Luke Humphries has warned Luke Littler that a lack of practice could cost him in the future.
Littler barely picked up a dart following his run to the World Championship final but won his next tournament in Bahrain.
Humphries stopped the teenager in his tracks at Alexandra Palace, beating him 7-4 days after becoming world No 1.
Littler took a break after the tournament, spending time with his family following a stunning rise to darting stardom.
Luke Humphries has warned Luke Littler that a lack of practice could cost him
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He was back in action at Bahrain, where he hit a nine-darter and then beat Michael van Gerwen in the final for his first senior tournament win.
Littler confirmed that he went to Bahrain 'with not even 10 minutes of practice'.
Humphries says the 17-year-old must ensure he puts in enough effort as it could be costly further down the line.
He told Sky Sports: "I wasn't surprised by his performance but I was surprised he hadn't practiced since the world final.
"You have to be careful in this game to put in enough effort. If you feel like you have got to the point in your game where you are great and you are not practising, it will come back to bite you.
"It is important he stays dedicated and practises hard because that is a point in the game where you can lose yourself.
"I know players who have done that, Michael Smith has openly admitted he didn't practice all last year then all of a sudden he lost his form.
"So, I feel like that is a massive point in your game you have to focus on.
"But he had a lot of tough performances, Gezzy [Gerwyn Price] and Michael didn't turn up against him and allowed him to go on.
"But that is the type of player he is, if you don't put pressure on him, he will beat you so I wasn't shocked at all. He is part of the elite and rightly so."
Littler beat Humphries at the Dutch Darts Masters last weekend and faced Van Gerwen in the final for a second week in a row.
The Dutchman got the better of him on that occasion, winning 8-6 in Den Bosch.
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Luke Littler says he barely practiced before the Bahrain Masters
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Littler will play Humphries again on Thursday on the opening night of the Premier League in Cardiff.
Humphries is using his world No 1 status as motivation to keep winning.
He said: "That was the one thing, when I woke up a couple of days after it I thought to myself, 'You have been motivated your whole life to become world champion, now you are, what do you wake up in the morning to look forward to what motivates you?'
"I thought, being world No 1 and staying there motivates me. Once you hit the peak you don't want to go down again.
Luke Humphries will face Luke Littler on the opening night of the Premier League
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"That is only going to be possible with hard work. What is important for me is to dedicate even more, practice harder, and keep working towards winning as many titles as I can.
"I think the first tournament I win as world champion will be the hardest because I always want to win one as world champion.
"That first one over the line will be important but I am going to work hard."
