Luke Humphries enjoyed the perfect start to the 2025 BetMGM Premier League season on Thursday, dispatching Chris Dobey 6-1 to prevail on Night One in Belfast.
Humphries made a statement start to this year’s roadshow at The SSE Arena, defeating Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen and Dobey to claim a five-point haul on the tournament’s opening night.
The world number one came into Thursday’s play fresh from lifting the revamped Winmau World Masters last weekend, and he extended that winning run in the Northern Irish capital.
Humphries averaged 105 to run out an emphatic 6-2 winner against Aspinall in the quarter-finals, before edging out seven-time champion Van Gerwen in a dramatic semi-final showdown.
The 29-year-old survived a match dart at the bull to book his place in the Night One showpiece, defying a blistering mid-match burst from the Dutchman on his way to victory.
Humphries then put in a devastating display of doubling to sweep aside Dobey, converting a trio of ton-plus checkouts and pinning six of his seven attempts at double.
The 2023/24 World Champion seized the initiative with 128 and 100 combinations in the opening two legs, with Dobey’s solitary leg coming courtesy of a 126 on the bull in the closing stages.
Night One - Thursday February 6
The SSE Arena, Belfast
Quarter-Finals
Chris Dobey 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting 4-6 Rob Cross
Luke Littler 5-6 Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall 2-6 Luke Humphries
Semi-Finals
Chris Dobey 6-4 Rob Cross
Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Luke Humphries
Final
Luke Humphries 6-1 Chris Dobey