Archive May 8, 2025

Luke Humphries ended his 10-week wait for a Premier League nightly victory with a tense 6-5 win over Luke Littler in Leeds.

The 30-year-old, who had not won a final since beating Littler on night four in Exeter, came from 2-0 down to beat ‘The Nuke’ in a thriller.

World number one Humphries averaged 100.96, with 18-year-old Littler at 99.89.

Wearing a Leeds United-inspired yellow and blue shirt at the First Direct Arena – days after his footballing heroes won the Championship title to mark their Premier League return in style – ‘Cool Hand Luke’ made a sluggish start as Littler took charge.

But Humphries, who was defending his Leeds crown from 12 months ago, then won three straight legs and edged 5-3 ahead.

As both mixed errors with brilliance in their performances, Littler hit back to take the match to a final-leg decider.

Both men missed bull finishes for 100-plus checkouts, but Humphries kept calm to hit double 10 and seal the success.

“When you know you’re playing against Luke Littler you know you’re not going to get away with mid-game performances, you need to be at your best to beat him,” he told Sky Sports.

“We weren’t at our best but it was a decent final and I do seem to raise my performance against him.

“It is extra special to win in Leeds, I feel at home here. I know it isn’t my hometown but it does feel extra special. I won here last year and it gave me extra confidence for the finals night and hopefully it does again – and I can get that elusive Premier League crown that I’ve always dreamed of.”

Humphries had earlier overcome bottom-of-the-table Stephen Bunting 6-4 in the semi-finals to set up a fourth Premier League final of the season against Littler.

A 6-4 win in the last eight over Michael van Gerwen also confirmed his place at finals night on 29 May at the O2 Arena, while Bunting’s defeat ruled him out of the finals reckoning.

Littler showed his quality in a convincing 6-3 semi-final victory over Gerwyn Price, where the defending Premier League champion came back from 2-0 down to dominate.

Littler’s night win in Birmingham last week booked his place for finals night, while quarter-final victories for both Humphries and Price sealed their spots in the O2 Arena showpiece.

Dutchman Van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall both missed the chance to close the gap on Price in third place following 6-4 defeats to Humphries and Littler respectively. A quarter-final exit for Cross also diminished his hopes.

Van Gerwen and Aspinall will meet next week in Aberdeen and a run could go a long way to deciding their final position, but the pair could also face each other for fourth spot on night 16 in Sheffield when the fixtures are decided by league positions.

As it stands, the duo occupy positions four and five and only a point separates them. With two points up for grabs in that quarter-final and fourth and fifth facing each other, that match could prove to be a winner-takes-all affair.

Final

Luke Littler 5-6 Luke Humphries

Semi-finals

Gerwyn Price 3-6 Luke Littler

Luke Humphries 6-4 Stephen Bunting

Quarter-finals

Rob Cross 5-6 Gerwyn Price

Nathan Aspinall 4-6 Luke Littler

Michael van Gerwen 4-6 Luke Humphries

Premier League Darts is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final each night.

Each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks one to seven and 9-15, with week eight and week 16 fixtures done off the table. It means we will get fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.

Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.

The top four players after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London’s O2 Arena on 23 May, with first facing fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the best of 21 legs, follows.

Thursday, 15 May – Aberdeen

Truist Championship first round leaderboard

-9 K Mitchell (US); -8 D McCarthy (US); -7 C Morikawa (US), S Straka (Aut), A Bhatia (US), R Fowler (US)

Selected others

-6 S Lowry (Ire); -5 A Rai (Eng); -4 R McIlroy (NI); -2 T Fleetwood (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng); E J Rose (Eng)

Rory McIlroy admitted he felt “a little rusty” after he began his warm-up for next week’s US PGA Championship by finishing five shots behind round one leader Keith Mitchell at the Truist Championship in Philadelphia.

McIlroy – last year’s winner and a four-time champion at the event – recorded six birdies and two bogeys to card a four-under-par 66 at the Wissahickon Golf Course.

The 36-year-old, who completed a career Grand Slam with his thrilling win over Justin Rose at last month’s Masters, ended the day tied in 25th alongside nine other players.

“I was a little rusty out there, just hadn’t played in a week and I hadn’t really done a ton of practice,” said McIlroy.

“I drove the ball pretty well. I certainly can tidy a few things up, but overall a decent day.”

All four of McIlroy’s victories in this event, formerly known as Wells Fargo, were won at Quail Hollow, which hosts next week’s US PGA.

McIlroy said this week he has “nothing but positive vibes” as he approaches the second major of the year, having ended his long wait for a first title at Augusta National, and fifth major overall.

He finished tied 12th at last month’s Zurich Classic in his first outing since the Masters.

American Mitchell tops the leaderboard having posted a nine-under-par 61 – one stroke ahead of compatriot Denny McCarthy.

Mitchell parred the first five holes but got better as the day wore on with a run of four straight birdies coming towards the end of his round.

Truist Championship first round leaderboard

-9 K Mitchell (US); -8 D McCarthy (US); -7 C Morikawa (US), S Straka (Aut), A Bhatia (US), R Fowler;

Selected others

-6 S Lowry (Ire); -5 A Rai (Eng); -4 R McIlroy (NI); -2 T Fleetwood (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng); E J Rose (Eng)

Rory McIlroy began his warm-up for next week’s US PGA Championship by finishing the first round of the Truist Championship in Philadelphia five shots behind leader Keith Mitchell.

McIlroy – last year’s winner and a four-time champion at the event – recorded six birdies and two bogeys as he carded a four-under-par 66 at the Wissahickon Golf Course.

The 36-year-old, who completed the career Grand Slam with a thrilling win over Justin Rose at last month’s Masters, ended the day tied in 25th alongside nine other players.

American Mitchell tops the leaderboard having finished on a nine-under-par 61 – one stroke ahead of compatriot Denny McCarthy.

Mitchell parred the first five holes but got better as the day wore on with a run of four straight birdies coming towards the end of his round.

McIlroy said this week he has “nothing but positive vibes” as he approaches next week’s US PGA Championship after ending his long wait for a fifth major.

On the Lions’ last trip to Australia back in 2013, head coach Warren Gatland picked 15 Wales players in his initial squad. By the decisive third Test, he had 10 Welshmen in his starting XV.

A little over a decade on, things are markedly different.

After 17 defeats on the spin, Welsh representation is provided by only two players: flanker Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams.

It is the lowest number of Welshmen picked for a Lions squad in the modern era.

However, Wales can take comfort from the waxing and waning of other nations’ fortunes.

In 2017, just two Scotland players – Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg – were picked in the initial squad. Now, they can boast eight in the 2025 squad.

Similarly Ireland had only two players in the 1993 squad selected to tour New Zealand and four for the 1997 trip to South Africa.

There have been significantly more lopsided squads in the past.

In 2005, Sir Clive Woodward opted for 20 players from the England set-up with which he had won the Rugby World Cup two years earlier, including luring Lawrence Dallaglio and Neil Back out of international retirement.

Twenty years on the squad is lighter in experience with 26 first-time tourists.

At club level, Leinster provide 12 players – nearly a quarter of the squad – and it could have been more.

Fly-half Sam Prendergast was strongly fancied to go on the tour, but Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were preferred at 10.

Ryan Baird, Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw were also outsiders for inclusion.

Glasgow Warriors and Northampton, champions of last season’s United Rugby Championship and Premiership respectively, supply four players each, while captain Itoje is joined by Saracens team-mates Ben Earl and Daly.

There are 15 clubs represented in the 38-strong squad, including eight of the 10 Premiership teams, three of the four Irish provinces and both Scottish professional sides.

Blair Kinghorn, who plays for French side Toulouse, is the only player who plays their club rugby outside Britain and Ireland.

There is more than just pride at stake for those domestic club sides. They, like the players, are part of a newly-minted profit sharing agreement with the Lions. The more players they have on tour, they larger the pay cheque at the end.

Manchester United and Tottenham fans will be plotting routes to Bilbao after their clubs reached the Europa League final.

There are 49,600 tickets available at the San Mames stadium in the northern Spanish city on Wednesday, 21 May.

Finalists will receive 15,000 tickets each to sell to their supporters. These tickets – as part of Uefa’s ‘fans first’ scheme – are the most affordable, starting at 40 euros (£34).

Tickets for the general public are then split into three categories, with prices ranging from 65-240 euros (£55-£204).

As of the afternoon of Friday, 9 May, there were still spaces on three Easy Jet flights from Manchester to Bilbao on 21 May, ranging from £323 to £770 for a one-way trip.

There are three flights from Bilbao to Manchester on 22 May, costing between £634 and £940. The cheapest return, with just one night in the city, is a total of £933.98.

There is just one flight if you wanted to fly out the day before the game, the cost will be £917. There are no direct flights from Manchester to Bilbao on Monday, 19 May.

There is the potential for a coach journey, the cheapest return is £206. Starting from Shudehill Interchange on the afternoon of Monday, 19 May, with changes at London Victoria, Paris and Bordeaux, the journey would be almost 37 hours. The cheapest return journey takes roughly 38 hours and 25 minutes.

Return flights from London, travelling out on matchday, could be slightly pricier for Tottenham fans.

At the time of writing, travelling from Stansted to Bilbao on the Wednesday morning then returning to Stansted on the Thursday would cost £1,285.

Heading out a day earlier, you could find a cheaper return deal at £795, from London Gatwick. The flight would arrive on Tuesday afternoon.

For a coach journey, a return ticket would cost £212.

The journey – which would take around 24 hours – would begin early morning on Monday from London Victoria, with a change in Paris. The cheapest return journey leaving on Thursday takes 32 hours, arriving back in London early Saturday morning.

All the coaches that would arrive in Bilbao on Wednesday, 21 May are already fully booked.

Travel expert Simon Calder is a frequent visitor to Bilbao – and typically pays £150-£200 for a return journey from London.

He told BBC Sport: “There are many other ways to reach Bilbao. In particular, Biarritz in France is well placed for fans who want to see something of the Basque region en route to Bilbao.

“There is a routing via Basel in Switzerland. From Biarritz airport you can walk to the city’s rail station in about 20 minutes, and board a train to the border town of Hendaye. From here a narrow-gauge railway runs to San Sebastian, from where there is another narrow-gauge train.

“Supporters who want to travel by train should be able to cover the ground for about £200 one way.

“From London St Pancras International on 20 May, the cheapest morning Eurostar train to Paris Nord is £110. After crossing the city to Paris Montparnasse, the lunchtime train to the Hendaye costs £75. From here, it’s those little trains once again.

The recommended route to San Mames is via public transport or walking.

There are several different transport methods to get to the stadium, including underground, train, tram or bus.

San Mames’ official website recommends walking, giving fans a ‘unique experience’ and taking in the sights.

San Mames is close to to the city centre. To get to the stadium, it is only a 20-minute walk or 9-18 minutes on public transport.

Hotel prices in the city centre are between £2,601 and £4,201.

There are cheaper alternatives about a 35-minute drive away in towns such as Bermeo and Mundaka. Accommodation in the area of Bakio have sold out.

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Manchester United and Tottenham will meet in an all-English Europa League final on 21 May.

Ruben Amorim’s United saw off Spanish side Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate in their semi-final to progress, while Spurs got the better of Norwegians Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate.

United are looking to win the Europa League for the second time in eight years, while Tottenham are bidding to end a 41-year wait for European success.

It is the sixth all-English final in any major European competition – with half of them involving Spurs.

Tottenham are looking to win a first trophy of any kind in 17 years and they will fancy themselves as favourites for the game in Bilbao, having beaten United three times already this season.

Spurs won 3-0 at Old Trafford and 1-0 at home in the Premier League and also triumphed 4-3 in the League Cup.

“If you think in the odds it’s hard for the club to lose four times in a row,” United boss Ruben Amorim said. “We can think that way.”

Former Tottenham midfielder Glenn Hoddle agreed that it would be difficult for Spurs to win again.

“To beat a team four times also from the Premier League in one season is really tough,” Hoddle said on TNT Sports.

He added: “It will be a titanic battle. Spurs have had the upper hand at the moment but United will be looking for revenge.”

United last won the Europa League in 2016-17, when Jose Mourinho was manager. They lost the Europa League final 11-10 on penalties to Villarreal in 2021 when David de Gea missed his spot kick for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Despite United’s poor season domestically, ex-Red Devils midfielder Paul Scholes is confident his former side will rise to the occasion in the final.

He said: “For some reason, the history of this club is almost like Real Madrid at times – when they aren’t playing that well they can still go on and win European cups.

Manchester United and Tottenham have struggled domestically this season as they sit 15th and 16th respectively in the Premier League.

However, a European trophy will ensure the campaign will ultimately be viewed as a successful one.

“It’s going to upset a lot of people isn’t it?” said Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou.

“Neither us will get a trophy if we win, we’re just going to take a team picture.

“Who cares if we’re struggling in the league?

“This club and others have finished first, second and third in the Premier League and haven’t made finals. I couldn’t care less who is struggling and who’s not.

Spurs’ impressive record over United extends further back than just this season.

They have won four of the past six meetings in all competitions, with United last beating them 2-0 in the Premier League in October 2022.

But data analysts Opta have made United slight favourites to triumph in the final.

Their supercomputer gives the Red Devils a 50.7% chance of lifting the Europa League trophy, with Tottenham at 49.3%.

“I think the final is poised to be absolutely brilliant,” former Manchester City midfielder Izzy Christiansen said on TNT Sports.

The winners of the Europa League go into the following season’s Champions League, regardless of where they finish domestically.

So a United v Spurs final guarantees one of them a return to the mega-riches of European football’s top table.

That rule is handy for United and Spurs, who are both more than 20 points behind fifth place.

Without winning the Europa League, neither of them will be in any European competition next season.

It would not have any knock-on effect on any other English teams – with the top five guaranteed a Champions League spot through the league.

United and Tottenham’s unusually poor domestic seasons mean that if both teams reach the Europa League final next week and stay in their current Premier League positions, the winner would be the lowest-ranked domestic side to win the competition in the past 15 years.

Opta data shows that since the Europa League was rebranded in 2009-10, no team finishing lower than 12th in their domestic league has competed in the final or won it.

Sevilla (12th) won the tournament in 2023, while Fulham (12th) lost the final in 2010.

And this is also the first season with new league phase formats in Europe – previously teams who finished third in their Champions League groups would drop into the Europa League, in theory making the competition harder to win.

In previous years, teams who were eliminated from the first phase of the Champions League dropped into the Europa League.

But that changed from this season after Uefa club competitions underwent their biggest changes for more than a decade.

That likely boosted United and Tottenham’s chances of reaching the final because in the past 15 seasons 10 finalists were sides who dropped from the Champions League.

The first Uefa Cup in 1971-72 was between Tottenham and Wolves in a two-legged final.

Spurs won the first leg 2-1 at Molineux, with Martin Chivers scoring twice, and drew 1-1 at White Hart Lane two weeks later.

It would take 36 years for the next all-English final, which was in the 2007-08 Champions League as Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard traded goals before a shootout that is best remembered for John Terry’s miss after slipping.

There were two all-English finals in 2018-19.

Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League in Madrid, with goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.

And Chelsea saw off Arsenal 4-1 in Baku in the Europa League, with Eden Hazard netting twice in his final game for the club.