Mark Webster warns Leeds could define Luke Humphries' play-off hopes
mark webster says Leeds could decide Luke Humphries’ Premier League season. The former world champion warned that Humphries could leave the night “really deflated” if he fails to reach the final.
Humphries starts sixth in the table and sits two points outside the play-off places with three nights left. Leeds gives him a chance to cut that gap before the run-in narrows to Birmingham and Sheffield.
Humphries and Josh Rock in Leeds
Humphries faces Josh Rock on the next evening, and Webster expects him to get through that first hurdle. He also backed Humphries to beat the winner of the other quarter-final and reach a final that would add crucial points to his chase.
“I’d expect Humphries to get by Josh and I think he’ll win against the winner of the other quarter-final,” Webster said on the Love the Darts Podcast. “It’s about what awaits him in the final and if he can get those crucial, extra couple of points.”
Leeds Arena suits Humphries
The setting works in Humphries’ favor. He has an unbeaten record at the Leeds Arena and won nightly events there in both 2024 and 2025, which gives this stop a cleaner path than most of the remaining schedule.
Webster pushed that point further. “It’s not just those extra points it’s about winning the night and getting that extra spring in your step with just Birmingham and Sheffield left,” he said. “He comes alive in Leeds and maybe this can be the catalyst because he’s running out of time.”
Aberdeen showed the form
Humphries has still been producing at a level that keeps the play-off race alive. On Night 13 in Aberdeen, he reached his second nightly final of the campaign, averaged over 99 across three matches and beat Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen before losing to Luke Littler.
That run left him close enough to matter, but not close enough to relax. If Leeds goes well, he can move back into the top-four conversation; if it does not, the pressure rises sharply before the last two league nights.
Webster summed up the stakes in blunt terms. “This is a massive opportunity for Luke and if he doesn’t make the final he’ll leave there really deflated, and maybe it won’t be his year, in terms of making the top four,” he said.
