Darts fans share theory on real reason for Luke Littler's loss to rival in Swiss Darts Trophy

He defeated home favourite Bruno Stockli in the second round to set up a fascinating tie with Humphries.

It's the 12th time the two have met this year with Littler winning eight of the previous 11 matches.

But it was Humphries who got the better of the 17-year-old on this occasion in what turned out to be a comfortable 6-3 victory.

Littler missed multiple chances throughout the match with neither player up to their usual high standards.

The teenager gave the match away in the ninth leg after failing to put the pressure on Humphries, who had double-tops for the match.

Littler still had over 200 left on the board, but he was left dismayed when his first two darts totalled just 25 points.

He then appeared to give up with his final dart, aiming for a bullseye and smiling as he stepped away from the oche.

Humphries then made no mistake with his next visit to wrap up the match and progress to the next round.

But some viewers feel Littler's dismal display was partly due to him changing his darts this week.

Littler admitted earlier in the day after his win over Stockli that he still wasn't sure whether to revert back to his old set.

Littler said: “Everyone knows my new darts only came out a few days ago.

“I tried them out and at one point I was debating whether to switch and go back to my old ones because of the crowd, they were obviously on his side.

COOL HAND MARCHES ON!

Luke Humphries books his spot in the quarter-finals, as the world number one beats Luke Littler 6-3 in our second game of the afternoon.

🔜 Stephen Bunting v Martin Schindler
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #ET12 pic.twitter.com/2erJAgL6Q0

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) September 29, 2024

“The darts are all the same, it’s just the gold grooves on the barrel. I think it went well tonight.”

But some fans feel Littler should have gone back to his old darts when going up against Humphries.

One viewer wrote: "Littler cannot play on with these darts. It's written all over his face. He hates them."

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Another said: "Bad advertisement for Littler's new darts."

A third posted: "The new darts seem to be bad for Littler."

One other person noted: "New darts are always bad when you don't like them... it doesn't work."

Another stated: "Yeah he don't like these new darts."