'I've played Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen - it's clear who better champion is'
James Wade is through to the World Grand Prix quarter-finals and has given his take on the champion status of Luke Humphries, someone he could meet should he reach the final
James Wade revealed who he believes is the better world champion out of Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen – siding with Cool Hand.
Humphries has cemented his status as the sport's no.1 player over the last 12 months, having won the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam, Players Championship, World Matchplay and the World Championship. Since tasting glory in the Grand Prix last year, the 29-year-old hasn’t looked back and is into the quarter-finals in Leicester again this time around.
The same cannot be said for Van Gerwen - world title holder in 2014, 2017 and 2019 - Michael Smith, and Luke Littler, who all exited the competition in the first round. Wade, who will play Mike de Decker in his quarter-final tie, believes that Humphries has surpassed the once unstoppable MVG – world No.1 from 2014 up until 2021 – with his exploits as champion, which are perhaps only bested by Phil Taylor.
The Machine, who has already knocked out both Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price at the Grand Prix, was asked about Humphries' dominance, suggesting that maybe only The Power boasts a more glittering resume.
"I’m not someone that cares about darts, but the world champions of the last 10 to 15 years, can you tell me any of them that have progressed and dominated and won tournaments like him [Humphries]?" Wade told SportsBoom.
"I actually think he’s a better world champion than Michael [van Gerwen]. I think he’s probably doing better things than Michael, in a short space of time as well.
"Michael [van Gerwen] is different gravy, but what Luke’s [Humphries] doing at the moment is magical, and we are not grabbing it."
Humphries is often credited with being overlooked by fans and the media in the presence of teenage sensation Littler - a fact that another darting great, Gary Anderson, condemned earlier this week.
“It's not just being world champion, what has Luke won over the last two years?,” Anderson exclaimed to reporters after he progressed past Smith at the Grand Prix, only to be knocked out by Wade’s upcoming opponent, De Decker.
"This is the thing, he has won just about everything since this last year, hasn’t he? That’s hard. He's not just world champion, he's there for a reason. World champion was added onto his CV, he's won so much more. And the boy gets looked over every time, which I think is a load of b******s, to be honest.
"Just a little respect, it's always other people. But Luke goes on you go. As long as they're talking about other people, the limelight's off of him so he can just carry on what he does. He's handling it well but deep down he must be cheesed off.”
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