Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price sealed the final two play-off spots at London’s O2 Arena on 28 May after a decisive night in Birmingham that left the Premier League table’s top four settled. Humphries beat Luke Littler 6-3 in the semi-final, while Price edged Gian van Veen 6-4 to join Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton in the end-of-season finals.
The result mattered because Humphries had spent the last three weeks under heavy pressure and had gone into the night five points outside the top four, a gap he said left him thinking he needed a miracle. Instead, he produced the response that kept his title defence alive, after opening with a 6-0 quarter-final win over Stephen Bunting and then finding another gear against Littler in the last four.
Humphries said the turning point was practical rather than mystical. He switched back to his old flights and said that move worked after a year in which, by his own account, things had not gone to plan. He said the change brought relief and pride, adding that it had been a struggle this season and that he had worked incredibly hard to get back to this point.
There was little room for doubt once the night began to break his way. Littler had already booked his own play-off place with a 6-0 quarter-final win over Jonny Clayton, while Price reached the same stage by beating Michael van Gerwen 6-4. Van Veen then beat Josh Rock 6-3, but Price ended his run in the semi-final. The four play-off places were then set, with the order still to be decided.
That is the next twist now. Next week will not change who is in the play-offs, only who finishes where and which names meet at the O2. Humphries made clear he was already thinking about that, saying if he finished fourth he would face Littler, who knows how to beat him and whom he knows how to beat, while third might allow a different script to unfold. For now, though, the bigger point is simpler: after a season that had felt out of control, Humphries is back where he wanted to be, with one more chance at the title he does not want to surrender without a fight.
He said he would probably relax and play the Pro Tours in midweek, and added that he had been playing a lot of golf recently because it helps him. The immediate pressure has eased, but the job is not done. In a Premier League race where every night can swing the table, Humphries has already done the hard part: he turned a near-miss into a place back at the O2.
