Luke Humphries: World No 2 keeps his cool to clinch Players Championship 17 crown | Darts News

Luke Humphries beat Jermaine Wattimena 8-4 to secure his second Players Championship title of the year in Leicester.

Humphries, who recorded a staggering tournament average of 104.74, produced a scintillating display of darts, further underlining his status as one of the sport’s elite players.

The world No 2 snatched the £15,000 top prize with an average just shy of 105 against Wattimena – his sixth ton-plus average of the day, a repeat feat of his success earlier in the year.

The Englishman trailed early in the contest, as Wattimena rattled off back-to-back legs to take a two-leg lead, before Humphries responded quickly with three legs on the spin in just 37 darts to lead the contest 3-2.

Wattimena responded with a five-visit leg of his own, before Humphries once again won three legs on the spin to extend his lead against the Dutchman.

Humphries gave up another consolation leg to Wattimena, before rattling off back-to-back legs in 16 and 14 darts respectively to close out the contest and claim his second ProTour title of the year.

“I said to my family members throughout the day that it was just going to be one of those days,” Humphries said.

“When it clicks for me, it clicks for me! When it does, I think people see I’m one of the best players in the world.

“It sets a standard for myself, I can do this a lot more, it’s just up to me to try and provide it a lot more than I do!”

Humphries, who recently secured his place in the Premier League Play-Offs at The O2 Arena next week after victory in Birmingham, reflected on his resurgent form as of late.

“As soon as I walked into that game against Rhys [Griffin], I think I almost had four 11-dart legs on the spin, I knew the game was there today.

“I remember thinking throughout parts of the day that I felt like I just couldn’t miss, and that’s always a dangerous person when you feel like that.”

Having kicked off his campaign with a brilliant 6-3 victory over Griffin, which saw Humphries average a staggering 112.18, the world No 2 produced three more ton-plus averages of 103, 109 and 105 against Yorick Hofkens, Justin Hood and Christian Kist respectively to reach the last 16.

The former world champion then defeated in-form Dutchman Wessel Nijman 6-3, before pinning his fifth ton-plus average of the day with a 7-2 victory over Danny Noppert.

Wattimena, meanwhile, kicked off his campaign with back-to-back victories over compatriots Alexander Merkx and Jeffrey Sparidaans, before beating Stephen Burton in a comfortable 6-2 win to progress to round four.

The 38-year-old, who finished runner-up at Players Championship Twelve earlier this year, then eased past Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2, before facing Stephen Bunting in the quarter-finals.

The Dutchman then produced his best average of the day in his semi-final clash against Kevin Doets, winning seven of the nine legs to defeat his compatriot 7-2 with an average of more than 111.

2026 Players Championship Seventeen Results

Last 16
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Luke Humphries 6-2 Christian Kist
Rob Owen 6-2 Maik Kuivenhoven
Danny Noppert 6-3 Ryan Searle
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Ross Smith
Kevin Doets 6-2 Ross Smith
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Damon Heta
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Danny Noppert 6-5 Rob Owen
Kevin Doets 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Stephen Bunting

Semi-Finals
Luke Humphries 7-3 Danny Noppert
Jermaine Wattimena 7-2 Kevin Doets

Final
Luke Humphries 8-4 Jermaine Wattimena

Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will be defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.