Luke Humphries starts the 2025 Premier League Darts season with a dominant 6-1 victory over Chris Dobey. Despite his impressive performance, Humphries surprisingly declares Luke Littler the best player in the world.
World number one Luke Humphries dominated Chris Dobey with a 6-1 victory to kick off the 2025 Premier League in Belfast. Despite the convincing win, Humphries surprisingly declared Luke Littler as the best player in the world. Humphries, fresh off his World Masters title triumph on Sunday, showcased an impressive 86% doubles success rate and three 100-plus checkouts during the all-English clash.
He had faced a tense semi-final against Michael van Gerwen, trailing 4-3 before clinching the deciding leg when the Dutchman missed crucial doubles and a match dart at the bullseye. Humphries acknowledged the strong competition in this year's Premier League, stating, 'I think this is the hardest Premier League for a long, long time. For me, nights like this, you've got to be careful or they might not happen as often as you want.'Earlier in the night, Van Gerwen secured a thrilling 6-5 quarter-final victory against world champion Luke Littler. Littler, who averaged a remarkable 113.91 – the highest at the venue and the second-highest losing average in the competition's history – found himself on the losing end despite his impressive performance. Humphries, who defeated Littler to win the world title in 2024, praised the young star, saying, 'He's by far one of the greatest darts players I've seen in my career. I'm not disrespecting myself, I just think he's the best player in the world and if he goes out, then I'm the man to beat. But he is definitely the one to beat.'Dobey also rallied from a 4-3 deficit in his semi-final, hitting a massive 170 checkout to level against 2018 world champion Rob Cross before sealing the victory with three straight legs. The night was filled with drama as Littler's late arrival for the outdoor photo shoot, after an oversleep, drew comments from Van Gerwen who questioned the preferential treatment given to the young champion. Littler acknowledged his tardiness, stating, 'He's not wrong, I was late. I'm 18 now, responsible for my actions and did get a little telling off.'The Premier League Darts continues across 16 weeks, culminating in a play-off night at London's O2 Arena on May 29th. The top four players will compete for the coveted title after a grueling league stage that guarantees each player a face-off against all other contenders
Premier League Darts Luke Humphries Chris Dobey Luke Littler Michael Van Gerwen World Darts Championship
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