World number one Humphries was seemingly in cruise control as he charged into a 5-2 lead and on his way to the £100,000 top prize, before Clayton produced heroics to drag himself level at 5-5 to set up a tense deciding set in an scintillating final.
In a nail-biting final stanza, Clayton took the advantage with a break of throw, only to see Humphries return the favour to set up a sudden-death leg. With the darts in hand, Humphries hit back-to-back 140s before eventually winning the title on tops to be crowned the first Winmau World Master in this remastered tournament.
With a lot of ranking money to defend in 2025 to maintain his position as world number one, it is a huge start to the year for Humphries. That victory means he extends his position at the top, with world number two Luke Littler having lost in the Quarter-Finals to Clayton.
It also makes it a seventh career TV ranking title for Luke Humphries in just the last 15 months since his first back in October 2023 with the World Grand Prix win.
After wins over Joe Cullen in the first round, and Josh Rock in the second, Humphries’ run to the title on Sunday saw him beat Australia’s Damon Heta 7-4 in the quarter-finals, before coming from 2-0 down to beat Danny Noppert 5-2 in the semi-finals.
For Clayton, it is a welcome return to form as he reached a first final since the World Matchplay in 2023. The Welshman kicked off his tournament with a breathtaking 112 average in beating Martin Schindler on Thursday and followed that with a tense 4-3 win over Ryan Searle in round two.
He then thwarted World Champion Littler in the Quarter-Finals with a brilliant display, and followed that by ending the run of nine-dart hero Dimitri Van den Bergh in the Semi-Finals. The final started with the pair trading the opening four sets before Humphries hit the front in fifth, and charged into a seemingly unassailable lead at 5-2 ahead.
Former Premier League Champion Clayton had other ideas than to wilt, however, and won six of the next seven legs - including landing a match-high 120 checkout as he levelled at 5-5. He looked to be going all the way as he lead the deciding set, but couldn’t find the crucial doubles needed - including a 120 finish in the last leg - as Humphries pipped him to the title.
Attention for Humphries will now turn to the 2025 BetMGM Premier League, with the new season getting underway in Belfast on Thursday Feb 6. This is then followed by the start of the ProTour action, with a Players Championship double header in Wigan on Feb 10-11.
Sunday February 2nd
QUARTER FINALS
Luke Humphries 4-1 Damon Heta (2-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-0, 2-0)
Danny Noppert 4-3 Stephen Bunting (1-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 0-2, 1-2, 2-1)
Jonny Clayton 4-2 Luke Littler (2-1, 0-2, 2-0, 2-1, 1-2, 2-1)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-1 Nathan Aspinall (2-0, 1-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
SEMI FINALS
Luke Humphries 5-2 Danny Noppert (0-2, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-0, 2-0)
Jonny Clayton 5-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh (2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 1-2, 2-1, 2-1)
FINAL
Luke Humphries 6-5 Jonny Clayton (1-2, 2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 2-1, 2-0, 2-1, 0-2, 0-2, 1-2, 2-1)
Prize Fund
Winner £100,000
Runner-Up £50,000
Semi-Finalists £30,000
Quarter-Finalists £17,500
Second Round Losers £10,000
First Round Losers £5,000