Summary:
Luke Humphries retained the 2026 US Darts Masters title by beating Luke Littler 8-7 in a nail-biting final at the Infosys Theatre in Madison Square Garden, New York. The world number two posted an average of 104 in the final and rounded off a perfect evening with victories over Stephen Bunting, Gian van Veen and then Littler to retain his title on American soil.
A final that swung back and forth several times
The score tells one story, but the match tells a slightly different one. Humphries got off to a flying start, quickly taking control of the final with a 4-1 lead. At that point, it looked as though the defending champion was set for a comfortable victory from start to finish. Except that Luke Littler turned the match around in his usual style, levelling the score at 4–4 and then taking the lead at 5–4, before finally taking the match to a decisive final leg.
Humphries, however, never really lost his way. After levelling the score at 5–5, then regaining the lead at 6–5 and 7–6, he saw Littler snatch another leg to keep the tension high right to the very end. With the throw in the final leg, Humphries rose to the occasion and closed out the match on 41, whilst Littler was left stuck on 86. It’s this sort of sequence that counts in a tournament: when the final hinges on two or three darts, keeping your cool is almost as important as sheer performance.
Littler still put in a truly top-class performance. The world champion hit nine 180s throughout the match and kept Humphries under pressure right up to the final leg. But this time, he had to rise to the occasion, and Humphries did just that, maintaining an average of over 104 in the final.
The road to the title on that New York evening
The ultimate success did not rest solely on the clash with Littler. To retain his trophy, Humphries had to string together three top-class matches in the same session. He first saw off Stephen Bunting 6-3 in the quarter-finals with a reported average of around 105, before surviving a much tougher semi-final against Gian van Veen.
The Dutchman pushed Humphries to the limit, leading for much of the match before eventually losing 7-6. That’s when things got tough: Humphries was forced to stage a remarkable comeback to avoid an early exit. That resilience says almost as much about his evening as the final itself. He didn’t just hold his own; he had to go out and win the title by clinching crucial moments when the tournament could have slipped through his fingers.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final | Stephen Bunting | 6-3 |
| Semi-final | Gian van Veen | 7-6 |
| Final | Luke Littler | 8-7 |
In the space of a single evening, Humphries knocked out a very dangerous player in the short format, survived a high-tension semi-final, and then held his own against the best finisher of the moment in the eagerly anticipated headline match. To put it another way: this isn’t a title picked up in an open draw; it’s a title earned against players who could all have ended his weekend at any stage.
Why this title really matters ahead of the World Matchplay
This second consecutive title in New York carries significant weight in assessing the current state of play. Firstly, because it confirms that Humphries remains the benchmark whenever a World Series evening becomes a tight contest and demands immediate precision. Secondly, because it gives him a further boost of confidence just ahead of the World Matchplay, which looms as the next major milestone on the circuit.
Ultimately, what matters most here isn’t just the ‘New York title’ line, it’s the manner in which it was achieved. Humphries beat Bunting, turned the tables on van Veen just as things were starting to look dicey, and then held off Littler in the most high-stakes match of the weekend. When a player wins like that in a single session, it says a lot about his current competitive form, his ability to handle slumps and his capacity to maintain his composure when his legs start to feel heavy.
New York got its final, and the weekend its true champion
The day before, the opening day had already set the tone for the tournament, notably with Jim Long’s surprise victory over Josh Rock. It remained to be seen whether the second evening would simply confirm the pecking order or produce a genuine final worthy of the billing. The answer is clear: the tournament had both.
Humphries didn’t just lift the trophy. He earned the right to approach the rest of the season having sent a very clear message to the entire circuit. Facing Littler, he had to hold his nerve right up to the very last dart. Facing the board, he had to maintain his form without any dip in performance. On a night like this, there’s no room for error. This time, it’s Humphries who’s taking New York home once again.
