Humphries Wins Players Championship After Food Poisoning Setback

World Grand Prix champion Luke Humphries beat Niels Zonneveld 8-4 on Wednesday in Leicester to win his fourth Players Championship title this season. Humphries said he had lost more than a stone in weight due to the food poisoning he suffered.

Humphries said he missed the European Championship last month because of the illness. He said he had been barely able to move for three and a half weeks and could not train for a long time. He won three of the four Players Championship events he has entered this season in Leicester.

On the same day, Raymond van Barneveld reached the quarter-finals of the second ProTour event of 2026, taking an important step towards qualifying for the World Championship. Gary Anderson reached the semi-finals and secured a place on the provisional list for the Players Championship Finals.

Humphries stressed that this win was good preparation ahead of the upcoming Grand Slam of Darts. He added that he wants to win another major, and if it is not the Grand Slam or the Players Championship Finals, he wants it to be the World Championship.