Dream final is on: Luke Humphries back from the brink to continue title defence, faces Luke Littler at Players Championship Finals
PDCThe dream final that has been lauded by fans is on as Luke Humphries will face Luke Littler in the battle of the same namesake and the two best players on planet darts so far at the Players Championship Finals.
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But it wasn't without adversity for Cool Hand Luke who came from 6-2 down to produce an incredible comeback and down Dirk van Duijvenbode 11-8 who had an incredible weekend but couldn't match the World No.1 down the stretch.
Now Humphries will attempt to defend his title against the teenage prodigy. They faced off in the World final at the turn of the year and all chatter has been about both since then albeit more about the 17-year-old who has also had his number since Ally Pally. Can Humphries send a statement that he is the player still to watch ahead of the big showpiece?
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It was a poor start on the doubles from both players. But Van Duijvenbode went into the break averaging 91 and held the narrow lead at 3-2 up. Humphries though was chasing from there, he could only gain a foothold in pouncing on four missed doubles from Van Duijvenbode as he went 6-4 down.
But Humphries managed to pivotally break as he hit double five to restore parity at 7-7. It was three legs on the spin for Humphries as he lead for the first time since the opening leg with a 12-dart hold to go 8-7 up.
He went towards the brink with a superb 128 checkout as Van Duijvenbode left 96 but couldn't pin it and was punished in style. This was confounded as Humphries went one away at 10-7 with five legs on the spin. Humphries couldn't pin 97 for the win and Van Duijvenbode stopped the rot to make it 10-8.
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Humphries missed 170 for the match but returned to seal the win and set up the final thast has been lauded throughout.
𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡 🆒✋
— Live Darts (@livedarts) November 24, 2024
Luke Humphries secures his spot in a second successive final at the Players Championship Finals courtesy of a battling 11-8 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode!
Luke Littler awaits for the title 🍿#PCFinals pic.twitter.com/RDPHihtjmE

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- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026







