Luke Humphries' recent form woes continued with a disappointing last-16 exit at the Players Championship 9 in Wigan, where Chris Dobey secured his second title of 2026 with a commanding performance. Just four days after a quarter-final loss to Jonny Clayton in Brighton, which put his Premier League finals hopes in jeopardy, Humphries was unable 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 PDC ProTour quarter-final, having previously beaten Raymond van Barneveld and Premier League leader Clayton. However, Gilding's run was eventually halted by Dobey in the semi-finals, with a 7-1 defeat, as Dobey went on to thrash 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.
The 35-year-old from Northumberland initially lost the first two legs against Hood but then took control of the match by winning six of the next seven legs. Throughout the tournament, Dobey consistently produced impressive ton-plus averages, culminating in a 105.28 average in the final, which was enough to overcome a spirited challenge from Hood, who averaged 102.91.
"My goal now is to build on this form and win more titles," said Dobey. "Winning one of these events is tough, so to win ten is an incredible feeling. Catch Premier League Darts live on NOW View the Premier League Darts schedule and table Watch the latest darts videos and highlights Tune in to the Love the Darts podcast "Hood put up a great fight with some crucial shots, but I played well throughout the day and I'm thrilled with another win. "My next aim is to replicate this form on TV and in European Tour events.
I know I have the ability, it's just about consistency." The tournament in Wigan also witnessed a nine-darter, courtesy of Thomas Lovely, who achieved a perfect leg of darts in his round three defeat to Woodhouse. Last 16 results: 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 results: 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 results: Justin Hood 7-3 Connor Scutt, Chris Dobey 7-1 Andrew Gilding Final result: Chris Dobey 8-4 Justin Hood Who will claim this year's Premier League Darts title?
Luke Humphries will be defending his title, and you can catch the action every Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sports with NOW.