"You need to time your run to perfection, and he may be doing that" - Wayne Mardle questions who is playing better than Luke Humphries

Luke Humphries has timed his run to perfection. Or at least that is what Wayne Mardle believes after the reigning champion sealed a first nightly win of the 2026 Premier League Darts in Birmingham on Night 15 to secure qualification for finals night.

It had been touch a go on whether he would make it. Two positions were left up for grabs after Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton sealed their spots in London. Humphries was in desperate need of a positive result to put him in the driving seat in Sheffield. He went one step better and confirmed a return to the O2.

He began with a resounding 6-0 victory over Stephen Bunting while averaging over 107. He then upped the ante, getting the better of Littler after ticking off six legs on the spin with an average touching 111. He edged Price 6-3 in the final, a result that saw them both celebrating on stage after a large Q was placed next to their names with finals night fast approaching.

"It's relief. You see from the way I felt at the end," Humphries said after confirming the nightly win. "I've worked incredibly hard, changed to my old points, my old flights, and it worked for me. "We've all been through those stages, it shows true grit from that position I was in. To get through takes some determination and I'm proud of that.

"I'm just incredibly proud of myself, probably the most proud I've ever been in my life. The last three weeks there's been a lot of pressure on my shoulders. When you're five points from the top four you kind of think, 'Well you need a miracle here'. I'm really happy I can go back to the O2 and at least give it a chance. I'm really proud because it would have hurt me had I not defended the title at The O2."

Mardle was quick to praise the former world number one for turning around what had looked like a perilous situation with his title defence on the line. “The way Humphries played getting through to the final was kind of untouchable," Mardle said on Sky Sports.

"The scoring against Littler and Bunting… it's not just the one treble visit, it's the twos and threes that get the better of any opponent even if they are playing well. He's held it together, three finals in three weeks, winning this one tonight, it deals with anything next week so there are no negatives at all.”

Some stonking averages in the night had begged the question whether Humphries had timed his run to perfection after sealing a spot at the O2 for a third consecutive year. "You need to time your run to perfection, and he may be doing that. I mean, who is playing better at the moment?"

There is still something to play for in Sheffield in Night 16. Humphries will take to the oche in the final quarter-final of the night against seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen. Level on points with Price, 'Cool Hand Luke' sits fourth and is scheduled to face off against Littler at the semi-final stage of the climax event. However, it he comes third then he may avoid the world number one until the final with Clayton his first task.