"It’s not just about winning matches for him. He needs to win nights to get through" – Time is running out for Humphries in the race for Premier League play-off spots

Time is running out for Luke Humphries in the Premier League Darts. The world number two is watching the playoff spots slowly slip from his grasp, while concerns grow that “something isn’t quite right” with the former 2024 world champion.

After ten nights, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ sits a disappointing seventh in the table. A nightly win still eludes him, and the pressure is mounting as Finals Night approaches. Since week seven, Humphries has not won a match in the Premier League, leaving him five points adrift of fourth-placed Michael van Gerwen. His chances of reaching the play-offs at The O2 Arena are hanging by a thread.

Humphries’ latest setback came in Brighton, where he lost a thriller 6-5 to Jonny Clayton. ‘The Ferret’ sealed it with a spectacular bullseye checkout in the deciding leg.

Commentator Chris Murphy sees clear signs that things aren’t clicking as usual for the Englishman. “I don’t know what the problem is because something does seem slightly off,” Murphy said on the Love the Darts podcast. “But out of all the players that are out of the play-offs at the moment I would say he’s the one who could go on and win back-to-back nights and catapult himself into those places.”

According to Murphy, there’s no need to panic yet, but the margin is shrinking. “I don’t think it’s complete panic stations yet but he is running out of time and does need to get that nightly win It’s not just about winning matches for him. He needs to win nights to get through.”

Analyst Michael Bridge offers a different perspective. He believes life away from the oche is also a factor. “Luke isn’t running away with things anymore. He’s getting his life back a bit because he’s going to Aintree and Cheltenham, so I don’t think things are getting to him like they used to."

Bridge suspects Humphries is simply less hungry. “He’ll try and go on a run now, but I don’t think he’ll be devastated if he doesn’t make the top four. Not like it would a couple of years ago. It would have hurt him losing in Brighton, but I don’t think it will devastate him.”

This Thursday evening, Humphries gets another chance to scrape together points. In his opening match of the night, however, he must face the lion’s den — Rotterdam Ahoy — against Gian van Veen, who will be extra motivated in front of his home crowd.