An extensive statistical analysis by Christopher Kempf, examining the last 200 legs of PDC players, reveals significant shifts in form beneath Luke Littler's continued Premier League pace. The most striking development is reigning Premier League champion Luke Humphries' decline. Despite his elite status, Humphries sits sixth after nine nights and needs to make up ground. His OChE rating—a measure of effectiveness—has dropped to 60.63, the largest decline of any player in this period, though it still ranks him fourth worldwide. His doubles are a particular weakness, with a 35.6% success rate on the outer ring placing him mid-table in the PDC over those legs, contrasting sharply with his still-elite scoring averages.
While Humphries loses ground, Wessel Nijman is knocking loudly on the door. The Dutchman, currently his country's top performer and the only Dutch player to win ranking titles in 2026, has two Players Championship wins and a European Tour title in Göttingen. His numbers underline his rise: over his last 200 legs, he posts a 98.9 average and wins a large share of legs within fifteen darts. Only two PDC players are more effective at closing legs within four visits, and within the current Premier League lineup, only Jonny Clayton is more accurate on doubles. Though still outside the world's top twenty, Nijman's entry into the top ten seems only a matter of time if he maintains this trajectory.
Keane Barry stands out as the most improved player of the past month. The young Irishman enjoyed a strong Pro Tour spell, defeating Stephen Bunting, Michael Smith, and Krzysztof Ratajski en route to the semi-finals of Players Championship 7, followed by a last-16 berth at the next event and qualification for his first European Tour event of the year. In three days, he recorded eleven wins, a tally he hadn't reached earlier in the season. Most notably, Barry is now the PDC's most clinical finisher on the outer ring, dislodging Clayton from first place, with a four-point rise in averages and an eight-point jump in effectiveness, operating close to the world elite.
Kim Huybrechts also appears unexpectedly in the numbers, showing signs of a career resurgence. The Belgian, without a title for several years, has qualified for four European Tour events this season and recorded a notable win over Josh Rock at the Belgian Darts Open. His scoring power stands out: in his last 200 legs, he fired 89 maximums, surpassing even Littler for 180s. During a qualifier for the Austrian Darts Open, he produced six maximums in nine legs, an exceptionally high rate. Though this scoring surge doesn't always translate into deep runs on the floor, his improved numbers suggest he will increasingly turn matches in his favour.
