Humphries collects first Belgian Darts Open title as Littler slumps to shock defeat

Luke Littler suffered a stunning 6-5 defeat to Niels Zonneveld in the third round of the Belgian Darts Open on Sunday afternoon as Luke Humphries collected title with victory against Jonny Clayton; you can watch Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports every Thursday

By Raz Mirza and Stephen Mills

Sunday 22 March 2026 23:16, UK

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Luke Humphries silenced the critics as he defeated Jonny Clayton 8-6 to claim his first stage title since September as Luke Littler's 12-match winning streak at the Belgian Darts Open ended in a shock defeat to Niels Zonneveld.

Humphries produced a string of impressive performances on Sunday to beat Jermaine Wattimena, Chris Dobey, Michael van Gerwen and then see of Premier League leader Clayton in the final to claim the Belgian Darts Open for the first time in his career and a ninth European Tour title overall.

World No 2 Humphries demolished Wattimena 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals where he scraped through against Dobey 6-5 despite missing 24 darts at double. But he produced the performance of the night in crushing Van Gerwen 7-2 with a 105.96 average and a 129 checkout to seal the win.

🏆Really pleased to be taking home the trophy!🇧🇪Belgium, you were amazing, and the fans were brilliant all weekend.It's been a bit of a rollercoaster of a weekend for one reason or another, but I got the job done, and it's a real boost for my season (and aura😉😂).Thanks… pic.twitter.com/q0JCNYbDIX

🏆 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 (𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱) 38 MVG (116) 𝟵 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 (𝟱𝟰) 9 Price (90) 9 Wright (128) 8 Chisnall (120)

Clayton pegged Humphries back early on in the contest winning the opening leg, but it was Humphries who took control as he won six straight legs to take a commanding 6-1 lead over the Welshman, pinning checkouts of 142 and 130 in the second and seventh leg respectively.

'The Ferret' produced an excellent fightback of his own, winning four out of the next five legs, a phenomenal 126 checkout on the bull in the leg after Humphries missed the bull himself on a 132 combination finish to go one away from victory.

Humphries denied Clayton a last-leg decider though as 'Cool Hand' pinned a 13-dart-leg to clinch the title, despite late heroics from the Welshman.

"It's one of them things where I feel my game's been there, then it's not, then it is. My scoring is good but my doubles are not and I put myself under pressure," admitted Humphries after collecting the trophy.

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"Usually in those circumstances I close the game out a lot better but when you're not winning as much they become harder and you feel the nerves.

"I did in the end there because Jonny is one of the most underrated darts players in the world. He's always there and you can't shake him off. He's got the perfect nickname (The Ferret) because he's just there and he won't leave. It's credit to him for coming back.

"It's nice to get that winning feeling again. A nice big trophy on the big stage."

And the reigning Premier League champion added: "I'm going to keep trying, keep pushing, keep working hard. Keep my aura levels up because I have to keep trying to be the second best player in the world, apparently!"

Littler came into this tournament as a back-to-back undefeated champion and looked in the mood when he dismantled Boris Krcmar 6-2 in his opening match, averaging 104.70 in a remarkable display on Saturday.

But 'The Nuke' was unable to continue his love affair with Belgium as Dutchman Zonneveld produced a magical 147 checkout to beat the world No 1 in a dramatic last-leg decider earlier in the day.

The back-to-back world champion averaged more than 103 and produced finishes of 122 and 136, but his reign was ended as 'Triple Z' complete a stunning comeback from 3-1 down to book his place in the quarter-finals.

"It was more difficult than I thought before the match," Zonneveld said. "I always wondered why people think about it when they can beat him.

"I was in that position and it was really hard but in the end I took out a brilliant finish to beat him.

"It's such a relief. I showed some really good nerve there. I'm so happy."

Wanted the treble of Belgian titles this weekend but not my year. wanna say a massive thank you for all the support, its been amazing❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZnX4gK58Rz

Following a scintillating weekend of action, the 2026 Winamax European Tour will resume with the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich from April 4-6.

Three-time world champion Van Gerwen will be eyeing a second successive triumph at the Zenith, Munich with Humphries setting his sights on back-to-back titles in Germany.

Niels Zonneveld is the first player outside the Top 12 to beat Luke Littler since PC34 in October 2025, when he lost to Matt Campbell He is the first player outside the Top 16 to beat him on a stage since Andrew Gilding at the 2024 European Championships - 17 months ago!!!

Sunday March 22Afternoon SessionRound ThreeNiels Zonneveld 6-5 Luke LittlerDanny Noppert 6-5 Ryan SearleJonny Clayton 6-5 Ross SmithAndy Baetens 6-5 Martin SchindlerLuke Humphries 6-1 Jermaine WattimenaChris Dobey 6-3 Kim HuybrechtsMichael van Gerwen 6-5 Daryl GurneyRyan Joyce 6-5 Cristo Reyes

Evening SessionQuarter-FinalsNiels Zonneveld 6-3 Danny NoppertJonny Clayton 6-1 Andy BaetensLuke Humphries 6-5 Chris DobeyMichael van Gerwen 6-4 Ryan JoyceSemi-FinalsJonny Clayton 7-6 Niels ZonneveldLuke Humphries 7-2 Michael van GerwenFinalLuke Humphries 8-6 Jonny Clayton

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Night Eight of the BetMGM Premier League will take place in Berlin on Thursday March 26, as Littler begins his bid for a third nightly victory of 2026 against Bunting at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

League leader Clayton will take on Rock in the evening's opener, Humphries and Van Gerwen also go head-to-head, while Price takes on Van Veen for a place in the semi-finals.

Quarter-Final fixtures for 14 of the 16 league nights are in draw bracket order, with fixtures for Night Eight and Night 16 determined by league standings heading into each night.

Who will win this year's Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will be defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.