was that crossbar.”