Humphries beats Littler to get Premier League revenge

Luke Humphries, the reigning world number one, won the Premier League for the first time by winning a pulsating final.

After falling to Littler in the final last year, Humphries won 11-8 on the second tryout as the top two players battled it out at O2 Arena.

Humphries has frequently been referred to as “the other Luke” since Littler’s rise, but this was his chance to win the World Championship, World Matchplay, and now the Premier League.

“That one really matters to me,” It’s the one I was putting off, Humphries told Sky Sports.

“I’ve said that it’s the one I wanted during every pre-game build-up I’ve had.”

The pair had a fantastic start to their 23rd match, and Littler, who defeated Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals, took the lead.

In a tense opening, both players made some nervous errors, and Humphries was able to miss five darts at double before falling to 130 to tie the score at 3-3.

At the break, there was still nothing to separate them, which appeared to be beneficial to both players as the standard rose after the restart.

Particularly Humphries came out firing. With a 12-dart hold, he moved two legs clear of him after breaking with an 11-darter.

Even though Littler was comfortably holding the throw, he was unable to apply the necessary pressure to the Humphries throw. Another 11-darter added 8-6.

Humphries had a few nerve-wracking moments, but he fought back to earn the prize money, going down to double two before moving 10-8 in the lead, breaking once more, finishing on double 10 to claim victory and winning the prize of £275, 000.

A remarkable campaign for Littler, who set a league scoring record and claimed a record six nightly wins ends in disappointment, saw him claim a record six wins and edge it 100.29 to 97.86 on average.

If he had been better at the outer ring, where he was only eight out of 27 for 29.6%, things might have changed. Humphries’s clinical level was only marginally higher at 29.7%.

Nobody likes losing, but I had a little bit of a thing after the game, Littler told Sky Sports.

The Premier League has been a challenging 17 weeks, and I’m happy to report that it is over. Happy that the season is over, but I finished second. I’ll return next year.

In the first semi-final, Price threatened to upset Littler.

With two early breaks of throws, the Welshman immediately put pressure on his teenage opponent, which included eight matches, but Littler each responded.

However, Price and Littler shared the lead at the opening mini break, which was followed by a 6-4 lead before going off the stage in a furious fashion.

However, when play resumed, the Littler, who had won six of the previous seven legs, including the final four, did emerge, leading the pack in style, 10-7.

In the second semi-final, Humphries and Nathan Aspinall engaged in a powerful tussle while Littler was able to unwind before the final.

With the score at 5-5 at the break, both players had over 100 points at the end of the match.

In the second half, Humphries increased the pressure on Aspinall, much like Littler.

The Stockport resident, however, stepped in and scored a brilliant 124 checkout to tie the score at 7-7 just as Humphries appeared to have broken.

Final

Luke Humphries 8-11 Luke Littler

Semi-finals

Gerwyn Price – Luke Littler 10-7