Littler Wins Glasgow’s Second Premier League Night

Night two of the Premier League in Glasgow was won by world champion Luke Littler, who upset world number one Luke Humphries 6-5 in a last-leg thriller.

Earlier in the evening, the 18-year-old was about to lose to Rob Cross, but he rallied from a 5-1 deficit.

Humphries had to have a cut on the middle finger of his right throwing hand plastered, which hindered him in the final match against his fellow Englishman.

Nevertheless, Humphries gained a 5-4 lead until Littler won the following two legs. His performance included a 170 checkout, 55% doubles success, and an average of 101.03 vs his opponent’s 93.68. He was also frustrated by the whistling in the crowd.

“The final was strange. After winning the £10,000 prize for the evening, world number two Littler remarked, “We weren’t playing well either.”

“We’re on a 90 average when I occasionally glance up at the screen. The audience became involved.

Littler defeated Humphries to win the 2024 Premier League after finishing second in the world final the previous year.

Earlier, Gerwyn Price made fun of the fans by whistling himself when they climbed on his back, and at one point during the final, referee Kirk Bevins had to order the crowd to stop.

Even though Littler averaged more than 105 in four of his losses in the six tournaments he had participated in since winning the world title last month, he had not advanced to the final.

However, following an incredible comeback against Cross in which he won five straight legs, he avenged the last-leg defeat to Michael van Gerwen seven days prior with a commanding 6-2 triumph over the Dutchman in the semi-finals.

“I was down 5-1 and then you get a few legs on the bounce and my confidence, it just hit the roof and I managed to pull it back,” said Littler.

Humphries, who had won the first night in Belfast a week prior, pulled off two comeback victories in Glasgow, defeating Price in the semi-finals after winning four straight legs against Chris Dobey.

Littler upset 2018 world champion Cross 6-5 in the first match, becoming the first player to win a match in the current Premier League format after behind 5-1.

Amidst jeers from the rowdy audience, Cross, who had only defeated Littler once in five Premier League encounters the previous year, appeared set for victory but missed three match darts.

With a checkout success rate of 54.5% and an average of almost 105, the teenager took advantage of the situation.

Van Gerwen, who averaged 109 in a merciless performance, defeated Stephen Bunting 6-1, leaving him without a victory in his Premier League comeback.

In a rematch of last week’s Belfast final, Humphries defeated Dobey 4-2 before winning by the same score, while Nathan Aspinall also had a second blank, losing to Price 6-4.

Premier League Darts Night 2 results

Final

Luke Littler 6-5 Luke Humphries

Semi-finals

Luke Littler 6-2 Michael van Gerwen

Gerwyn Price 4-6 Luke Humphries

Quarter-finals

Rob Cross 5-6 Luke Littler

Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Stephen Bunting

Nathan Aspinall 4-6 Gerwyn Price

Luke Humphries 6-4 Chris Dobey

Format and points system for Premier League darts

There are quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final every night over the first 16 weeks of the Premier League Darts tournament.

In the quarterfinals of weeks 1–7 and 9–15, each of the eight players will undoubtedly face the other seven; the matchups for weeks 8 and 16 are off the table. With the play-off berths perhaps at stake, it means that on the last league-stage night in Sheffield, we will play fourth against fifth.

Players receive five points for winning the evening, two points for winning the quarterfinals, and an extra point for winning the semi-final.

Following the group round, the top four players go to the play-off night at London’s O2 Arena on May 23. In a best-of-19-leg tournament, first place will face fourth, while second place will face third. This is followed by the best-of-21 final.

Places are determined by nights won, followed by matches won if players are tied on points at the end of the 16 weeks.

Schedule for Premier League Darts Night 3: Dublin, February 20, 19:00 GMT

Stephen Bunting vs. Luke Humphries

Price Gerwyn v. Littler Luke

Nathan Aspinall v. Rob Cross

Chris Dobey versus Michael van Gerwen

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