Luke Humphries ended a five-game losing streak against rival Luke Littler to reach the final at night six of the Premier League in Nottingham.
Humphries had not beaten the teenager since the final of last season’s Premier League at the O2 in London as Littler has dominated the scene.
But he stopped the rot by triumphing in a final-leg decider, claiming victory with a clutch 128 checkout.
Luke Humphries is through to his first nightly final of the season! 💪
The reigning Premier League champion averages almost 106 to deny Luke Littler in a last-leg thriller! pic.twitter.com/4rr9RcdUEd
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 12, 2026
He was the better player in the contest and had earlier missed three match darts to win more comfortably.
Littler had entered the arena by reminding the locals of Nottingham Forest’s losing score in their Europa League tie a mile up the road at the City Ground.
But, like Vitor Pereira’s team, Littler’s night ended in defeat as Humphries booked a spot in the final against Jonny Clayton.
Even being struck down by gout in his foot could not stop Clayton reaching the night’s showpiece.
The Welshman could barely walk around the stage after being diagnosed with the inflammatory arthritis condition, but there was nothing wrong with his throw.
Clayton followed up his quarter-final victory over Michael van Gerwen with a semi-final success against Stephen Bunting.
The league leader cemented his position at the top of the table after reaching his third nightly final.
Littler had earlier won the match of the night as he beat Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals.
It was a high-quality encounter where both men peppered the treble 20 bed but the teenager continued his dominance over Price, claiming an 11th win in their last 12 meetings by winning a last-leg decider.
Josh Rock’s miserable debut campaign continued as he was hammered 6-1 by fellow struggler Bunting, meaning he has lost all six of his matches.
