Match report · PDC Premier League Darts 2026

Littler reclaims his crown in a Premier League classic for the ages

The 19-year-old world champion survived a stunning Humphries fightback to win an 11-10 thriller at the O2, completing a trilogy that has redefined what a Premier League final can be.

Luke Littler is the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts champion. The 19-year-old world number one defeated defending champion Luke Humphries 11-10 in a last-leg decider at the O2 Arena in London, producing a match that will take its place alongside the very best in the competition’s history. In doing so, Littler joins Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson as the only players to win the Premier League more than once.

Littler posted a scarcely-believable match average of 111.67 — the joint second-highest ever recorded in a Premier League final, level with Phil Taylor’s average in 2010 and behind only Michael van Gerwen’s 112.37 in the 2018 showpiece. He also landed 14 maximums throughout an extraordinary 21-leg contest. Humphries, for his part, averaged 105.60 and could have won; the defending champion forced a deciding leg after Littler missed a match dart, but was ultimately unable to reach a double from 156 in the final leg, allowing Littler to step in and pin double top with a 54 finish to seal the title.

How the final unfolded

Humphries won the bull-up and capitalised immediately, opening with a 180 before taking out D20 for a 13-dart hold. He added a second break to lead 2-0 before Littler found his footing. The world number one responded with a 52 checkout on tops, then levelled with a finish on D10, before a 94 on D20 handed him a 3-2 lead and an early break of throw.

The match turned spectacularly. Humphries produced one of the most destructive finishing runs in Premier League final history — a 134 checkout, a 112 finish on D20, and a 121 on the bull left him 6-3 ahead, appearing to be on course for a comfortable defence of his title. Littler responded with an 81 finish for an 11-darter to go to the interval 6-4 down.

After the break, the standard barely dipped. Littler opened leg 11 with a maximum and converted a 41 finish in two darts for another 11-darter. From 7-5 down, he clawed back to 7-7, and then 8-8. Humphries edged 9-8 up when Littler missed D18 and D9, but Littler replied with a clinical 56 finish on D20 to level at 9-9.

Then came the decisive moment. Littler went seven perfect darts into a possible nine-darter, missed T17 with the eighth, but still completed a 10-darter to break throw and move 10-9 ahead. With the title in sight, he missed double top from 64 in leg 20 — and Humphries, with the steel of a defending champion, took out 68 in two darts on D4 to force a deciding leg.

Both players opened the 21st leg with 140s. When Humphries failed to reach a double from 156, Littler stepped in, arrowing double top with a 54 finish in three darts to win 11-10 and reclaim his crown. Both players were visibly emotional at the conclusion of a match neither was prepared to lose.

The semi-finals — three last-leg deciders on the night

Before the latest instalment of the great Littler-Humphries rivalry, both men were pushed to the very edge by their Welsh opponents.

Littler moved 9-4 ahead against Gerwyn Price in the first semi-final before the match suddenly turned. Five missed match darts opened the door, and Price charged through it with a 124 checkout on D11 to break for 9-8, before wiring the bull for another 124 and levelling at 9-9. The comeback just fell short — Littler had the throw in the deciding leg, opened with a 180, and eventually pinned D16 to win 10-9 in a match where Price actually averaged 100.42 to Littler’s 98.47.

In the second semi-final, Humphries led 6-2 and appeared in full control before Jonny Clayton launched a remarkable comeback. The Welshman clawed back to 7-7, broke throw to lead 9-7, and had a match dart at D16 to reach his first Premier League final. Humphries survived, produced a 121 finish to force a decider, and then cleaned up 25 for another 10-9 win. All three matches on the night went to the deciding leg.

Three years, three finals — the defining rivalry

For the third consecutive year, the Premier League final was decided between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries. The trilogy is now complete: Littler won in 2024 — memorably hitting a nine-darter in the final — Humphries avenged that defeat in 2025 to win 11-8, and Thursday’s match delivered the decisive chapter. No pair of players has met in three consecutive Premier League finals in the competition’s history.

The road to the O2

Littler arrived at the O2 as the dominant league leader after 16 weeks of relentless Premier League action. He matched his own record of six nightly victories from the previous year, accumulated 43 league points — nine clear at the top — and finished the regular season pocketing six weekly winner bonuses of £10,000 each. The campaign was not without turbulence; an early slow start left him near the bottom of the table, and an on-stage altercation with Gian van Veen drew widespread attention and a hostile reception from some sections of the crowd on Finals Night.

Humphries’ journey to London was far less smooth. The defending champion spent much of the season fighting around the cut-off line rather than cruising above it. A late surge that included four consecutive weekly finals, capped by his Night 15 win in Birmingham, carried him to third in the final standings with 27 points and secured his spot at the O2.

Prize money

Littler pocketed a record £375,000 winner’s cheque — £100,000 more than Humphries earned for his victory in 2025 — from the competition’s increased total prize pot of £1.25 million. Humphries earned £275,000 as runner-up. The two losing semi-finalists, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, each received £85,000.