Luke Humphries reclaims world number two spot with Players Championship 28 triumph
Luke Humphries reclaims world number two spot with Players Championship 28 triumph
Luke Humphries reclaimed the world number two position after securing his third Players Championship title of 2026 with an 8-6 victory over Brendan Dolan in Wednesday’s Players Championship 28 final in Leicester.
The 31-year-old continued his impressive ProTour campaign at the Mattioli Arena, overcoming a series of difficult encounters before defeating the resurgent Irishman to claim his fifth individual title of the season.
Humphries was competing in just his ninth Players Championship event of the year and bounced back immediately from his first-round exit against Cam Crabtree 24 hours earlier.
The defending Premier League champion opened Wednesday’s campaign with a 6-4 success against Mario Vandenbogaerde before producing one of the performances of the afternoon in round two.
Humphries averaged an outstanding 108.66 in a 6-1 demolition of Tommy Lishman, sealing victory with an 11-dart hold.
His route to the final then became considerably more complicated.
The former World Champion was forced to survive match darts against Bradley Brooks before being handed another reprieve against Danny Noppert in the last 16.
Noppert squandered six match darts during the latter stages of their encounter, allowing Humphries to escape before he eventually overcame Owen Bates in the quarter-finals.
The world number two then averaged 99.97 to defeat a resurgent Mike De Decker 7-4 in the semi-finals and book his place in the showpiece.
Waiting for Humphries was Dolan, who had produced one of the biggest shocks of the tournament by defeating world number one Luke Littler in the last four.
The 53-year-old appeared capable of completing another upset after establishing a 3-2 advantage in the final.
Humphries responded emphatically, reeling off three consecutive legs with back-to-back 12-dart holds and a two-dart 83 checkout to move 5-3 ahead.
Dolan refused to go quietly and reduced the deficit to 6-5, but Humphries kept his composure when it mattered most.
After landing his third 180 of the contest, Humphries produced another 12-darter to seal the title and complete a memorable return to the winner’s circle.
“Three wins in a calendar year is really tough,” conceded Humphries, who leapfrogged Gian van Veen to return to the world’s top two.
“I think this is three [Players Championship] titles out of nine, so I’m really pleased that I’ve come back after a long hiatus and I’m back playing well.
“I can’t lie and say today was easy. It was really tough and maybe I got away with a few results against Bradley [Brooks] and Danny Noppert.
“Sometimes I just think you’ve got to ride your luck and hopefully pick up the title, and today is a special day for me.”
The victory also provides Humphries with further confidence ahead of the biggest events of the season, with the 31-year-old already looking towards a potential battle with Littler for major honours.
“This might give me some confidence going into the big majors, because Luke [Littler] is going to want to win everything, but I’m going to be the one trying to stop him!
“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks and months I can keep building on this.
“I’m going to get back on the practice board at home now and dedicate the rest of the year towards trying to be my best.”
Dolan rolls back the years
Dolan produced a remarkable run to his first Players Championship final of the year, overcoming a succession of difficult matches before stunning Littler in the semi-finals.
The veteran began his campaign with a 6-4 victory over Germany’s Yorick Hofkens before surviving last-leg deciders against Scott Williams and Sebastian Bialecki.
Further victories over Karel Sedlacek and Luke Woodhouse then set up a blockbuster semi-final against Littler.
Dolan maintained his composure against the world number one to claim a memorable victory and set up an all-star final against Humphries.
Littler was forced to settle for £6,500 but still produced some eye-catching performances during his run.
The World Champion averaged 107 and 100 in victories over Martin Schindler and Krzysztof Ratajski respectively, although he was made to work hard earlier in the day.
Littler recovered from 4-2 down against Stephen Rosney in his opening match before surviving six match darts to edge past Slovenia’s Benjamin Pratnemer.
De Decker reaches another semi-final
De Decker completed the semi-final line-up after enjoying another impressive Players Championship campaign.
The Belgian number one recorded a first career victory over Michael van Gerwen during his run, having opened his campaign with a win against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
He then defeated compatriot Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals before eventually falling to Humphries in the last four.
Huybrechts, Woodhouse and Ratajski were joined in the quarter-finals by Bates, who produced one of the day’s standout runs.
Bates dumped out top seed Wessel Nijman before averaging almost 104 in his victory over Justin Hood.
Meanwhile, Wattimena was unable to follow up Tuesday’s Players Championship 27 triumph, suffering a first-round defeat against Thomas Lovely.
The PDC ProTour now takes a short break, with Players Championships 29-30 set to take place in Den Bosch, Netherlands, on September 22-23.
Luke Humphries reclaims world number two spot with Players Championship 28 triumph
2026 Players Championship 28
Wednesday August 26
Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Last 16
Owen Bates 6-1 Justin Hood
Luke Humphries 6-5 Danny Noppert
Mike De Decker 6-3 Martijn Dragt
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Daniel Ayres
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Karel Sedlacek
Luke Littler 6-3 Andy Boulton
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Greg Ritchie
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-4 Owen Bates
Mike De Decker 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Luke Littler 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Semi-Finals
Luke Humphries 7-4 Mike De Decker
Brendan Dolan 7-4 Luke Littler
Final
Luke Humphries 8-6 Brendan Dolan
