Luke Humphries defeated Chris Dobey 6-1 in the opening night of the 2025 Premier League Darts, but surprisingly hailed Luke Littler as the best player in the world. Humphries acknowledges the fierce competition in this year's Premier League while praising Littler's exceptional performance.
World number one Luke Humphries emphatically defeated Chris Dobey 6-1 to claim victory on the opening night of the 2025 Premier League in Belfast. Despite his dominant performance, Humphries surprisingly declared Luke Littler as the best player in the world. Humphries, fresh off his World Masters title win on Sunday, showcased an impressive 86% success rate on doubles and landed three checkouts over 100.
He trailed 4-3 against Michael van Gerwen in his semi-final before securing a decisive leg after the Dutchman faltered on doubles and missed a match dart.Humphries acknowledged the challenging nature of this Premier League, emphasizing the importance of capitalizing on opportunities like these. Earlier in the night, Van Gerwen delivered a thrilling 6-5 quarter-final victory against world champion Luke Littler. Littler, averaging an astonishing 113.91, achieved the highest average at the venue and the second-highest losing mark in the competition's history. Humphries, who defeated Littler to win the world title in 2024, showered the young player with praise, stating that Littler was by far one of the greatest darts players he'd ever witnessed. He admitted that Littler was the player to beat, even though he felt he was the next best contender. Dobey also fought back from a 4-3 deficit in his semi-final, hitting a crucial 170 checkout to level against 2018 world champion Rob Cross before claiming three straight legs for the win. The quarter-final clash between Van Gerwen and Littler was a rematch of the previous month's final at Alexandra Palace, where Littler became the youngest world champion at 17. Defending champion Littler, however, kept his fellow players waiting for an outdoor photo shoot due to oversleeping after a morning nap.This prompted Van Gerwen to remark that Littler needed to be treated less like a child and more like the 18-year-old he was. Littler readily admitted to being late, taking responsibility for his actions and confirming he received a reprimand. The match commenced with both players exchanging 11-dart legs before Littler's 161 checkout drew the match level at 2-2. Van Gerwen edged ahead with a 114 finish to make it 4-3 but missed four match darts, allowing Littler to score bullseye and force a decider. Ultimately, Van Gerwen prevailed on double eight, averaging 105.91 while Littler recorded the highest losing average since Phil Taylor's 115.8 in his 2015 defeat to Raymond van Barneveld.Meanwhile, Humphries defeated Nathan Aspinall 6-2, and Stephen Bunting's return to the Premier League after a decade ended with a 6-4 loss to Cross. Premier League Darts will continue for 16 initial weeks in the league stage, culminating in quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a final each night.Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point for a semi-final victory, and five for winning the night. The top four players advance to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on May 29th, where first faces fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, the best of 21 legs, follows. Tiebreakers will be determined by nights won and then matches won
DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE LUKE HUMPHRIES CHRIS DOBEY LUKE LITTLLER MICHAEL VAN GERWEN ROB CROSS
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