Luke Humphries has insisted he has a good relationship with Luke Littler and slammed the media for painting a 'different picture' after his latest Premier League win.
The 29-year-old consolidated his grip on second by beating Michael van Gerwen to emerge victorious in Leeds.
Humphries now has 33 points to his name, five less than Littler and six more than Van Gerwen.
The darts star was asked about Littler after his latest triumph - and insisted the duo were friends, while suggesting 'some media outlets' have tried to stir the pot.
Luke Humphries has insisted he's friends with Luke Littler despite 'some media outlets' saying otherwise
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“I love him to be honest, I think Luke is fantastic," he said.
"I get on really well with him. A lot of media outlets paint a different picture, me and Luke Litter are fanatic friends.
"We get along really well.”
He then added: “Every time we walk in this arena we always have a little thing together, we get up on the stage and have a practice, have a chat for 20 minutes or whatever, have a little talk about what’s gone on in the week and that’s our thing.
"Everyone can paint the picture of ‘we’re rivals’, nah.
"We are rivals, we want to beat each other, but you will never get the negativity between us both because we get on really well and that’s it.
“He respects me and I respect him as an unbelievable talent up there, but the way he has dealt with himself this year has been absolutely amazing.
"His family should be very proud to be honest, because he has shown a lot of grit, a lot of determination and shown a lot of people that he deserves to be here.
"My dream would be to play him in the final because whoever won out of us two, I would be happy for him and if I won I am sure he would be happy for me.”
Humphries' victory was arguably his sweetest yet.
He walked out to a raucous reception from Leeds fans, with the world No 1 a huge fan of both the football and rugby club.
And Humphries, speaking to Sky Sports, admitted he felt the pressure before the event started.
"When I walked in here, I did feel a little bit of pressure, I can't lie," he said.
"I knew it (pressure) was on me. This was a dream for me tonight to perform in front of a crowd that I don't do very often.
"Tonight was amazing. Going on to win was one of my greatest experiences in darts."
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Luke Humphries won the latest night of Premier League action in Leeds on Thursday night
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He added: "The crowd were fantastic. It is what dreams are made of.
"I have played really well tonight, but it is how you peak on night 17 - being Premier League champion is something that would mean a lot to me."
Humphries, Littler and Van Gerwen will all return to action on Night 16 at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.
Luke Littler remains top of the Premier League table despite Luke Humphries' victory in Leeds
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Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall will clash in a winner-takes-all last eight showdown, with both men hoping to qualify for the play-offs.
Humphries is due to face Gerwyn Price.
And Littler will go up against Peter Wright, who has won just two Premier League matches throughout the season so far.
