Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting: Prediction, Tips and Odds

World No.1 Luke Humphries is looking to build on a rock-solid start to the 2025 Premier League campaign when he takes on Stephen Bunting in the first quarter-final at the 3Arena in Dublin.

Humphries sits top of the table after two rounds with eight points to his name, five from his Week 1 win over Chris Dobey in the final in Belfast, and three more from last Thursday's efforts in Glasgow where he lost to Luke Littler in the final.

As for Bunting, he came into the competition as a genuine dark horse but is already out to 20/1 for outright glory after suffering back-to-back first-round losses.

He needs points on the board soon but getting them off a supremely confident Humphries will be a tall order.

Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting betting tips and predictions

Luke Humphries to hit most 180s - 6/5

The last time Luke Humphries and Stephen Bunting toed the oche together was in the Bahrain Masters semi-finals in January.

It was a fabulous match which The Bullet won 7-6, averaging just shy of 100, and he went on to win the title.

A month on they meet again and despite one-match head-to-head form which reads favourably for the St Helens' thrower, he is a massive 2/1 shot with Humphries priced up at 2/5.

Bunting is class - he has beaten Luke Littler this year as well - and as a former BDO world champion and PDC major winner, he deserves the utmost respect.

But he - and the darting world - are acutely aware that Bunting's levels have dipped since January's World Series double header in the Gulf and the Netherlands, and Humphries is close to his best again after a sticky start to the year.

Humphries is averaging over 100 in six matches in this year's Premier League, with finals reached in both the first two weeks, winning the first, losing to Littler in the second. Bunting has played two, lost two and is averaging a shade under 94.

Cool Hand looks all over the winner and is priced accordingly - he will probably be the bed-rock of dozens of quarter-final fourfolds.

A better single might be that he hits more 180s than Bunting at 6/5.

Bunting is a confidence player and when that starts to go, he can get down on himself. He hit two 180s in a 6-1 thumping by Michael van Gerwen in Glasgow a week ago.

Humphries is also a confidence player and obviously his is up. Last week he hit 11 maximums in 31 legs and can out-max his compatriot in the first game of the evening.

Stephen Bunting Over 97.5 Average - 5/6

It's not a stat set in stone, more a rule of thumb, but it's generally accepted that games involving the very top players produce better losing averages.

The science is simple enough. A match involving a Humphries or a Littler will almost certainly have fewer scrappy legs with hardly any messing about at the end on doubles, especially over a relatively short format like best-of-11.

Bunting will also quite likely have far fewer looks at doubles than Humphries and it's those outer-ring misses which cause averages to drop.

Accordingly, Bunting's average is set at 97.5, something he hasn't cleared yet but he can on Thursday night.

The Bullet's doubling is proving his achilles heel when it comes to his average. He has hit five out of 18 so far, under 28 percent, and these boys expect to be shooting 35 percent and upwards.

Any improvement there will likely see him shoot up from the 94 mark he has hovered around in his two games so far, the opening-night 6-4 loss to Rob Cross and last week's heavy defeat at the hands of the Green Machine.

And then, of course, he is playing Humphries. All three of Cool Hand's opponents last Thursday - Chris Dobey, Gerwyn Price and Littler - averaged over 97.5 and the world No.1 can bring out the best in Bunting, too.

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Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting odds

Luke Humphries - 2/5
Stephen Bunting - 2/1

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.