Humphries homecoming as next top Leeds “Winning in Leeds last year was a great feeling, and it’s something I would love to repeat again.”
Humphries homecoming as next top Leeds “Winning in Leeds last year was a great feeling, and it’s something I would love to repeat again.”
When the sport’s largest roadshow stops at the First Direct Arena on Thursday, Luke Humphries hopes to use Leeds United’s ascension to the Premier League as motivation for his own BetMGM Premier League title attempt.
Earlier this month, Humphries’ beloved Leeds United confirmed their return to the top flight, and this weekend, they won the Championship title with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.
With two weeks of league action left, a great performance in West Yorkshire might guarantee the world number one’s Play-Off qualification. He has his own Premier League ambitions.
The two will rekindle their rivalry in Thursday’s thrilling quarterfinal match on Night 14, after Humphries upset Michael van Gerwen to win the nightly title in Leeds last year.
“It’s been a great few weeks for the city of Leeds, and I would love to be the one to top it off,” declared Humphries, who has featured in six nightly finals in 2025.
“Winning in Leeds last year was a great feeling, and it’s something I would love to repeat again.
“It should be an amazing atmosphere. I’m really up for it, and I want to make sure I’m the best version of myself tomorrow night.”
After his run to the Night 13 final in Birmingham, where he defeated Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price to go one point above Nathan Aspinall, Van Gerwen reclaimed his spot in the top four.
However, table-topper Luke Littler won on a historic night in the West Midlands, denying the seven-time Premier League champion their first nocturnal victory of the season.
At the Utilita Arena, Littler made history by becoming the first player to win five nights in a row in a single campaign since the current format was introduced in 2022.
After defeating the Stockport star in last Thursday’s semi-finals, the 18-year-old will now face Aspinall, who is seeking the Play-Offs, in his quarterfinal opener on Night 14.
“It was a great feeling to get that fifth nightly win,” reflected Littler, who boasts a nine-point buffer over his closest rival Humphries.
“In terms of my confidence and the way I have been playing, I always felt it was going to come at some point; you’ve just got to believe in yourself.
“Now I’ve got a few weeks to try and rack up more points and break my own points tally from last year – that’s another record I want to chase.”
The Welshman will face Cross in Thursday’s curtain-raiser, and Aspinall is only three points behind Price in third place. The two might face off in Leeds.
Cross has won two of their three encounters in this year’s competition, while Price has already won three consecutive nightly crowns in Dublin, Nottingham, and Liverpool.
Cross is the only player in sixth place who hasn’t appeared in a nightly final this season; if he wants to maintain his hopes of making the playoffs, he will need to change that record.
In the other quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, former Masters champions Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting will square off.
Dobey may also be eliminated from the Play-Off race based on outcomes elsewhere, while Bunting needs to avoid losing to the Bedlington star in order to preserve his slim prospects of finishing in the top four.
Humphries homecoming as next top Leeds
2025 BetMGM Premier League
Night 14 – Thursday May 8
First Direct Arena, Leeds
Quarter-Finals
Rob Cross v Gerwyn Price
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Littler
Michael van Gerwen v Luke Humphries
Stephen Bunting v Chris Dobey
Semi-Finals
Cross/Price v Aspinall/Littler
Van Gerwen/Humphries v Bunting/Dobey
Final
v
All matches best of 11 legs
