Wayne Mardle: "Luke Humphries is playing the best darts on the planet right now"

Luke Humphries may have fallen short in Glasgow, but Wayne Mardle believes the defending champion is currently the most consistent force in world darts.

Speaking on Sky Sports after Night Three of the 2026 Premier League Darts, Mardle said:

"I still think Luke Humphries is playing the best darts on the planet right now, the most consistent darts on the planet."

Humphries exited in a 6-5 semi-final defeat to Gian van Veen despite averaging significantly higher, yet Mardle made clear that one narrow loss does not change the bigger picture.

Humphries currently sits fifth in the table, just outside the play-off places, trailing fourth-placed Gerwyn Price by a single point. But Mardle sees little cause for concern.

"Yes he has trouble beating Littler, but who doesn't?" Mardle said. "If Luke Humphries plays to this level for another month he could sew up the playoffs already, he could win three weeks and I believe he is playing so well so often, I don't see it going wrong or him going off the boil."

It is a strong endorsement of the world champion’s current level. In a format where weekly titles often dominate headlines, Mardle instead focused on the broader metric of consistency.

"They'll all go through phases, Jonny is, Price we know, maybe Van Gerwen has had a phase, let's hope he's ok for next week," Hawaii 501 explains. "It's what you do in those good spells."

For Mardle, Humphries is maximising his current spell of form even if the weekly trophy has so far eluded him in this campaign.

While the analysis centred on Humphries, Night Three itself was claimed by Jonny Clayton.

The Welshman defeated Gian van Veen 6-2 in the final at the OVO Hydro, averaging 104.35 and sealing victory with a spectacular 156 checkout.

Clayton’s run included wins over Gerwyn Price and Luke Littler earlier in the evening, on a night shaped by the illness withdrawal of league leader Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman’s absence handed Littler a bye to the semi-finals, though the teenager was unable to capitalise in his 6-1 defeat to Clayton.

After three weeks, Clayton leads the standings, with Van Gerwen one point behind and Van Veen moving into third.

Yet if Mardle’s assessment proves accurate, the player many now consider the most consistent in the field may still be the one quietly building towards a decisive surge.