Luke Humphries is still searching for his first nightly win in this year’s Premier League Darts as the tournament heads to Cardiff. It was around this time last year that the English star’s stunning nine-darter sparked a surprising rule-change suggestion from John Part.
Humphries famously dethroned Luke Littler at The O2 Arena on the final night of the 2024 Premier League. However, both players have struggled to find momentum in this year’s edition. As Night Five arrives in the Welsh capital, neither has managed to claim a nightly victory so far.
The fifth night of last year’s competition took place in Brighton and produced a memorable spectacle. Humphries and fellow Englishman Rob Cross both fired perfect nine-dart finishes in front of a stunned crowd — yet remarkably, both men still ended up losing their matches.
Despite the defeats, Humphries and Cross were each presented with a special set of golden darts worth £30,000 by sponsors BetMGM. But the situation didn’t sit well with three-time world champion Part, a regular pundit on Sky Sports coverage, who floated the idea of changing the rules.
In Brighton, Humphries faced Cross in the quarter-finals and delivered a nine-darter in just the second leg, sending the crowd into raptures. However, the momentum didn’t last, and Cross — powered by seven maximum 180s — eventually claimed a 6–4 win.
Cross then produced his own moment of perfection in the semi-final against Nathan Aspinall, landing a nine-dart finish in the sixth leg. Yet even that wasn’t enough, as Aspinall edged the contest 6–5 before going on to lose the final to Littler.
Reflecting on the moment, Humphries said hitting a nine-darter on the big stage is always special.
“I’ve hit about five or six nine-darters in my career,” he explained. “It’s always an amazing feeling to do it on a big stage and the crowd went wild. Of course, I’d rather have won the match, but it’s still a nice memento.”
Part, however, was unimpressed by the idea of a player losing after achieving perfection. A similar scenario unfolded during last week’s Premier League night in Belfast, where home favourite Josh Rock hit a historic nine-darter but still lost to Gian van Veen.
During commentary, Part suggested that in shorter-format matches, a nine-dart finish should automatically secure victory for the player who hits it. His fellow commentator Wayne Mardle laughed off the idea in the booth.
Heading into the Cardiff night, Humphries admits his main problem this season hasn’t been starting matches strongly — but maintaining that level throughout.
“My game at the moment is strange,” he said. “I’m starting games like a train, playing some of the best darts anyone is producing. Then suddenly, I’m throwing the worst darts.
“I don’t really know why. I’m trying my best. I started the ProTour really well when I won an event, but after that it seems to drain away.”
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