Littler Sneaks Past Humphries in Tense Night 2 Glasgow Showdown
- Darts Central
- Feb 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 12
The Premier League travelling roadshow arrived in Scotland for the first of two visits this season, with the OVO Hydro in Glasgow hosting a night of thrilling darting action. Luke Humphries, fresh off his Night 1 victory in Belfast, was aiming to extend his lead at the top of the table and send a strong message to his rivals. However, with seven other top-class competitors standing in his way, including a determined Luke Littler, the battle for points was set to be fierce.
Quarter-Final 1: Luke Littler 6-5 Rob Cross
The opening quarterfinal saw Luke Littler and Rob Cross battle it out. Cross came into the match with 2 points after a win over Stephen Bunting and a loss to Chris Dobey in Week 1. Littler, meanwhile, was searching for his first points after a narrow 6-5 loss to MvG in Belfast.
Cross started strong, charging into a 5-1 lead with an impressive average nearing 110. Littler responded, pulling a leg back before the game took a dramatic turn. In the 8th leg, Cross missed a dart at tops for the match, allowing Littler to capitalise and reduce the deficit to 5-4. Cross missed two more opportunities on Double 18 for 6-4, and Littler levelled the match with a nerveless Double 10.
In the deciding leg, Littler was dominant, finishing off with a 12-dart leg to seal the 6-5 victory.
Match Stats:
Littler: 104.59 average, 5 180s, Checkout Percentage: 54.55% (6/11)
Cross: 99.96 average, 2 180s, Checkout Percentage: 45.45% (5/11)
This victory extended Littler's head-to-head advantage to 9 wins in 11 meetings against Cross.
Quarter-Final 2: Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Stephen Bunting
In the second quarterfinal, MvG dominated from the start. Bunting, still finding his rhythm after a tough return to Premier League action, struggled against MvG’s relentless power. MvG quickly raced to a 5-0 lead in clinical fashion before missing a dart at double 7 to secure a whitewash as Bunting managed to get on the board with a well-taken 87 checkout, followed by a sarcastic celebration proving the sheer relief of getting that leg on the board.
However, the comeback was short-lived, and MvG closed out the match convincingly 6-1 with a 13-darter in the final leg.
Match Stats:
MvG: 109.16 average, 3 180s, Checkout Percentage: 66.67% (6/9)
Bunting: 93.91 average, 2 180s, Checkout Percentage: 20% (1/5)
Bunting now sits at the bottom of the table, desperate to find points quickly at Week 3 in Dublin.
Quarter-Final 3: Gerwyn Price 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Both players entered this match without points from Week 1, but Price soon found his rhythm. Aspinall opened with a break, taking out a 112 checkout, but Price responded with two quick legs, including a 120 finish to lead 2-1, followed by a trademark roar. Price built a 4-2 advantage, but Aspinall proved yet again what a competitor he is as he fought back with two legs of his own, including a huge 138 checkout to level at 4-4.
Price regained control in the 9th leg after Aspinall missed four darts to take the lead. Price then closed out the match 6-4 with a 14-darter, securing his first points of the campaign.
Match Stats:
Price: 94.46 average, 2 180s, Checkout Percentage: 46.15% (6/13)
Aspinall: 96.25 average, 2 180s, Checkout Percentage: 44.44% (4/9)
With this loss, Aspinall remains point-less, joining Bunting at the bottom of the table.
Quarter-Final 4: Luke Humphries 6-4 Chris Dobey
The final quarterfinal was a repeat of Week 1’s final in Belfast. After a dominant 6-1 win over Dobey last week, Humphries looked to continue his strong form. Dobey started well, holding his throw and keeping it close at 2-2 by matching Humphries in all departments.
He threw magnificently to lead 4-2, denying Humphries a dart at double in those two legs before Humphries kicked into top gear, winning the next four legs with stunning darts, including an 11-darter to level at 4-4. From there, Humphries fired in two 12-darters to seal the win in style.
Match Stats:
Humphries: 106.07 average, 3 180s, Checkout Percentage: 50% (6/12)
Dobey: 97.57 average, 5 180s, Checkout Percentage: 33.33% (4/12)
Humphries continues his strong start, setting up a semifinal clash with Price.
Semi-Final 1: Luke Littler 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Littler faced MvG in the first semifinal, seeking revenge after a narrow 6-5 loss to the Dutchman in Week 1. He came out strong, surging into a 4-0 lead with clinical combination checkout finishing. MvG managed a hold of throw to make it 4-1, but Littler maintained control with a brilliant 94 checkout on the bull to extend his lead to 5-1.
MvG did make a brief comeback with a 25 checkout in the 7th leg, with Littler missing two match darts for a dominant 6-1 win, before slamming the door shut with a composed 14-dart leg, winning 6-2, and securing a place in the final.
Match Stats:
Littler: 104.02 average, 3 180s, Checkout Percentage: 54.55% (6/11)
MvG: 98.52 average, 5 180s, Checkout Percentage: 28.57% (2/7)
Semi-Final 2: Luke Humphries 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Humphries looked to continue his pursuit of back-to-back night wins in the Premier League. Price started well, breaking with a 110 checkout in the opening leg and extending his lead to 4-2 after six legs with yet another 110 finish. But Humphries fought back yet again tonight, taking the next two legs with an 11-darter and a magnificent 105 checkout in the 8th leg to level it up at 4-4.
In the 9th leg, Humphries held throw to take a 5-4 lead with a stunning 79 checkout, utilising two double 18s after straying into the single 7 with his first dart, crushing Price’s chances, who was left on 72 himself. Price had a chance to level the match at 5-5 on throw, but Humphries finished with a clinical 12-dart leg to seal the 6-4 win and make it his second comeback of the night from 4-2 down.
Match Stats:
Humphries: 101.98 average, 5 180s, Checkout Percentage: 50% (6/12)
Price: 97.63 average, 3 180s, Checkout Percentage: 40% (4/10)
🏆 The Final: Luke Littler 6-5 Luke Humphries
The final saw the world’s top two players go head-to-head for the first time this season. It was a rather low-key affair for their high standards, with the highlight being a 170 checkout finish, which Littler reeled in to take a 2-1 lead.
Despite a minor injury to his index finger on his throwing hand after damaging it on a wire on the dartboard in the practice room before the final, Humphries put up a fight, and the match had eight consecutive holds of throw, leaving the score tied at 4-4.
Humphries found the first break of throw for a 5-4 advantage after Littler missed multiple opportunities to regain his lead. However, Littler remained calm, firing back with an 11-darter to break back and level the contest at 5-5 before swiftly holding throw comfortably with a 13-dart leg in the decider to take the Night 2 title, leaving Humphries stranded on 141 and denying him back-to-back Premier League night wins.
Littler clinched victory to claim the £10,000 winners bonus and get 5 points onto the league standings, while Humphries had another strong showing and added 3 points to his tally to take his total to 8 points, 3 ahead of Littler.
Match Stats:
Littler: 101.03 average, 3 180s, Checkout Percentage: 54.55% (6/11)
Humphries: 93.68 average, 3 180s, Checkout Percentage: 35.71% (5/14)
Updated Premier League Table after Week 2
Position | Name | Points |
1st | Luke Humphries | 8 |
2nd | Luke Littler | 5 |
3rd | Michael van Gerwen | 4 |
4th | Chris Dobey | 3 |
5th | Rob Cross | 2 |
6th | Gerwyn Price | 2 |
7th | Nathan Aspinall | 0 |
8th | Stephen Bunting | 0 |
Final Thoughts:
Littler’s Night 2 win in Glasgow marks an impressive start to his Premier League campaign, while Humphries continues to lead the table. The nonsensical whistling from a select few in the Glaswegian crowd put a small dampener on proceedings; hopefully, this will not become a trend throughout the competition, and the crowd will allow the players to have equal opportunity to produce their best up on that big stage and put on a show. As the Premier League moves to Dublin in Week 3, expect the competition to only heat up.
Upcoming Tournaments:
Players Championships 3 & 4—February 17th and 18th, live on PDC.tv.
Premier League Night 3—February 20th in Dublin, live on Sky Sports.
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