Record-breaking Luke Littler loses 100 percent Premier League record against Luke Humphries

Luke Littler broke even more new ground in the Premier League on Thursday night despite letting his 100 percent winning record slip in the competition against nemesis Luke Humphries.

'The Nuke', who captured World Darts Championship glory for the first time in January, notched 10 180s in his quarter-final demolition of Stephen Bunting in Exeter, becoming the first player to do so in the event's current format.

'The Bullet', who remains marooned at the foot of the table, hit six of his own, with the combined tally of 16 also equalling the Premier League record for the most maximums in a single match.

However, it still wasn't enough for Littler to close the gap on runaway leader Humphries, with 'Cool Hand' overturning a 4-1 deficit in the final to secure all five points and further strengthen his stranglehold at the summit.

Littler had won each of the pair’s six previous meetings in the great darting roadshow, including last year's final, but Humphries managed to halt that unwanted streak with an impressive comeback success in Devon.

"It was hard work tonight, but it felt good,” reflected the world number one, who averaged 101 and hit six 180s to sink the defending champion 6-4.

"I felt like my game was in a good place, but in certain moments I struggled.

"Luke played fantastically tonight, but he didn’t play as great in the final, and I managed to put my foot on the gas right at the end of the game.

"That's the first time I’ve beaten Luke in the Premier League, so it’s nice to get that monkey off my back, because if you keep losing, it gets harder and harder.

"It’s a dream start for me, so hopefully I can keep pushing and picking up the points."

Humphries now boasts a seven-point lead over Littler heading into Night Five at the Brighton Centre next week, with Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen making up the current top four.

For now though, attentions switch towards Butlin's, Minehead, for the 2025 instalment of the UK Open, where both Humphries and Littler are amongst a stacked 160-player field hoping to dethrone defending title-holder Dimitri Van den Bergh.

The open draw competition kicks off on Friday afternoon with the top 32 players in the world beginning their campaigns in the second session of play later in the day (19:00 GMT).

Mark Mothershaw

• Luke Humphries
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