Luke Humphries sealed his first ProTour title in over a year by winning Players Championship Event Four in Wigan on Tuesday, defeating Wessel Nijman 8-6 in a dramatic final. The victory concludes a double header that also saw Chris Dobey triumph the previous day, with Humphries joining him in the winners' circle and proving his exceptional form on the ProTour circuit despite quieter performances on stage.
In the final, Nijman raced to a 2-0 lead, with Humphries missing a 160 checkout for 2-1. Nijman then needed 127 on the bull to go 3-0 up, but Humphries broke back to trail 2-1. A 41 checkout leveled it at 2-2, only for Nijman to hit a 101 checkout for 3-2. After Nijman left 31 with Humphries on 170, he moved 4-3 ahead in the race to eight legs. Nijman missed a 170 checkout but returned to hit double eight for 5-3. Humphries responded with another 41 checkout to break back and close to 5-4.
Humphries then leveled at 5-5 with a 67 finish on double eight, taking the lead for the first time at 6-5. He extended to 7-5 with an 81 checkout, leaving Nijman way back on 131. Humphries sealed the match with a double 18 finish, winning five of the last six legs after trailing earlier. His run to the final included a 7-4 semi-final win over Gerwyn Price with a 101 average, having earlier defeated Martijn Dragt 6-5 (94 average), Marvin Kraft 6-2 (103 average), Luke Woodhouse 6-3 (104 average), Stephen Bunting 6-3 (100 average), and Niels Zonneveld 6-2 (108 average). Humphries averaged over 100 in all but his opener against Dragt.
The double header did not feature Luke Littler or Michael van Gerwen among others, but Humphries and Dobey's triumphs highlighted two players with points to prove. Humphries reinforced his status as a leading rival in the 'Luke v Luke' battle, while Nijman once again demonstrated his quality on the ProTour stage.
