����ý

World champion Luke Humphries followed his victory in Brighton with another night win in Nottingham to move top of the Premier League table.

Humphries defeated Michael Smith and Peter Wright to reach the final, in which he beat Nathan Aspinall 6-3.

The 29-year-old has overtaken Michael van Gerwen at the summit, after the Dutchman lost a high-quality quarter-final to teenager Luke Littler.

Littler then lost 6-3 to fellow Englishman Aspinall in the last four.

Neither Humphries nor Aspinall hit top gear in the final, but it was the world number one who came through to create a two-point gap at the top of the table.

"Every point matters now," he told Sky Sports. "Last year I think 24 points got you through, but it's really close. Everybody's quite tight and it's going to maybe take a lot more points this year than it did last year to get you into those semi-final places.

"Obviously I'd love to finish top, that would be amazing, but finishing in the top four would just be what I want.

"I'm still learning and it's tough because you're playing the best players week in and week out."

Littler, who like Humphries is in his Premier League debut campaign, has won six of his seven quarter-finals but has reached only one final and is yet to clinch a night win.

Against three-time world champion Van Gerwen, the 17-year-old averaged 114 and narrowly missed out on a nine-dart finish in what proved to be the final leg of his 6-2 victory.

Van Gerwen has followed his three consecutive night wins early in the tournament with three successive quarter-final exits, although he showed close to his best form with an average of almost 111.

Scot Wright won a match for the first time in the 2024 competition, beating Gerwyn Price in the deciding leg of his quarter-final, but Humphries proved too strong in the next round.

Night eight of the league phase will take place in Dublin on Thursday, 21 March.

Night seven results

Quarter-finals

Peter Wright 6-5 Gerwyn Price

Luke Humphries 6-4 Michael Smith

Michael van Gerwen 2-6 Luke Littler

Rob Cross 5-6 Nathan Aspinall

Semi-finals

Wright 1-6 Humphries

Littler 3-6 Aspinall

Final

Humphries 6-3 Aspinall

Premier League Darts table