Luke Humphries excels in Exeter to claim Premier League Darts Night Four title

Luke Humphries registered his first Premier League win over rival Luke Littler to claim the Night Four title in Exeter on Thursday.

The world number one extended his lead at the top of the BetMGM Premier League table to seven points as he triumphed at the Westpoint Arena.

Littler had won each of the pair’s six previous meetings in the Premier League, but Humphries ended that unwanted streak with an impressive comeback in the Night Four final.

The Winmau World Masters champion followed up his opening night success in Belfast with his second weekly title of the campaign, defeating Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross and Littler to continue his clinical start to the season.

Humphries began the evening with a 6-4 victory over Night Three winner Price, punishing six missed darts from the Welshman in a dramatic finale to avenge his defeat in Dublin last time out.

Humphries then landed a trio of ton-plus checkouts in the latter stages of his comeback win over Cross, taking out 121, 167 and 116 to prevail in a thrilling deciding-leg contest.

This set up a showdown against a seemingly irrepressible Littler – where Humphries again turned on the style late on to secure the £10,000 winner’s bonus.

Littler drew first blood with an eye-catching 144 checkout, before firing in back-to-back 14-dart legs to establish a 3-1 advantage.

However, the reigning World Champion squandered four darts at doubles for a 4-1 lead, sparking a mid-match fightback from Humphries, who levelled up proceedings with an 11-darter in leg six.

Littler then paid the price for further missed opportunities in the penultimate leg as Humphries registered a brace of 13-dart legs to stop the rot against his young rival.

“It was hard work tonight, but it felt good,” reflected Humphries, who averaged 101 and hit six 180s in the final.

“I felt like my game was in a good place, but in certain moments I struggled.

“Luke played fantastically tonight, but he didn’t play as great in the final, and I managed to put my foot on the gas right at the end of the game.

“That’s the first time I’ve beaten Luke in the Premier League, so it’s nice to get that monkey off my back, because if you keep losing, it gets harder and harder.

“It’s a dream start for me, so hopefully I can keep pushing and picking up the points.”

Despite missing out on a second weekly title of the season, Littler performed magnificently in Exeter, averaging 112 and 109 in wins over Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall respectively.

Littler averaged 112.3 to win through an extraordinary quarter-final clash against Bunting, in a contest which featured 16 maximums in just nine legs.

The World Champion then averaged 109.7 to sweep aside Night Three runner-up Aspinall – who defied five 180s from Chris Dobey to triumph in a last-leg shoot-out earlier in the evening.

The evening’s other quarter-final saw Cross edge out seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen, after surviving three match darts to defeat the Dutch superstar for the sixth time in their last seven meetings.

Premier League Darts 2025 Night Four Results

Thursday February 27

Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Rob Cross
Gerwyn Price 4-6 Luke Humphries
Chris Dobey 5-6 Nathan Aspinall
Stephen Bunting 3-6 Luke Littler

Semi-Finals
Rob Cross 5-6 Luke Humphries
Nathan Aspinall 2-6 Luke Littler

Final
Luke Humphries 6-4 Luke Littler