Cool Hand Luke finally gets the better of Littler in the Premier League

Luke Humphries got his season back on track after seeing off Luke Littler on Night Four of the Premier League Darts.

Humphries’ night began with a 6-4 victory over Gerwyn Price, with Humphries avenging his defeat from seven days earlier. Next up was Rob Cross, but again it was Humphries who came out on top, taking the deciding leg to reach the final.

Littler appeared to be the man to beat heading into the final, having recorded staggering averages of 112 and 109 in disposing of Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall respectively. And it was Littler who made the early running, producing a 144 checkout in the first leg of the final.

Ultimately though, Cool Hand Luke emerged victorious in front of the Exeter crowd, winning 6-4 and sending a huge message to all of his opponents in the process, reminding them of his world-class talent.

Winning Premier League Night Four will be a huge confidence booster for Humphries, who was knocked out of the 2025 World Darts Championships in the last 16. 

After that poor defence of his title, 2025 didn’t start well at all for the 30-year-old, as he lost in the semi-final of the Darts Bahrain Masters to Stephen Bunting and then followed it up with defeat in the round of 32 at the Dutch Darts Masters.

The victory could also act as a psychological boost for Humphries. It was his first-ever win over Littler in the Premier League and it also means that he has now won two Premier League nights this year. The win means he now has a clear lead at the top of the Premier League table, sitting on 15 points, and 7 points clear of Littler in second.

To make it even better, he managed to beat Price on Night Four after losing to the Welshman in the semi-finals on Night Three. He also lost to Littler in the final on Night Two. To beat the last two players who he lost to in this tournament is a huge positive and should mentally boost him ahead of future match-ups against the pair.

Advertorial: Despite his big lead in the Premier League, it’s still Littler who remains the bookies favourite at 13/10, ahead of Humphries on 15/8. For those unfamiliar with odds, that translates into percentages of 44% and 35% respectively, with Michael van Gerwen way back on 13%.

Humphries will not get ahead of himself, but if he can take this momentum to Premier League Night Five in Brighton, and beyond, then a stellar year that includes regaining both the Premier League Darts and World Darts Championship shouldn’t be discounted.