Humphries takes first Premier League night win

2 years ago 42

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By Phil Cartwright

BBC Sport

Luke Humphries produced three superb displays to win night six of Premier League Darts in Brighton.

The world champion, 29, beat Gerwyn Price 6-2, Rob Cross 6-3 and Michael Smith 6-3 for his first-ever night win, which lifts him to second in the table.

Humphries' victory cut Michael van Gerwen's lead at the top of the standings to three points.

Van Gerwen went out in the quarter-final for the second consecutive week, losing 6-2 to Cross.

Two-time world champion Peter Wright missed two match darts in the deciding leg of his quarter-final defeat by Smith and the Scot remains without a win in this year's competition.

Smith, who won night one in Cardiff, then beat 17-year-old Luke Littler in his semi-final but lost against the man that replaced him as world number one in January.

Speaking after his victory, Humphries, who lost to Dimitri van den Bergh in Sunday's UK Open final, told Sky Sports: "I've felt like I haven't played my best since the World Championship, maybe for the first six weeks, and I've come back playing a lot better.

"Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get used to all of the scenarios of what you're going through.

"The UK Open [reaching the final] was a massive boost for me. I know I didn't win it but my game was in a good place, I played well.

"I've come here today and upped my game even more. There have been a couple of runners-up [trophies] since then [winning the world title] so it's nice to have a winners' trophy."