Luke Humphries says the pressure of carrying the nation’s hopes led to last year’s premature World Cup exit.The Leeds thrower teamed up with world champion Luke Littler to represent England in what was described by many as the ‘dream team’.Luke Humphries was unable to find his best form as England slipped to an 8-4 defeat to GermanyLuke Littler was left stunned by England’s surprising second-round exitSky SportsAnd with the duo ranked at No.1 and No.2 in the world, it made their second-round exit to Germany all the more surprising.The pair are set to join forces again when the World Cup takes centre stage in Frankfurt next month.Reflecting on last year’s woes, Humphries admits the expectation surrounding the twosome became too overwhelming.“I wouldn’t say it is as a whole. But there was so much noise and people were saying you can’t lose a leg, type of thing,” Humphries said.“We didn’t believe it, but there was so much pressure put on us that we thought we can’t lose, because if we do lose then everyone is going to do what they did.“Every time for the next three or four weeks after every exhibition we went to, it was like: ‘How did you lose? How did you lose?’“It was like you wanted to not hear it. I think last year people saw that we could lose, so the expectation this year is a bit lower.“But we know if we both bond and play well, it will be an incredible performance from us both.”Blocking out the noiseLast year’s defeat saw the pair engage in some soul searching to assess where things had gone wrong.That followed suggestions that Humphries and Littler do not function well as a team – a notion ‘Cool Hand’ strongly refutes.Humphries and Littler will hope they can set the record straight this time roundX formerly Twitter / @SkySportsDartsHe added: “We are going to do the same again. There is no you do what I do. Luke says you do what I do.“It’s the same scenario as last year. I get to a venue about three and a half hours before I play a game.“Luke gets into it about an hour or two before. I said to him last year, you do what you want to do. I’ll come when I want to come. Don’t think you have to come at the same time. We are a team.“I think last year a lot was said, and a lot was said that they did not act like a good team.“Trust me, me and Luke are good friends. We get on really well. We want to do well. This year we are probably more determined than ever. Last year it was really tough for us to take.“We sat down together and were like, what did we do wrong maybe? We were like, we didn’t do anything wrong personally.The pair have gone head to head over the past two years for the biggest prizes in the sportGetty“We kind of let the occasion get the better of us.“We are more determined and focused than ever to do well in the World Cup because Luke is missing it from his CV and he wants it badly.“I’ve got it, but I can help him win it.”