Dobey Claims Second Title of 2026 as Humphries' Struggles Persist

Luke Humphries' recent slump 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, which put his Premier League finals hopes in jeopardy, Humphries failed to bounce back and fell 6-4 to Andrew Gilding. Gilding then went on to defeat Beau Greaves 6-3, after the 22-year-old made history by becoming 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 halted by eventual champion Dobey, who dominated Luke Woodhouse 6-1 in the last-16 and Richard Veenstra 6-3 in the quarter-finals before overcoming Justin Hood 8-4 in the final to claim the £15,000 prize. Dobey, who consistently produced high averages throughout the tournament, including a 105.28 average in the final, recovered from a slow start to take control of the decider. 'The way I've been playing this year, I'm hoping to win more titles,' Dobey said. 'It's tough to win just one, so to win ten is an incredible feeling.' He added, 'I just want to start performing on TV and winning European Tour titles. I know I can do it, it's just about being consistent.' The tournament also saw a nine-darter from Thomas Lovely in his round three defeat to Woodhouse. The competition results were 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 action continues every Thursday until May, with Luke Humphries defending his title, and can be streamed on Sky Sports and NOW.