Luke Humphries' poor run of form persisted as he suffered a last-16 elimination at the Players Championship 9 in Wigan, while Chris Dobey claimed 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 doubt, Humphries was defeated 6-4 by Andrew Gilding.
Gilding then overcame Beau Greaves 6-3, after Greaves made history by becoming the first woman to reach a PDC ProTour quarter-final with victories over Raymond van Barneveld and Premier League leader Clayton. However, Gilding's campaign ended with a 7-1 semi-final loss to eventual champion Dobey, who had earlier beaten Luke Woodhouse 6-1 and Richard Veenstra 6-3. Dobey went on to defeat Justin Hood 8-4 in the final, claiming the £15,000 prize. Despite a slow start, Dobey took control of the match, winning six of the next seven legs after losing the first two.
His 105.28 average in the final proved too much for Hood, who averaged 102.91. "My goal now is to translate this form into TV events and European Tour titles," Dobey said.
"I know I have the ability, it's just about maintaining consistency." The event also saw a nine-darter from Thomas Lovely in his round three loss to Woodhouse. Dobey's victory has boosted his confidence, and he will look to carry this momentum into future tournaments, including the Premier League Darts, which can be streamed on NOW.