Dobey Dominates Players Championship as Humphries' Struggles Persist

Luke Humphries' slump continues after a disappointing last-16 exit at the Players Championship 9 in Wigan, where Chris Dobey claimed his second title of 2026 with a convincing victory. Following his quarter-final loss to Jonny Clayton just four days prior, which put his Premier League finals hopes in doubt, Humphries was defeated 6-4 by Andrew Gilding. Gilding then overcame Beau Greaves 6-3, who had made history by becoming the first woman to reach a PDC ProTour quarter-final after beating Raymond van Barneveld and Premier League leader Clayton. However, Gilding's run was ended by eventual champion Dobey, who secured a 7-1 semi-final win before overcoming Justin Hood 8-4 in the final to claim the £15,000 prize. Dobey, who consistently achieved ton-plus averages throughout the tournament, including a 105.28 average in the final, said, 'I'm hoping to pick up more titles, and it's a great feeling to have won ten.' 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 event also saw a nine-darter by Thomas Lovely in his round three loss to Luke Woodhouse. The results of 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. With the Premier League Darts title defense on the line, Luke Humphries will be looking to regain his form, and fans can catch the action every Thursday on Sky Sports.