Luke Humphries beats Luke Littler in epic Players Championship final marred by whistling

has beaten to be crowned the winner of the Players Championship in Minehead. Despite having to deal with disruption from the crowd, the 29-year-old prevailed to land his seventh major title and retain the trophy he first won in 2023.

A final that promised so much got off to a dismal start, with both players below par as Humphries almost stumbled into an early 4-1 lead.

But the quality picked up thereafter, with the best two players in that game showcasing the kind of form that has signified their epic rivalry throughout this season.

Littler went into the final with an average of 105.21, and was on track to break the tournament record. However, the clash started off anything but the classy affair that fans and pundits were expecting, with both players erratic with their scoring and finishing.

The teenager missed chances at double tops in both the first and second legs as Humphries capitalised to lead 2-0. Littler finally nailed a double at the seventh time of asking in the following leg to reduce the deficit.

But ‘Cool Hand Luke’ quickly hit back before a scrappy fifth leg. It ended with Littler needing five, but he proceeded to accidentally hit double one first up, and couldn’t finish from there as Humphries went into the first break with a 4-1 lead.

But the quality improved after the interval, with Humphries landing a 12-dart leg to make it 5-1. But if Littler needed a spark, he then got it – holding throw by taking out 80 with a ‘double double’ 20.

The respite seemed short lived though as Humphries hit back with an 11-dart leg, only for Littler to respond with a maximum 170 checkout. He then broke back to reduce the deficit further to 6-4, and as the players headed off stage for the next break the crowd noise ramped up.

A 164 checkout sparked further frenzy from the Minehead faithful, and the finalists then exchanged high quality legs as Humphries stayed in front at 7-6. But despite then winning the next leg the world champion was visibly annoyed after having to pull away from the oche, with whistling coming from the crowd as he prepared to throw at the oche.

“Stop whistling, thank you,” was the announcement from the match referee. But the atmosphere remained loud as Littler hit back to make it 8-7, and the pair went for their final break with the contest on a knife-edge.

But Humphries then came back out and went through the gears. He took succesive legs to move within one of victory, and then when Littler missed a dart at double 20, Humphries hit the same marker with his second attempt to seal glory.