Luke Humphries' recent slump continued with a premature 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 jeopardized his Premier League finals hopes, Humphries was defeated 6-4 by Andrew Gilding. Gilding then overcame Beau Greaves 6-3, after the 22-year-old made history as the first woman to reach a PDC ProTour quarter-final, having beaten Raymond van Barneveld and Premier League leader Clayton. However, Gilding's run ended with a 7-1 semi-final loss to Dobey, who earlier thrashed Luke Woodhouse 6-1 and Richard Veenstra 6-3, before claiming the £15,000 prize with an 8-4 victory over Justin Hood in the final.
Dobey initially trailed Hood but won six of the next seven legs to take control. With a 105.28 average, Dobey outperformed Hood's 102.91, consistently producing impressive ton-plus averages throughout the tournament. "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 maintaining consistency," Dobey stated. "I'm thrilled to have won again, and I'm hopeful of winning more titles this year." The event also witnessed a nine-darter by Thomas Lovely in his round three loss to Woodhouse. Key results from the tournament include Tom Bissell's 6-4 win over Krzysztof Ratajski, Connor Scutt's 6-3 victory over Steve Lennon, and Justin Hood's 6-3 win over Mensur Suljovic.
The quarter-finals saw Connor Scutt defeat Tom Bissell 6-4, while Chris Dobey beat Richard Veenstra 6-3. In the semi-finals, Dobey dominated Andrew Gilding 7-1, setting up his final showdown with Hood.
With the Premier League Darts title defense on the horizon, Luke Humphries will be under pressure to regain his form. The action unfolds every Thursday until May on Sky Sports, available to stream with NOW.