Luke Humphries turned Players Championship 28 into an immediate answer: beaten in the first round the day before, he came back with the title, an 8-6 final win over Brendan Dolan and a return to the world number two spot. The Leicester event was expected to measure Luke Littler’s ProTour push. It ended by putting Humphries back at the centre of the picture.
The day matters for two reasons. First, Humphries has now won his third Players Championship title of 2026, despite playing only nine events in the series. Second, Littler, still chasing the money needed to reach the Players Championship Finals cut in Minehead, was stopped short again after losing to Dolan in the semi-finals. After Jermaine Wattimena’s Players Championship 27 win, Leicester delivered a second day with real ProTour consequences.
Humphries won by surviving the ugly spells
This was not a stroll. Humphries opened with a 6-4 win over Mario Vandenbogaerde, then produced his best spell of the day against Tommy Lishman, winning 6-1 with a 108.66 average according to the PDC. At that point, the level was obvious.
It became less comfortable after that. The 2023/24 world champion had to survive match darts against Bradley Brooks, then against Danny Noppert, who missed six darts to win their last-16 match. That is what gives the title extra weight. Humphries did not simply cruise through the bracket: he absorbed the alarms, stayed alive, then took control when the draw opened up.
In the semi-finals, he beat Mike De Decker 7-4 with an average just below 100. The Belgian had already made noise by beating Michael van Gerwen earlier in the day before seeing off Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals. This was no soft semi-final.
Dolan denied the expected Littler showdown
The obvious headline seemed ready: Humphries on one side, Luke Littler on the other, and a final between two of the biggest names in the game. Brendan Dolan ruined that script. The Irishman beat Littler 7-4 in the semi-finals, having already defeated Yorick Hofkens, Scott Williams, Sebastian Bialecki, Karel Sedlacek and Luke Woodhouse.
For Littler, the Leicester return remains mixed. He still picked up £6,500 over the two days, but he remains well short of the top 64 on the Players Championship Order of Merit. Sky Sports places him 125th after this run, with six events left before Minehead. In plain terms: qualification is still alive, but it has become harder.
The final: Humphries moved at the right time
Dolan threatened again in the final. He led 3-2 and had reason to believe a second major upset in a few hours was possible. Humphries then produced the decisive spell: three legs in a row, two 12-dart holds and an 83 checkout to move 5-3 clear.
Dolan cut the gap to one leg, but Humphries closed the match with another 12-darter after his third 180 of the final. The 8-6 scoreline tells the story fairly well: Dolan made it awkward, Humphries finished the key moments better.
| Tournament | Players Championship 28 |
| Venue | Mattioli Arena, Leicester |
| Final | Luke Humphries 8-6 Brendan Dolan |
| Semi-finals | Humphries 7-4 De Decker, Dolan 7-4 Littler |
| Next events | Players Championships 29-30, September 22-23 in Den Bosch |
What this title changes
The biggest point is not only the trophy. Humphries has reclaimed the world number two spot from Gian van Veen and enters the closing stretch of the season with a clear marker. He has not played many Players Championship events this year, but three titles from nine appearances is a heavy return.
His reaction, carried by the PDC, matched that reading: Humphries admitted he rode his luck in places, but said the title could give him confidence before the major events later in the year. Sky Sports also frames the day around two linked stories, Humphries returning to world number two and Littler’s ongoing Minehead chase.
The DartsNews report points the same way: Humphries took the title, but Littler’s semi-final defeat remains the other heavy piece of the Leicester picture. On this kind of ProTour day, both readings matter: the winner stamping his authority, and the favourite letting another chance go.
