Premier League Darts 2025: Luke Humphries Triumphs in Belfast but Declares Luke Littler the Best in the World

World number one Luke Humphries kicked off his 2025 Premier League campaign in dominant fashion, winning the opening night in Belfast with a commanding 6-1 victory over Chris Dobey in the final.

Humphries’ route to the title included an impressive win over Michael van Gerwen, who had earlier produced a stunning display to dethrone reigning world champion Luke Littler. Despite Littler averaging an incredible 114, van Gerwen managed to edge past the teenage sensation. However, he was unable to maintain that level of performance against Humphries, missing key opportunities and allowing "Cool Hand Luke" to cruise into the final.

Littler Steals the Spotlight Despite Early Exit

Despite Humphries’ victory, much of the post-match discussion still revolved around Littler. The 17-year-old may not have won a match on the night, but his remarkable standard of play left fans and pundits in awe.

Speaking after his victory, Humphries attempted to keep the spotlight on his own success but still acknowledged Littler’s talent, even suggesting that the youngster is currently the best player in the world—despite Humphries himself holding the top spot in the PDC Order of Merit.

“First of all, I don't want to make it too much about him [Luke Littler]—it’s my night—but Luke is the best player in the world,” Humphries said.

“We all know it; it’s not something that you want to fight. He's the best player; he's performing the best.”

A Target on Littler’s Back

Littler had admitted during the Premier League launch event that he feels like he has a target on his back as the defending world champion. Humphries agreed, stating that this is something the young star will have to get used to throughout his career.

“He's just been a bit unlucky. He's got a target on his back, being the world champion. Everyone wants to beat him, and this will happen. This will happen over his career.”

Humphries Focused on His Own Success

While Littler continues to attract attention, Humphries is not one to downplay his own ability. He remains confident in his game and knows he belongs at the very top of the sport.

“But for me, I always know that I can compete with the best and you don't get to [world] number one for nothing.”

Humphries is relishing his growing rivalry with Littler, even admitting that he enjoys watching the teenager play. The quarterfinal clash between Littler and van Gerwen particularly stood out to him as one of the best matches, he’s ever seen in the Premier League.

“I'm looking forward to playing him in many, many games this year and I'm going to have to be at my utmost best, because Michael [van Gerwen] played tonight, absolutely brilliant, fantastic game.”

“It's going to be a tough one to match that as a better game in the whole 16 weeks. I thought it was one of the best games in the Premier League he's ever seen.”

Humphries also acknowledged that Littler’s rise has pushed him to work even harder, knowing he now has a fierce rival to measure himself against.

“He does drive you on. He makes you want to be better and he's a fantastic talent. He's just going to be so great over the next 20 years and it's up to me to get better to try and challenge him.”

A Strong Start to 2025

After winning the 2024 World Championship, Humphries had a slow start to the year, with his first major televised title not arriving until July at the World Matchplay in Blackpool. This season, however, he has hit the ground running—securing the PDC World Masters title last weekend and now winning the opening night of the Premier League.

When asked whether this could be the best year of his career, Humphries responded cautiously.

“It could be, yeah. It's a great start, but it is important that you don't get ahead of yourself and think, okay, everything's going well, now I won’t practise, I'll just relax.”

Determined not to rest on his laurels, the world number one is already looking ahead to his next challenges.

“Everything's going to come to me. I always stay dedicated. But tomorrow, back on the practise board and a few exhibitions that I’ve got, I'm always striving for more.”

“I always want to get better. If you see people over many years that have won things, I think they just relax and think, okay, well I've got the talent now. I don't need to make myself any better. I always want to get better. And that's important. I think that's why you always see me every year striving more and winning more.”

With a relentless drive for improvement and a rivalry with Littler set to define the year ahead, Humphries has laid down an early marker in 2025. If his start to the season is anything to go by, this could be his most successful campaign yet.