Luke Littler proclaimed himself as "the best in the world" after snatching the world No 1 spot from Luke Humphries, who then "declared war" on his 18-year-old rival.
Less than two years after playing in his first professional PDC event, Littler reached the top of the world rankings on Sunday and cemented his achievement by .
The rivalry between the pair is set to reach new levels at the World Darts Championship, which starts on Thursday December 11 and could climax in a final between the top two players on Saturday January 3.
"I am the best in the world," said Littler after winning in Wolverhampton for the second year in a row.
"I can finally say it, world No 1. You are the best in the world and obviously to top it off, going back-to-back here makes it even more special."
Humphries, who beat a then-16-year-old Littler to claim his first World Championship in January 2024, has now dropped to second in the world after topping the rankings for 23 months.
He has lost in the final of the PDC's last three major events - defeats at the World Grand Prix and European Championship coming before Sunday night's disappointment - and he admitted he struggled in the Grand Slam final after a draining semi-final with Gerwyn Price earlier in the day.
However, he has vowed to return to the top of the rankings by winning the £1 million first prize at Alexandra Palace in the coming weeks.
"I'm ready for the Worlds now. I'm going to win the Worlds," Humphries declared after the 16-11 defeat.
"I am [declaring war] because I'm obviously disappointed to lose last three finals, but I'm playing good, and the tiredness crept in at the end there.
"One game a day suits me. We're going to go to war. World Championships, me and him in a final. We're going to see who's the number one there."
Littler, who was warmly congratulated by Humphries on stage after his latest triumph, clearly relished the challenge laid down by his friend and biggest rival.
The duo have now contested six major PDC finals with both players picking up three victories.
"It definitely is war because if someone obviously takes it off you, then you want it back. You don't want to be second," Littler said.
"It's taken me 19 to 20 months to get to world No 1, so now I want to stay there for a few years.
"Luke was an incredible world No 1. He won plenty of titles along his way and he kept that gap from me.
"But I won many more to close the gap and now I've finally closed the gap. I've overtaken him, but now he wants it back and I've got to make sure that I'm on my game if we ever do meet in another final."
SportNews expert Wayne Mardle suggested on Sunday night that the duo are creating a golden era in darts and argued they are now "elevated" above the rest of the field.
"I think we are," agreed Littler.
"The finals show it, the stats show it and if everyone's getting bored of me and him, then someone needs to stop us, otherwise we're going to keep winning.
"We're always going to meet in the final if we get past our opponents and we'll make it continue.
"Now I've got that No 1 spot, obviously he wants it back, but now we're going to be battling even more.
"I think we're going to keep playing well because he wants it back and obviously I don't want to give it away.
"You're going to see many more great games."
Humphries agreed that he and Littler are in a different class to the rest of the players in 2025.
"Honestly, I do," he told SportNews. "I'm not being arrogant when I say that.
"I feel like a lot of people get a little bit just complacent and say it's another Luke v Luke final or it's rubbish. But what can we do?
"We're opposite sides of the draw and we keep meeting each other. I mean, people can stop us, it's up to them.
"It's up to everyone else to stop us, and if they do, good luck to them. But at the moment, me and Luke are playing a level of this sport that's better than everyone else.
"We're going to keep competing finals. Regardless of what happens with the world No 1, I want to be in the world final with him.
"We want to go again, toe to toe and see what we got, baby."
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