Luke Humphries' recent woes continued with a disappointing last-16 exit at the Players Championship 9 in Wigan, where Chris Dobey dominated to secure his second title of the year. Humphries' struggles began just four days prior with a quarter-final loss to Jonny Clayton, putting his Premier League finals aspirations in jeopardy. He was unable to bounce back, falling 6-4 to Andrew Gilding.
Gilding's impressive run included a 6-3 victory over Beau Greaves, who made history as the first woman to reach a PDC ProTour quarter-final. However, Gilding's journey came to an end with a 7-1 semi-final loss to Dobey, who went on to defeat Justin Hood 8-4 in the final, claiming the £15,000 prize.
Dobey's path to victory included a 6-1 win over Luke Woodhouse and a 6-3 quarter-final win over Richard Veenstra. Despite losing the first two legs, Dobey regained control, winning six of the next seven legs against Hood. With a 105.28 average, Dobey outperformed Hood's 102.91 average.
"My goal now is to translate this form into TV events and European Tour titles. I know I have the ability; it's just about consistency," Dobey stated. The event also saw a nine-darter by Thomas Lovely in his round three loss to Woodhouse. As the Premier League Darts approaches, Humphries will be defending his title, with all the action available on Sky Sports every Thursday until May.