PDC Form Guide Update: Luke Humphries lifts form behind Luke Littler as Premier League stars slip
PDCSunday, 08 February 2026 at 12:30
After the first major of the new season, the Winmau World Masters, PDC stats analyst Christopher Kempf has taken stock of the form of darts’ biggest names. Using data from the most recent 200 legs played by the PDC top ten, the numbers point to a rivalry that remains firmly alive at the top, while several established Premier League Darts figures show signs of decline behind them.
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Luke Humphries failed to defend his World Masters title in Milton Keynes, but the underlying indicators suggest his form is improving. Since losing the world number one ranking to Luke Littler, Humphries has closed the gap in averages significantly. What was previously close to a four-point difference has now been reduced to just 1.5 points.
Humphries closing in despite Littler’s scoring edge
On the ProTour, Humphries is winning over 66 per cent of his legs against fellow PDC Tour Card holders. His scoring output remains strong, with 89 maximums per 200 legs. That total still trails the record-breaking figures produced by Littler, but sits ahead of players such as Josh Rock, Michael van Gerwen, and Gerwyn Price.
Price came closest to disrupting Littler’s momentum at the World Masters, missing a match dart against “The Nuke” in Milton Keynes. Despite that, young Dutchman Gian van Veen continues to rank highly in the Form Guide. Even after a surprise whitewash defeat to Humphries, Van Veen remains number one for checkout percentage and third for averages.
Warning signs for several Premier League contenders
The data is less favourable for a number of other Premier League participants. Josh Rock suffered two heavy defeats in straight sets on television and now averages 96.68, having spent much of 2025 playing above the 100 mark. Jonny Clayton has slipped to 54th on doubles while averaging 94.54.
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Stephen Bunting and Michael van Gerwen also saw their averages drop by more than two points following early exits at the World Masters.
If the current trajectory continues, the Humphries-Littler rivalry looks set to feature more prominently in the Premier League, provided the experienced chasers can recover their form quickly.
Greaves and Van Schie impress among new Tour Card holders
Among the new PDC Tour Card holders, Beau Greaves stands out. She enters the ProTour ranked 20th overall for average across the PDC and 15th for scoring efficiency. Her last 200 legs include 17 finishes of 100 or higher, placing her ahead of players such as Rob Cross, Damon Heta, and Ryan Searle.
Jimmy van Schie, the reigning WDF world champion, also made an impact. He qualified for the televised stage of the World Masters and recorded a 48 percent checkout rate there, bettered only by Van Veen.
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Both Greaves and Van Schie are hitting over 40 percent on doubles and are finishing nearly 80 percent of their legs within 18 darts, figures that underline their strong early impression at PDC level.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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