Luke Humphries silenced his critics at the Belgian Darts Open by beating Jonny Clayton 8-6 to claim his first stage title since September as Luke Littler’s 12-match winning streak ended with a shock defeat to Niels Zonneveld.
Humphries produced an impressive performance on Sunday, beating Jermaine Wattimena, Chris Dobey and Michael van Gerwen to meet Premier League leaders Clayton in the final to win the Belgian Darts Open for the first time of his career and his ninth European Tour title.
World number two Humphries advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 win over Wattimena and won 6-5 against Dobey despite missing a 24-dart double. But he produced his best performance of the night, beating Van Gerwen 7-2 with an average of 105.96 and a checkout of 129 to seal the win.
Clayton reversed Humphries early in the contest to win the opening leg, but it was Humphries who took control as he won six straight legs to take a 6-1 lead over the Welshman, recording checkouts of 142 and 130 in the second and seventh legs respectively.
‘The Ferret’ won four of the next five legs and produced a superb fightback of his own, achieving a phenomenal 126 checkout on the bull on a leg after Humphries missed the bull in a 132 combination finish to snatch one away from victory.
Humphries denied Clayton a last-leg decider as ‘Cool Hand’ secured the title at 13 darts leg, despite the Welshman’s late heroics.
Humphries admitted after winning the trophy: “It’s one of those things where I think my game was there, it’s not, and then it’s next. My runs are good but my doubles aren’t, so I’m feeling the pressure.”
“Usually in those situations I finish the game a lot better, but when I don’t win a lot it becomes more difficult and I feel tense.
“I ended up doing it because Jonny is one of the most underrated darts players in the world. He’s always there and you can’t shake him off. He’s got the perfect nickname (The Ferret) because he’s just there and won’t leave. It’s to his credit that he’s come back.
“I’m happy to feel the feeling of victory again. I received a nice big trophy on a big stage.”
And the reigning Premier League champion added: “I’m going to keep trying, keep pushing, keep working hard. Keep my aura level up because I’ve got to keep working to be the second best player in the world!”
Littler suffered a shocking loss to the Wiz.
Littler entered this tournament as a back-to-back undefeated champion and looked into form in his opening match on Saturday when he beat Boris Krcmar 6-2 at an average of 104.70.
However, ‘The Newk’ could not continue his love affair with Belgium as Dutchman Zonneveld produced a magical 147 checkout to overpower the world number one in a dramatic final decider this morning.
Littler makes an early exit. MVG ruins Gurney’s birthday celebration.
Dutch Sonnevelt makes a spectacular comeback, beating world No. 1 Littler
The back-to-back world champion averaged 103 and had scores of 122 and 136, but his reign came to an end when ‘Triple Z’ came back from a 3-1 deficit to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
“It was harder than I thought before the game,” Zonneveld said. “I always wondered why people thought about it when they could beat him.
“It was really difficult for me to be in that position, but I ended up beating him with a great finish.
“I’m really glad. They showed really good courage there. I’m really happy.”
Following a stellar weekend of action, the 2026 Winamax European Tour resumes with the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich from 4-6 April.
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen will be looking for a second successive win at Zenith in Munich, with Humphries aiming for back-to-back wins in Germany.
Sunday March 22nd
afternoon session
Round 3
Nils Zonneveld 6-5 Luke Littler
Danny Noppert 6-5 Ryan Searle
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Ross Smith
Andy Batons 6-5 Martin Schindler
Luke Humphreys 6-1 Jermaine Wattimina
Chris Dovey 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Michael Van Gerwen 6-5 Darryl Gurney
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Cristo Reyes
evening session
quarterfinal
Nils Zonneveld 6-3 Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Andy Battons
Luke Humphreys 6-5 Chris Dovey
Michael Van Gerwen 6-4 Ryan Joyce
semifinal
Johnny Clayton 7-6 Nils Sonneveld
Luke Humphreys 7-2 Michael van Gerwen
critical
Luke Humphreys 8-6 Johnny Clayton
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Highlights of Luke Littler’s incredible comeback to beat Gerwyn Price on Day 7 of the Premier League in Dublin
What’s happening at Premier League Night Eight in Berlin?
Night Eight of the BetMGM Premier League is scheduled to take place in Berlin on Thursday 26 March. Littler begins his bid for his third night win of 2026 against Bunting at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
League leaders Clayton will face the Rock in the evening’s opener, while Humphries and Van Gerwen will also face each other, while Price will face Van Veen for a place in the semi-finals.
Quarterfinal matches on 14 of the 16 league days will be played in bracket order, with matches on days 8 and 16 determined by league standings on each night.
Who will be the winner of this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries is set to defend his title and you can watch it every Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and other top sports with NOW.
