Luke Humphries and Luke Littler remain on a collision course at the Players Championship Finals

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals on Saturday, but they are still headed for a collision.

The second and third rounds of the £600,000 event were held on a busy day at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, where defending champion Humphries proceeded to defend his title.

After defeating Gabriel Clemens in a thrilling opening night, the world number one defeated Raymond van Barneveld and Damon Heta to continue his pursuit of back-to-back Players Championship Finals victories.

Humphries won nine of the final 12 legs to defeat Australian number one Heta 10-6 in the final on Saturday. He also averaged over 102 to defeat Dutch legend Van Barneveld 6-3 in the second round.

“I felt like I had so much more to give there,” reflected Humphries, who insists he would relish a showdown with Littler if both players progress to Sunday evening’s showpiece.

“Luke is playing some absolutely phenomenal darts right now. He’s probably the best player in the world at the moment, but I know I’ve got a level to match that.

“Hopefully I can get to the final and give the fans what they want, but I’ve still got a couple of games to win before we can think about that. You cannot look too far ahead.”

Littler preserved his incredible form with decisive victories over Ritchie Edhouse and Danny Noppert after averaging 112.73 against Rob Cross on Friday night.

In a match when both players averaged 105, the recently crowned Grand Slam winner defeated Edhouse in a thrilling tie, missing double 12 for a nine-darter.

Littler then extended his winning streak to eleven games by crushing former UK Open champion Noppert 10-3, averaging 104 and smashing in seven 180s.

“When I go on these little bursts, I feel like nobody can touch me in between,” claimed the teenage sensation, who has now climbed to a career-high of world number four.

“I’m just very happy to win. I played really well against Ritchie this afternoon, and I felt comfortable tonight.”

After giving up just four legs in Saturday’s doubleheader, the 17-year-old will now rekindle his rivalry with World Grand Prix winner Mike De Decker in the round of eight.

Before defeating Niels Zonneveld 10–4 in the round of 16, De Decker averaged 101 in a six-leg thumping of Ian White in the afternoon session.

Following back-to-back 6-1 victories against Dimitri Van den Bergh and Wesley Plaisier, Ross Smith also cruised to Finals Day, crushing 2023 UK Open winner Andrew Gilding 10-1.

Smith will now take on Scott Williams, who advanced to his second televised ranking quarterfinal after defeating Sweden’s Jeffrey de Graaf and 2012 runner-up Kim Huybrechts in thrilling comebacks.

Williams continued his ascent in Minehead by converting three tons or more of checkouts in each game. He averaged 101 and finished with a magnificent 170 to defeat De Graaf 10-8 in a top-notch battle.

In other news, Ryan Joyce, a 2023 semi-finalist, kept up his stellar Minehead record to advance to the quarterfinals and face world No. 1 Humphries.

Joyce defeated German number one Martin Schindler 10–6 in the round of 16, after overcoming four match darts to defeat Cameron Menzies in a thrilling second round encounter.

With decisive victories over Florian Hempel and Jermaine Wattimena, Dirk van Duijvenbode maintained his comeback. He finished 10-5 against the runner-up in the European Championship, average 99.

Connor Scutt, who easily defeated Mario Vandenbogaerde and 2018 champion Daryl Gurney to guarantee a position in his first televised quarterfinal, will face Van Duijvenbode in the round of eight.

World No. 3 Michael Smith lost to Gurney in the second round earlier in the day, and Dave Chisnall and Nathan Aspinall both collapsed out at the same point.

On Sunday, November 24, the event will come to an end with the quarterfinals in the afternoon, followed by the semifinals and final in the evening.

 

Luke Humphries and Luke Littler remain on a collision course at the Players Championship Finals

Scott Williams 6-4 Kim Huybrechts

Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Nathan Aspinall

Damon Heta 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski

Daryl Gurney 6-4 Michael Smith

Luke Humphries 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld

Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Josh Rock

Luke Littler 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse

Ross Smith 6-1 Wesley Plaisier

Stage Two – Second Round x8

Ryan Joyce 6-5 Cameron Menzies

Andrew Gilding 6-5 Dave Chisnall

Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Thibault Tricole

Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Florian Hempel

Connor Scutt 6-3 Mario Vandenbogaerde

Danny Noppert 6-4 Stephen Burton

Mike De Decker 6-0 Ian White

Martin Schindler 6-4 Ryan Meikle

Evening Session

Main Stage

Third Round x4

Connor Scutt 10-3 Daryl Gurney

Dirk van Duijvenbode 10-5 Jermaine Wattimena

Luke Littler 10-3 Danny Noppert

Luke Humphries 10-6 Damon Heta

Stage Two

Third Round x4

Scott Williams 10-8 Jeffrey de Graaf

Mike De Decker 10-4 Niels Zonneveld

Ryan Joyce 10-6 Martin Schindler

Ross Smith 10-1 Andrew Gilding

Sunday November 24

Afternoon Session (1245-1700 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Mike De Decker v Luke Littler

Scott Williams v Ross Smith

Connor Scutt v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Luke Humphries v Ryan Joyce

Evening Session (1900-2300 GMT)

Semi-Finals

De Decker/Littler v Williams/Smith

Scutt/Van Duijvenbode v Humphries/Joyce

Final