Stephen Bunting went from pointless to champion in one emphatic burst at Belfast’s SSE Arena last week, and joined Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton as the fourth different winner in as many nights.
World No. 1 Luke Littler and reigning Premier League champion Luke Humphries, meanwhile, saw their struggles at the start of this competition continue as both suffered quarter-final exits at the hands of Clayton and Bunting, respectively.
Shockingly, neither of the pre-tournament favourites have reached a final across the first four nights and currently sit on four points apiece in the table, only ahead of debutant Josh Rock.
Littler’s main problem is normally his greatest strength. The Nuke has surprisingly posted just one 100-plus average in five matches, when he’s usually the best treble 20 hitter in the sport.
Humphries, on the other hand, has reached insane levels with his scoring, but floundered at crucial moments on the decisive doubles.
Humphries has been punished for poor doubling
Cool Hand has continued to demolish the treble 20 segment at the start of 2026, raising his standards even higher against the world’s best.
In the Premier League, no one has posted a higher average than Humphries’ 103.25, and he is the only player to record 100-plus in five of his six matches. The 31-year-old is also joint-top for most 180s with Clayton (26), despite playing three fewer matches than the Welshman.
Humphries has, therefore, comfortably outscored his opponents, but not taken advantage of his superiority by crumbling at the end of legs. The 2024 world champion has recorded 33.33% on the checkouts, with only Littler and Rock doing worse.
Wasting opportunities on the outer ring after surging in front has been his biggest problem, but his opponents have also reached brutally high levels with their finishing.
Bunting hit six of his eight attempts at double (75%) in his 6-4 victory last week, and Van Veen also recorded the same checkout percentage in his 6-5 win over Humphries on night three in Glasgow.
Cool Hand was also on the receiving end of some Van Gerwen brilliance on night one, with the Dutchman achieving 85.71% (6/7) on the doubles in the semi-final before sealing his victory against Van Veen.
Humphries has faced a cruel standard of finishing in three of his four defeats, and that is arguably because they know being near-perfect on the doubling is the only way they can beat someone who consistently averages over 100.
Humphries eyeing Premier League glory in Cardiff
Humphries sitting in sixth in the table with a 103 average just proves how brutal the Premier League is, but it only takes one nightly win to move into play-off contention.
Bunting went from being rock bottom to sitting two points behind fourth-place Price after winning in Belfast, and Humphries will be eyeing a similar trajectory in Cardiff.
The Englishman faces a quarter-final showdown with Van Gerwen on Thursday night, aiming to redeem his 6-2 loss against the Green Machine on night one.
Van Gerwen started the tournament brilliantly with a triumph in Newcastle, before suffering defeat at the hands of Price in the final on night two. Illness then ruled him out of the tournament in Glasgow before the Iceman got the better of him with a 6-5 win last week.
The seven-time Premier League champion has been exceptional at his mid-to-long range finishing, punishing his opponents with impeccable timing. Van Gerwen will need to maintain that standard against Humphries this week, or his opponent will have the chance to run away with the contest.
Indeed, Van Gerwen has the second-lowest average in the competition (96.56) and is no longer the scoring machine he once was. So, as long as Humphries improves his doubling, he will fancy his chances of making the semi-final against either Clayton or Van Veen.