Humphries earns first Premier League win over Littler in Night Four final

Luke Humphries earned his first Premier League Darts victory over Luke Littler at the seventh attempt in the Night Four final in Exeter, further stretching his lead at the top of the 2025 table.

Littler threw an astonishing 19 maximums over the course of his three games, albeit his level dropped in the final against the world No 1, averaging 97 after a couple of scintillating performances in the earlier rounds.

Littler started the contest with a bang, taking out 144 in the opening leg before breaking Humphries in the fourth for a 3-1 advantage.

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He could, and perhaps should, have turned that into a 4-1 lead but missed darts at double 10 and double five allowed Humphries to break straight back, while those two very same doubles came back to haunt Littler as he was broken again in the ninth leg, Humphries closing things out from there.

It means that Humphries' points tally through the first four weeks now sits at 15, seven clear of Littler in second, with the only other nightly winner in 2025, Gerwyn Price, in third on seven after his quarter-final exit in Exeter. Michael van Gerwyn makes up the top four, on six points, despite also losing his opener on Night Four.

Humphries: No more excuses against Littler

Humphries told Sky Sports after his latest nightly win: "It felt like hard work but I also felt like my game was in a good way.

"Littler played fantastic tonight, but didn't play that great in the final and I managed to put my foot on the gas - like I did in the other two games - right at the end of the game.

"That's the first time I've beaten him in the Premier League. It gets harder every time you lose, but this time I felt a bit more fresh and there were no more excuses - nothing could stop me.

"It's a great start, 15 points after four nights. I would love to win the group; it's a dream start and hopefully I can keep pushing and reeling in the points.

"This is going to give me confidence."

Littler storms into final but ultimately falls short

Littler threw a staggering 10 180s, averaging 112, when beating Stephen Bunting 6-3 in their quarter-final, his opponent still winless through four weeks of the tournament, despite himself averaging near 105 and throwing six maximums in the contest.

Littler then blew Nathan Aspinall away in their semi-final, racing into a 3-0 lead and ultimately taking it 6-2 with a 110 average and three ton-plus finishes, closing things out and booking his place in the final with a deadly dart at the bull.

Humphries, by contrast, wasn't at his scintillating best despite reaching his third final through the first four nights of the tournament, as he first beat Night Three winner Price in the quarters, before battling back to dispose of Rob Cross in the final four.

Humphries nailed a 156 checkout in the fourth leg of his match against Price, grabbed the all-important break of throw in the ninth but then stumbled over the finishing line as he missed five match darts - even accidentally busting his score at one stage - before clinching victory, fortunate to see Price fail with six darts of his own at tops which would have forced a deciding leg.

In his semi-final against Cross, Humphries let a two-leg lead slip, falling 5-4 behind due to some dodgy doubling - hitting only four of 14 - before nailing a stunning 167 checkout and a 116 in successive legs to win it.

Earlier in the night, in the other quarter-finals, Cross and Aspinall overcame Van Gerwyn and Chris Dobey, respectively, in final-leg deciders.

What's next?

The Premier League continues with Night Five in Brighton on Thursday March 6, where Van Gerwen faces Price in the opening match of the evening ahead of Littler taking on Dobey in the top half of the draw.

Cross meets world No 1 Humphries before Bunting plays Aspinall to round off the quarter-final action. Watch Night Five of the Premier League Darts on Thursday from 7pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+.

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