Luke Humphries says a pep talk from Phil Taylor inspired him to become the Premier League champion.
The world No 1 completed darts’ ‘triple crown’ as he beat rival Luke Littler in the final at the O2 Arena in London, adding to his World Championship and World Matchplay wins.
He joined an esteemed list as only Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson had previously won all three tournaments.
The 30-year-old also revealed speaking to Taylor – a six-time Premier League champion – helped him get over the line.
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Luke Humphries says that the Premier League Darts title is ‘the one’ he was after, whilst this year’s runner-up Luke Littler admits that ‘no one likes losing’, following his 11-8 defeat at the O2
“To Phil Taylor, thank you so much. He has given me so much support,” Humphries said. “He has given me a lot of advice and an extra boost tonight. I’m really happy with that win.
“I’ll keep it private between me and Phil. He just gave me confidence and was supportive of me. I think when you’ve got the greatest dart player in the world, showing a bit of support and belief in you, it makes you feel good.
“It’s always nice when someone believes in you, but when the best in the world, or was the best in the world, believes in you it feels good.”
Humphries looked a good bet to dominate the sport before Littler’s emergence, with the teenager’s run to the World Championship final kickstarting an enduring rivalry.
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Take a look at Luke Humphries’ winning darts during the 2025 Premier League Darts final at the O2 against Luke Littler
They are streets ahead of the rest of the field and this was their 24th meeting in 18 months, with nine of them coming in this season’s Premier League alone.
Humphries revealed that Taylor’s advice was centred on him rather than how to beat Littler.
“It wasn’t anything to do with Luke. It was all about me,” he said. “He’s never going to give me advice on how to beat people. He’s just going to give me advice about me.
“It’s all about me. He was telling me stuff about myself, about my just believing in me, to be honest.
“I would never, ever say anything that he’s told me specifically, because that’s our business.
“But he’s just really supportive and gave me that bit of advice.”
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Luke Littler and Luke Humphries struggled to checkout during their clash on the final night of the Darts Premier League O2.
What’s next in darts?
Nathan Aspinall will head to Leverkusen in Germany for the European Darts Open, which runs from Friday to Sunday.
Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price are due back in action at the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen from June 6-7, with Price the defending champion after beating Rob Cross 8-5 in the 2024 final.
The next live darts on Sky Sports is the World Cup of Darts from June 12-15 in Frankfurt as Humphries and Littler look to win the title for reigning champions England and Wales’ Price and Jonny Clayton aim to secure their second trophy at the event in three years.
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