Luke Littler faces Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals of Night Six of Premier League Darts on Thursday as the top two in the world go head-to-head at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.
Humphries and Littler have won four of the opening five nights between them, with Humphries currently occupying a two-point lead over the teenager at the top of the table.
But Littler has claimed a hat-trick of titles over the past fortnight. He followed up his UK Open triumph by winning Night Five title in Brighton last Thursday, before retaining his Belgian Darts Open crown in Wieze on Sunday.
His incredible 19-match winning run eventually came to an end at the Players Championship on Tuesday, but only after he averaged 122.93 against Damon Heta, having also landed a nine-darter earlier in the day.
“I’ve always been confident in my own ability,” Littler said. “The way my darts are going at the minute, it’s probably the best I’ve ever played on a consistent basis.
Watch highlights of Littler Nathan Aspinall in the final of the Premier League on Night 5 in Brighton
“That is why I can find those extra gears and dig myself out of trouble when I need to.
“I said at the start of the year, if I don’t win anything all year I’m still a world champion. I’m just enjoying my darts at the minute.”
Humphries has also enjoyed a terrific start to the season, recording nightly victories in Belfast and Exeter to establish an eight-point buffer in the race for play-off qualification.
Littler edged out Humphries to triumph in Glasgow’s Night Two decider, but the world No 1 avenged that result in Exeter, ending a run of six straight Premier League defeats to the young phenom.
Watch highlights of Littler against Van Gerwen in the semi-finals in Brighton
Humphries was then beaten in the Night Five quarter-finals by an inspired Rob Cross last week, despite landing his first televised nine-darter in the early stages of their last-eight meeting.
“I was really pleased to hit the nine-darter last week but Rob played a fantastic game to beat me,” Humphries said.
“I’m in a good position but I’m still going to have to work hard to pick up these wins.
Live Premier League Darts
Thursday 13th March 7:00pm
“I’ve got Luke this week, and then Michael [van Gerwen] in the quarter-finals next week.
“It’s going to be tough but I know I’ve got the credentials to beat them both. Hopefully I can get some more points this week and stay top of the table.”
Night Six – Thursday March 13
Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries v Luke Littler
Rob Cross v Chris Dobey
Stephen Bunting v Gerwyn Price
Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
All matches best of 11 legs
Watch Night Six of Premier League Darts, in Nottingham, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action from 7pm – stream with NOW.
