Luke Humphries retained the bet365 US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, beating Luke Littler 8-7 with an 11-dart deciding leg in New York.
The PDC’s official report framed it as a record-breaking night, with Humphries becoming the first player to win back-to-back US Darts Masters titles after denying Littler in the World Series final. The timing matters: Blackpool is next on the major radar, and Humphries has just turned a hostile, Littler-heavy final into a pressure-piece answer.
Humphries had already survived a scare in the semi-finals, coming through 7-6 against Gian van Veen after the Dutchman missed match darts. That made the final leg against Littler more than a flourish. It was the clearest possible reset after Littler’s recent run of televised authority.
Humphries Finds The Cleanest Answer Before Blackpool
The detail that sticks is not simply the trophy. It is the manner of it. Humphries had the last throw in a final-leg shootout against the sport’s central figure and produced the kind of leg that leaves no room for caveats.
For Littler, the defeat does not puncture his wider season. It does, however, restore a sharper edge to the rivalry before the World Matchplay picture fully hardens. Humphries now heads towards the summer block with a title defence banked, a Madison Square Garden crowd quietened, and proof that the biggest legs still belong in his range.
Full results and reaction are available in the PDC report from New York.
