Luke Humphries wins Players Championship 33 as Aspinall misses Finals

Luke Humphries won Players Championship 33 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Wednesday 4 November, beating Niels Zonneveld 8-4 in the final for a fourth Pro Tour title of 2026, while Nathan Aspinall cannot now qualify for the Players Championship Finals after withdrawing. The world number two collected the £15,000 first prize and finished with a 103.77 average. Aspinall is 82nd on the Order of Merit with £26,500, which is £6,750 behind Henry Coates and Mike De Decker, who share the 63rd and 64th places on £33,250.

Aspinall and Luke Littler will both be absent when the 64-player Finals field plays in Minehead from 27 to 29 November. Our earlier report, nathan aspinall misses finals 2026, covers the withdrawals in detail.

Luke Humphries beats Niels Zonneveld 8-4 in the Leicester final

Humphries led 3-1 early on, despite a 104 finish from Zonneveld in leg two. He then punished a missed double 18 to make it 5-3. Humphries broke throw to lead 6-3, but Zonneveld broke straight back.

Humphries then took a leg in which both players missed several darts at a double to lead 7-4. He closed the match with an 85 finish in 11 darts.

The win followed a difficult fortnight. Food poisoning had ruled Humphries out of the European Championship, and Darts World Magazine described the Leicester title as a “superb win in the East Midlands”. It was his first Pro Tour title since three earlier wins this season.

Humphries’ route to the final is set out below.

Round	Opponent	Score	Detail
Last 128	Archie Self	6-2
Last 64	Darius Labanauskas	6-0	106.09 average
Last 32	Tom Bissell	6-0	109.98 average
Last 16	Steve Lennon	6-2	Average near 97
Quarter-final	Gerwyn Price	6-2
Semi-final	Gary Anderson	7-4	Averaged over 104; Anderson over 106
Final	Niels Zonneveld	8-4	103.77 average, 11-darter

Zonneveld, the Dutch Darts Championship winner, won three straight 6-4 matches to reach the last 16. He then beat Jeffrey de Zwaan and Dirk van Duijvenbode before a 7-5 semi-final win over Michael van Gerwen, who had beaten Danny Noppert 6-0 in the quarter-finals.

Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price move into Minehead places

Anderson’s run to the semi-finals took him from 68th to 57th, with £36,250.

Price rose nine places from 58th to 49th, to £38,000, after losing to Humphries in the last eight. Raymond van Barneveld reached the quarter-finals but sits 69th on £29,750.

Josh Rock is 84th with £26,000 and is unlikely to qualify. Coates and De Decker, both on £33,250, are on the cut-off ahead of Thursday’s final event.

Luke Humphries climbs to ninth on the Order of Merit

Humphries moved from 23rd to ninth, with £67,000. Zonneveld rose to 21st on £55,250 and Van Gerwen is 22nd on the same total.

Wessel Nijman leads on £157,500, ahead of Chris Dobey on £118,750 and Kevin Doets on £113,250. Luke Woodhouse is fourth and the Den Bosch Players Championship events shaped the top of the table, with Andrew Gilding fifth. The standings also feed into the darts rankings picture ahead of the PDC majors that follow.

Nathan Aspinall and Luke Littler will miss the Finals

Aspinall withdrew from the final double-header and will not play on Thursday. At £6,750 behind the cut-off, he has no way to close the gap.

Luke Littler will not play in the Finals either. He won last year’s Players Championship Finals 11-8 in Minehead, in a final that Aspinall also contested. He is 129th on £10,500 after limited Pro Tour appearances.

The Order of Merit is decided on prize money won across the series. The top 64 players qualify.

Players Championship 34, the last event of the season, takes place at the Mattioli Arena on Thursday 5 November, with play from 13:00 GMT on PDCTV. It will confirm the Finals field. Fans can follow the schedule on our darts on TV today page.

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