Luke Humphries warned Luke Littler and his fellow professionals that female world No. 1 Beau Greaves will be competing at the very top of darts for years to come. In a rare joint interview to ITV, Humphries lavished praise on his opponent at the UK Open, having prevailed in a 10-7 classic. Greaves was just whiskers away from the greatest darting performance on a shared stage by a woman, having led 7-5, only for 'Cool Hand' to mount an impressive comeback.

It would have been the biggest scalp in history by a woman at a televised event, having already pushed three opponents aside to book a place in the fourth round against Humphries. Beau 'n' Arrow immediately announced herself in the big time by hitting 126, 124 and 100 checkouts in the first five legs to lead 3-2 at the break. If the Premier League leader and 2024 world champion thought he would be able to take a gentle stroll down Minehead Butlins, he was duly informed otherwise, before pulling back to 5-5.

Greaves claimed the next two legs, only for Humphries to find his form and win out. He made sure to give his opponent her dues after the match, calling her back to the stage for the crowd to give her a big applause, before conducting his TV interview with the 21-year-old.

“She belongs in big-time darts," Humphries said. "If we were in a Premier League game, she would have beaten me there. She’s still very young but she’s got a massive future ahead of her. I’m going to be sharing the stage with her a lot more.

"I really enjoyed it, that's what I said to her afterwards. I really, really enjoyed it," Humphries said. "It was great fun, she was amazing. She played so great. I think she dropped off in the end, that's what she said. But the long format she's probably not used to playing. She's a fantastic player there and she really had to bring the best of me."

He then directly namedropped Littler and Michael van Gerwen as the level that Greaves should aspire to be at, continuing: “I don’t want to put pressure on her but she’s already a top-64 player in the world right now and she’s got a massive future ahead of her.

“I didn’t play too badly there, which proves she has got the game for big-time darts. Over the next few years I’m sure I’ll be sharing the stage with her more.

“Beau proved she belongs in big-time darts - she really did test me, and in a few years you’ll find she’s got the level to match me, Luke (Littler) and Michael (Van Gerwen).”

Greaves added: “It’s a learning curve - I’m not used to the longer formats and my game dropped off towards the end, but it was an amazing experience.

“I’m used to watching these players all the time on telly and it was just great to be there on stage with him and to give a good account of myself.”