Stephen Bunting beat Luke Humphries 6-3 in Sheffield on Thursday to claim his second nightly Premier League win of 2026 and send a strong message before finals night. Bunting finished with seven 180s and a 106.37 average, then opened the deciding legs with six perfect darts before closing out the match in 12 darts.
The win was enough to move Bunting above Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen into fifth place in the final standings. Humphries, meanwhile, climbed to third overall, a result that kept him clear of a semi-final meeting with Luke Littler when the Premier League wraps up at London’s O2 Arena next Thursday.
Bunting’s night had already gathered pace with a 6-3 quarter-final win over Jonny Clayton, before he came from 2-0 down to beat Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals. That comeback included a 161 checkout and set up a final against Humphries that he controlled from the start. Humphries reached the title match by averaging 105.24 in a quarter-final victory over Michael van Gerwen, then beating Littler 6-1 in the semis.
For Bunting, the Sheffield result completed his league campaign and gave weight to his push for a longer run in the competition. He said after the match that he had probably been too hard on himself and was delighted to finish fifth, while also making clear that he wanted to stay in the Premier League for years and saw the win as a major statement.
There was still frustration for Littler, who averaged 87.89 in his quarter-final win over Josh Rock but did not break his own record points total or number of nightly wins. The title picture now turns to next Thursday’s finals night at the O2, where Humphries will face Clayton in one semi-final and Price will meet Littler in the other, with the former champion still chasing the crown he lost to Humphries last year.
