Luke Humphries is not messing about at the PDC World Darts Championship.
Peter Wright is the next man in his sights.
GettyHumphries is attempting to win a second consecutive world title[/caption]
And the reigning champion has already given ‘Snakebite’ a piece of his mind as fans begin to salivate at the prospect of their fourth round tie on Sunday night.
Humphries and Wright got through to the fourth round, as they beat Nick Kenny and Jermaine Wattimena on Friday 4-0 and 4-2, respectively.
And it’s now looking set to be a cracker as the 29-year-old champion queried his Scottish opponent’s health claim and previous comments.
Wright has insisted he’s struggling with a chest infection, but Humphries isn’t so sure about that.
“He is a dangerous player,” he said. “I felt like he was okay in the practice room, maybe he was a lot more ill than he showed but I didn’t really see any signs that he was that ill.
“Two years ago I played Stephen Bunting and Vincent van der Voort and I was really ill, I struggled and couldn’t perform anywhere near the top level.
“He actually played one of the better games he played for a long, long time.”
And Humphries also took issue with Wright over comments about the tournament.
Previously Snakebite, 54, said: “What spurs me on? Luke Humphries and Luke Littler is what drives me on because I know that I can still compete with them.
“What I’m doing in practice, I can compete with these guys and actually be better than them.
GettyWright has clearly irked Humphries ahead of their clash on Sunday[/caption]
“These little old guys can still do it. I believe Barney [Raymond van Barneveld] will beat Luke and then me and Barney will have the best game ever that you’ve seen on that stage.”
And Humphries was not impressed, insisting Wright could look like a fool for his words in the fullness of time.
“He’s had a lot to say over the last couple of weeks, he says that he doesn’t fear me and Luke Littler, but he said he’s going to smash us. All the pressure is on him now because if he doesn’t, the egg is on his face, not mine.
“I’m really, really relaxed and if he doesn’t beat us then it’s gonna look silly on him, not me.
“I didn’t read the whole interview but I saw what he said and I’m thinking: how many times have people said, “This is gonna happen, this is gonna happen”, and it never happens.
“Michael is a good example of that. He’s said so many things over the years, ‘I’m gonna smash this, smash that’, and he loses.
“Peter said something like, ‘Barney is gonna smash me and Peter is gonna smash Jermaine [Wattimena]’… well, he got his end of the bargain.
“I think Peter loves to play the mind games but it doesn’t work with me. I’m one world title away from almost matching his career and I’m about 25 years younger.
“One world title would sort of match everything he’s ever achieved in the game so I don’t look into it too much. I think he’s trying to play the mind games but unfortunately for him, it doesn’t work for me.
“And it probably doesn’t work for Luke [Littler]. He said he doesn’t fear us but if I don’t fear someone then I don’t keep mentioning them all the time.”
Humphries, meanwhile, admitted he didn’t play as well as he could have despite dispatching Nick Kenny 4-0 in the third round.
“I felt good, it was a solid performance. It wasn’t really exuberant, it wasn’t my top, top level, but credit to Nick,’ he added.
“I thought he played pretty decent to be honest, he played a lot better than he did against Barney.
“The first set was a close one, he could have won that one, he missed on dart. But after that I felt like I got a little bit better, I grew into the game a lot more and it was a solid performance.
“I’m not being bigheaded, it wasn’t my best game but sometimes you don’t have to be at your best every single round.
“It’s important to play the player, play the board and just play the game. What more could I ask for? Seven out of seven so that’s all I could ask for.”