Luke Littler hits back at claims he doesn’t deserve an MBE

Littler Littler says he has achieved more than the legendary Dennis Priestley in what threatens to turn into between two English darts icons. 

Priestley opened fire at Littler on Thursday as he accused the youngster and Luke Humphries of ‘letting their country down’ and claimed they didn’t deserve their MBEs. 

Littler and Humphries had suffered a humiliating exit from the Darts World Cup at the hands of Germany in the second round – the stage they entered at – just 24 hours after receiving their MBEs. 

Priestley told OLBG: ‘Luke Littler and Luke Humphries let their country down at the World Cup of Darts. From what we’ve heard they weren’t sitting together or practising together. 

‘When I was playing in pairs with Phil Taylor we practised together and sat together, we played all over the world and I only remember us getting beaten once.

‘To be brutally honest, I don’t think either Luke Littler or Luke Humphries have done enough to earn their MBEs just yet.’

His comments did not go down well with Littler, who lashed back in a hastily deleted Instagram Story post: ‘Don’t deserve an MBE but done more in 12 months than he ever did… that’s what I would say anyway.’

Littler struggled at the Darts World Cup as he was booed relentlessly by the crowd in Frankfurt.

The 18-year-old has been continually jeered in Germany, including at the Premier League night in Berlin in March and the German Grand Prix in Munich in April, which has led to him threatening to boycott events there.

He has won the PDC World Championship, the Premier League, the Grand Slam of Darts, the World Series Finals, and the UK Open in the last 15 months.

Priestley holds the distinction of being the first player to win both the PDC and the BDO World Championships, though the latter was dissolved in 2020. 

A former coal merchant from Yorkshire, Priestley, nicknamed ‘the Menace,’ only entered the professional darts circuit in his late 30s. 

He added to OLBG: ‘I think in time they could’ve done enough to warrant it (the MBE) but it feels very early, they have both won one World Championship each and are still young in their careers.

‘Littler has been recognised for raising the popularity of darts which is great, but he can still do so much more.

‘If he is getting an MBE this soon then you’d have to think he is on the right path to a knighthood, nothing would surprise me now.’

Even Gerwyn Price stuck his boot in, accusing them of playing ‘rubbish,’ albeit without naming them, after they lost 8-4 to Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko despite being tournament favourites. 

The Welshman said: ‘When we turned up on the first day, and I’m not just saying this because they lost, but the only two players that didn’t turn up together, didn’t sit together, didn’t play as a team – I’m not saying who they are – but they didn’t win their first game.

‘You need to turn up together, you need to be as a team, you practice together, you sit together, it’s a team ethic. It didn’t show with England, and it showed on the board.

‘They are great players individually, but you need to be a team.

‘You need that team ethic. You need to be as a team all the way through but it didn’t happen.

‘I wanted them to do well but they didn’t. I’m not just saying that to make some fans. I wanted them to do well but they were rubbish!’