World No 1 Luke Littler secured his first Czech Darts Open trophy by defeating Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final at Prague’s PVA EXPO on Sunday night. The victory marks a dominant return to the European Tour for Littler, who had not competed in a tour event since March.
Littler, who is targeting a clean sweep of major titles in 2026, hit five 180s and maintained an average of just over 95 despite the challenging heat conditions. His run to the title included victories over Krzysztof Ratajski, Danny Noppert, Michael van Gerwen, and Luke Humphries.
The final began with Littler taking the first two legs against world No 2 Humphries. However, Humphries, who has reached four of the last five finals in this tournament, responded by winning three consecutive legs to seize the lead. Littler regained control in the ninth leg with a 130 checkout—the highest finish of the match—and built a commanding 7-4 advantage.
Humphries mounted a late rally, winning two more legs to threaten a decider. He missed the dart to reach the match at Double 16 twice, but Littler held his nerve to close out the tournament with a dart to Double 10.
“It’s good to be back and I’m back with a bang,” Littler said after the match. He noted that securing his place in the European Championship in Dortmund means he is unlikely to play further regular European Tour events this season. He added that his schedule for the upcoming World Series in Amsterdam remains undecided.
Humphries, who had overcome Gerwyn Price, William O’Connor, and Andrew Gilding earlier in the day, remained gracious in defeat. He acknowledged that his missed opportunities were millimetres away from changing the outcome but admitted he needs to dedicate more time to improving his game to consistently beat Littler in finals.
“He’s a fantastic player. I keep saying I’m not beating him in finals, so I’ve got to change things to keep matching him,” Humphries said. “Hopefully over the next four months I can push him and if he does the clean sweep, he has to do it the hard way.”
Humphries really handed it away missing those doubles. He needs to figure out the mental game sooner rather than later.
That 130 checkout in the ninth leg was absolutely brutal. Littler is untouchable right now.