Premier League Darts 2025: Luke Humphries’ Champion Mindset Fuels His Title Ambitions

The 17-week darting roadshow is back, kicking off tonight in Belfast, as the world’s best battle it out in the Premier League. Last year’s final saw Luke Littler defeat Luke Humphries at the O2 in London, securing his first-ever PDC major.

For Humphries, the world number one, that loss is firmly in the past. With a new Premier League season underway, he is fully focused on adding the trophy to his growing list of achievements.

Mindset Hasn’t Changed

Speaking to SportsBoom.com at the pre-event media day at the Hilton in Belfast, Humphries reflected on last year’s final but made it clear that his mindset remains unchanged.

“I don't look into last year's final and think I really want to win it more than ever now,” he said.

“I want to win everything as planned. For me, I go into this tournament with the same frame of mind.”

“I want to win it regardless of what's happened before and whether I won it at the weekend [The World Masters] or I didn't win the weekend, I still want to go in and win this.”

“But you kind of got to make sure you don't overthink things because you're in a cutthroat sport and everybody's as good as each other.”

Humphries’ main goal for the Premier League is to maintain consistency rather than put too much pressure on himself to win every night. He believes that securing a place in the final four is the key to success, regardless of finishing top or scraping through in fourth.

“So, my main goal when I come to this is don't put too much pressure on yourself and allow yourself to have bad weeks and you have good weeks and just try and limit the damage to when you're not at your best.”

The Mental Side of Darts

During the conversation, Humphries also touched on the psychological challenges of professional darts. Unlike team sports, where athletes have teammates and coaches around them, darts can be a lonely game, with only the player and their opponent on the oche.

In recent years, several players, including Stephen Bunting and Dimitri Van den Bergh, have turned to sports psychology to strengthen their mental game. Humphries acknowledged the benefits but hasn’t yet felt the need to explore it himself.

“It’s a mentally challenging game. If you've got a psychologist, I know some players have come out and said they have, I think it can help people,” he said.

“I haven't, but if it ever came to the point where I thought I needed it, I’d experiment with it.”

“But at this moment in time, I don't really think that anything's in my mind challenging me that I need to go and see. But I think it does help people, I just haven't really needed that experience just yet.”

With a determined mindset and his sights set on Premier League glory, Humphries is ready to take on the challenge ahead, starting with night one in Belfast.