Humphries bidding for more Brighton brilliance on Night Ten

Luke Humphries is determined to take inspiration from his previous exploits in Brighton and reignite his BetMGM Premier League Play-Off ambitions on Thursday.

Night Ten of the 2026 Premier League will take place at The Brighton Centre, and Humphries returns to the south coast in unfamiliar territory – outside of the top four positions.

The reigning Premier League champion has finished second in the league phase in his previous two appearances, before lifting the coveted crown at The O2 in London last year.

However, Humphries heads into Thursday’s action two points adrift of the top four, having featured in a solitary nightly final across the first nine weeks of competition.

The 31-year-old will take on Jonny Clayton in the evening’s opening quarter-final, with Clayton currently occupying third spot – eight points above Humphries in sixth position.

“For me it’s not a must-win game, but if I want to start making an impact and pushing towards the top four, a win is definitely crucial,” conceded Humphries.

“It’s almost getting to that point of no return now where you can’t afford to keep losing in the quarter-finals.

“I don’t necessarily have to win nights, I just have to keep winning that first game and try and maybe win one night at least.

“One good night will really change it around for me, and who knows, maybe it will be tonight!”

Brighton was the scene of Humphries’ first nightly victory in the Premier League in 2024, while he also landed his first televised nine-darter at this venue against Rob Cross 12 months ago.

Humphries will be hoping to celebrate another milestone moment on Thursday, as he plots a third consecutive victory over Welsh number one Clayton.

“Brighton has held some really good memories for me,” continued the world number two.

“That is probably something I need to look back on and try and gain some inspiration from.

“The last four weeks have been tough, but that’s darts, that’s sport. You just have to get on with it and try harder.

“Hopefully this will be a good night for myself.”

Despite his precarious league position, Humphries has still been one of the league’s outstanding performers, and his tournament average of 100.54 is only exceeded by league leader Luke Littler.

The 2023/24 World Champion has landed nine ton-plus averages in 15 matches so far, although he insists he needs to raise the bar further if he’s to preserve his title aspirations over the coming weeks.

“I’m probably averaging more than I did in 2024 and 2025 as a whole,” Humphries reflected.

“I can’t really sit here and say I’m not playing well enough, but maybe my timing has not been as good.

“I’ve had some really good performances against me to be fair. Gezzy had two great games against me, [Stephen] Bunting was brilliant in Belfast too. That is kudos to them.

“It’s up to me to find something even better than I’ve produced before to force myself into that top four now.”

Ranking points are awarded per night – with five to the winner, three to the runner-up and two to the semi-finalists – to form the league table from which the top four players will progress to Finals Night at The O2 in London on Thursday May 28.

The 2026 BetMGM Premier League is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers (outside of the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).

2026 BetMGM Premier League
Night Ten – The Brighton Centre
Thursday April 9
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries v Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price v Josh Rock
Luke Littler v Stephen Bunting
Michael van Gerwen v Gian van Veen

Semi-Finals
Humphries/Clayton v Price/Rock
Littler/Bunting v Van Gerwen/Van Veen

Final
 v

All matches best of 11 legs