Dobey Dominates Players Championship as Humphries' Struggles Persist

Luke Humphries' slump in form continued with a disappointing last-16 exit at the Players Championship 9 in Wigan, while Chris Dobey secured his second title of 2026 with a convincing victory. Just four days after a quarter-final loss to Jonny Clayton in Brighton, which put his Premier League finals hopes in doubt, Humphries was defeated 6-4 by Andrew Gilding. Gilding then went on to overcome Beau Greaves 6-3, after Greaves made history as the first woman to reach a ProTour quarter-final with wins over Raymond van Barneveld and Premier League leader Clayton. However, Gilding's run was ended by a 7-1 semi-final defeat to eventual champion Dobey, who had earlier thrashed Luke Woodhouse 6-1 and Richard Veenstra 6-3. Dobey overcame a slow start in the final against Justin Hood, claiming six of the next seven legs to seal an 8-4 victory and the £15,000 prize. The Northumberland player produced consistently high averages throughout the tournament, including a 105.28 average in the final, and expressed his desire to build on this success. "My goal now is to translate this form to TV events and European Tour titles, as I believe I have the ability to achieve it with consistent performances," said Dobey. The tournament also witnessed a nine-darter by Thomas Lovely in his round three loss to Woodhouse. The results from the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final are as follows: Last 16 - Tom Bissell 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski, Connor Scutt 6-3 Steve Lennon, Tom Sykes 6-3 Martijn Dragt, Justin Hood 6-3 Mensur Suljovic, Beau Greaves 6-4 Joe Hunt, Andrew Gilding 6-4 Luke Humphries, Chris Dobey 6-1 Luke Woodhouse, Richard Veenstra 6-5 Kevin Doets. Quarter-finals - Connor Scutt 6-4 Tom Bissell, Justin Hood 6-0 Tom Sykes, Andrew Gilding 6-3 Beau Greaves, Chris Dobey 6-3 Richard Veenstra. Semi-finals - Justin Hood 7-3 Connor Scutt, Chris Dobey 7-1 Andrew Gilding. Final - Chris Dobey 8-4 Justin Hood. The Premier League Darts continues every Thursday until May on Sky Sports, with Luke Humphries defending his title.