Luke Humphries admits he’s ‘incredibly proud’ of his BetMGM Premier League revival, after confirming his qualification for Finals Night courtesy of his Night Fifteen success in Birmingham. Humphries celebrated his first nightly victory of the season at the Utilita Arena on Thursday, producing a trio of eye-catching displays to down Stephen Bunting, Luke Littler and […]
Luke Humphries admits he’s ‘incredibly proud’ of his BetMGM Premier League revival, after confirming his qualification for Finals Night courtesy of his Night Fifteen success in Birmingham.
Humphries celebrated his first nightly victory of the season at the Utilita Arena on Thursday, producing a trio of eye-catching displays to down Stephen Bunting, Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price.
The 31-year-old averaged 107.36 in a six-leg blitz of Bunting in the quarter-finals, while averaging a staggering 110.98 to snap his four-match losing streak against Littler.
Humphries rattled off six straight legs from 3-0 adrift to stun the World Champion, which set up a tantalising winner-takes-all showdown against Price in the West Midlands.
Despite surging into a commanding 4-1 lead, Humphries was pegged back by a tenacious Price, before following up a 12-darter with a 117 checkout to clinch the nightly spoils.
This saw Humphries establish a six-point buffer over Dutch duo Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen, ensuring he cannot be overhauled on the final night of league action in Sheffield next week.
“I’m just proud of myself for battling through,” declared Humphries, who boasts a tournament average of 101.02 – the highest in this year’s competition.
“It’s not been the best from me this year, but I believed in myself over the last few weeks and that’s what matters.
“It shows true grit when you can come back from the position that I was in. I’m looking at the table now and I was five points behind.
“I’m just incredibly proud of myself, probably the most proud of myself I’ve ever been in my life.”
Humphries’ sense of pride is certainly vindicated, given the fact he was languishing in seventh spot following Night Ten in Brighton.
Having recorded back-to-back second-place finishes in his first two Premier League appearances, the reigning champion appeared in genuine peril of missing out on Finals Night for the first time in his career.
Nevertheless, back-to-back nightly finals in Aberdeen and Leeds catapulted Humphries back into top four contention, and he cemented his status with a sensational showing in Birmingham.
“For the last two Premier League seasons, it’s all come fairly easy, but in the last three weeks, there’s been a lot of pressure on my shoulders,” he added.
“To make three finals and win one, it means a lot to me, because it shows my grit and determination.
“When you’ve played in many major finals, they help you with these sort of nights.”
Despite confirming his place at The O2 in London later this month, Humphries now has a top-three finish in his sights ahead of next week’s visit to Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
The world number two is level with Price on 24 points, but he must better the Welshman’s points tally in the Steel City to overhaul him on Night Sixteen.
Humphries will take on 2021 Premier League champion Jonny Clayton at The O2 if he finishes in third spot, although he will renew his rivalry with Littler if he remains in fourth position.
“It would have hurt me a lot [if I didn’t make the Play-Offs],” conceded Humphries, who defeated Littler 11-7 to triumph in last year’s showpiece.
“I just said to myself: ‘Make sure on the 16th week you have an opportunity to qualify, and I’ve done it on the 15th week!’
“Whether I’m third or fourth, it doesn’t matter. If I’m fourth I play Luke [Littler] – I know how to beat him, and he knows how to beat me.
“Everyone likes to see that match in the final, and we showed that tonight again – it’s the best game in world darts.”
2026 BetMGM Premier League
Night Sixteen – Utilita Arena, Sheffield
Thursday May 21
Quarter-Finals
Jonny Clayton v Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price v Gian van Veen
Luke Littler v Josh Rock
Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen
Semi-Finals
Clayton/Bunting v Price/Van Veen
Littler/Rock v Humphries/Van Gerwen
Final
v
All matches best of 11 legs