.jpg?trim=6,0,330,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Simon Reeve on what he learned from the successful and snowy societies of Scandinavia – UK Times")
World number one Luke Humphries became just the fourth player to win the Triple Crown after he beat rival Luke Littler in the Premier League final.
Humphries edged out the teenage star 11-8 at London’s O2 Arena to win the tournament for the first time.
He joins Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson in completing the set of the three biggest competitions in the sport, having already won the World Championship and the World Matchplay.
The 30-year-old cemented his position as one of the greats and his enduring rivalry with Littler is carrying the sport.
These two are streets ahead of the rest of the field and this was their 24th meeting in 18 months, with nine of them coming in this season’s Premier League alone.
Littler threw a nine-darter on his way to glory over Humphries in 2024, but the teenager failed in his attempt to follow Taylor and Van Gerwen in defending the Premier League crown as Humphries gained revenge.
The 18-year-old needed a trademark golden spell to beat Gerwyn Price in the semi-final, winning six out of seven legs, while Humphries saw off Nathan Aspinall.
But it was Humphries’ golden spell that decided the final as he won four legs in a row to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 lead and he never relinquished it.
“Honestly, that one means the world to me,” he said. “That was the one I was missing. That was the one I wanted. I’ve done it now, if I don’t win another ever title, I’m happy because I have done the three hardest ones to do.
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“I’ve joined the elusive, group of Gary, Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.”
Littler dominated the league phase of the second biggest tournament in the sport, with six nightly wins and a record 45 points, but fell just short at the end.
Littler said: “I had a little bit of a thing after the game like I do, nobody likes losing. I’m fine, it’s been a tough 17 weeks. I am happy it’s over. I’ll be back next year.
“I have set many records, I don’t think they will be broken (by somebody else) because I am going to come back and try and break my own records.”
