Tommy Morris Stuns Humphries to Win Players Championship 34
Tommy Morris produced one of the great underdog stories of the 2026 darts season on Thursday, beating Luke Humphries 8-5 in the final of Players Championship 34 in Leicester. The 34-year-old from Poole, who does not hold a PDC Tour Card, became only the sixth player in history to win a ranking title without one. The Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 final was played at the Mattioli Arena.
On this page
- Tommy Morris Players Championship 34: Road to the Title
- Humphries Denied a Ninth Title of 2026
- Van Barneveld Books a Record 34th World Championship
- Dobey’s Nine-Darter Lights Up Leicester
- What the Result Means for Minehead and Ally Pally
- Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 Results
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
It was the final Players Championship event of the year, with places at the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship on the line. Morris’s win also earned him debuts at the Grand Slam of Darts, the Players Championship Finals and the World Championship.
“I’ve come from nothing. I haven’t even got a Tour Card,” an emotional Morris said. “I’m just flying my flag for where I live. I’m doing it for my family. Luke is one of the guys that I really look up to. Last year I was watching him on the TV and I said to myself: ‘I can do that.'”
Tommy Morris Players Championship 34: Road to the Title
Morris’s day began with a statement 6-3 win over former world champion Rob Cross. In round two he whitewashed Ricky Evans 6-0, wrecking Evans’s hopes of qualifying for the World Championship through the ProTour. He then reeled off a hat-trick of 6-3 wins over Rob Owen, top seed Wessel Nijman and Jermaine Wattimena — averaging more than 102 against Nijman — before beating Cristo Reyes 7-4 in the semi-final.
Humphries raced into a 2-0 lead, but Morris refused to fold. He claimed five of the next six legs to lead 5-3, punishing an off-colour doubling display from the world number three, then sealed the 8-5 win with a magnificent 161 checkout on the bull.
Morris had lost the Players Championship 32 final to Chris Dobey the previous week, so this was a second final in a few days. This time he finished the job. “This is my dream,” Morris said. “My next target is to get a Tour Card and be with these boys full-time. This is definitely the door opening for me.”
Humphries Denied a Ninth Title of 2026
For Humphries, it was so near and yet so far. The World Grand Prix champion had won Players Championship 33 the previous day in the same venue. He recovered from 4-1 down to edge Mike De Decker 6-5 in his opener, then swept aside Bradley Brooks and Justin Hood, before a 6-3 win over Ricardo Pietreczko at an average north of 107 denied the German a last-gasp qualification for the Players Championship Finals.
He then beat old foe Michael van Gerwen 6-3, his sixth successive ranking win over the three-time world champion, and battled past Jack Aldridge 7-5. The final proved one step too far, denying him a ninth ranking title of 2026. Aldridge deserves a mention too: the 37-year-old, another non-Tour Card holder topping up from the Challenge Tour, reached the semi-finals after beating William O’Connor and Danny Noppert.
Van Barneveld Books a Record 34th World Championship
While Morris grabbed the trophy, Raymond van Barneveld secured his place at the World Darts Championship with a win over Jimmy van Schie in his opening match, booking a record 34th appearance at the sport’s biggest event. The five-time world champion will be back at Alexandra Palace in December. Not everyone was so fortunate: Evans, beaten 6-0 by Morris, must now come through qualifying, as must Wesley Plaisier and Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Dobey’s Nine-Darter Lights Up Leicester
The day’s other moment of magic came from Chris Dobey, who struck a nine-darter in his 6-1 win over Tom Bissell in round three, averaging almost 113 — the best performance of the day — before losing 6-4 to Cristo Reyes in the last 16.
What the Result Means for Minehead and Ally Pally
The final day settled the field for the 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals, at Butlin’s Minehead from November 27-29 with a £750,000 prize pool. Gary Anderson secured his place with a round-one win over Andy Boulton, while Michael Smith and Ritchie Edhouse also qualified despite losing their openers. Henry Coates, who won Event 25 as a non-Tour Card holder in July, squeezed in as the 64th and final player and is set to make his World Championship debut in December.
Big names missed out, though. World number eight Josh Rock failed to qualify after a 6-3 second-round defeat to Harry Ward, and Ryan Joyce missed out for the first time since 2017. Wessel Nijman finished the year as the top player on the ProTour rankings, losing in round one just three times in 32 appearances, with Dobey second and Kevin Doets third.
For Morris, the story is only just beginning. He finished third on the Challenge Tour rankings, and his superb ProTour form has earned him debuts at the Grand Slam of Darts, the Players Championship Finals and the World Championship. When the Grand Slam of Darts 2026 begins in Wolverhampton on November 14, the man from Poole will be there.
Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 Results
Thursday, November 5, Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Last 16: Morris 6-3 Nijman; Wattimena 6-5 Bunting; Huybrechts 6-2 Wade; Reyes 6-4 Dobey; Van Gerwen 6-3 Coulson; Humphries 6-3 Pietreczko; Aldridge 6-5 Self; Noppert 6-3 Gurney. Quarter-finals: Morris 6-3 Wattimena; Reyes 6-5 Huybrechts; Humphries 6-3 Van Gerwen; Aldridge 6-4 Noppert. Semi-finals: Morris 7-4 Reyes; Humphries 7-5 Aldridge. Final: Morris 8-5 Humphries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Players Championship 34?
Tommy Morris, who beat Luke Humphries 8-5 in the final in Leicester on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
How did Tommy Morris win Players Championship 34 without a Tour Card?
Morris played as a Challenge Tour top-up, beating Cross, Evans, Owen, Nijman, Wattimena and Reyes on his way there.
What did Tommy Morris win by beating Luke Humphries?
As well as his first PDC ranking title, Morris earned debuts at the Grand Slam of Darts, the Players Championship Finals and the World Championship after the Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 win.
Did Raymond van Barneveld qualify for the World Darts Championship?
Yes — he beat Jimmy van Schie in his opening match, securing a record 34th appearance.
Who hit a nine-darter at Players Championship 34?
Chris Dobey, in his 6-1 third-round win over Tom Bissell.
When are the Players Championship Finals 2026?
At Butlin’s Minehead Resort from November 27-29, with a £750,000 prize pool.
Conclusion
Tommy Morris’s victory at Players Championship 34 is the kind of story that makes darts so special. A player without a Tour Card, who started the year dreaming of Ally Pally, beat a former world champion, the top seed on the ProTour and the world number three in the same day — and finished it with a 161 checkout on the bull. That Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 win showed what is possible without a Tour Card.
For Humphries, the defeat will sting, but his form across the two Leicester events shows he remains the man to beat heading into the winter. With the Grand Slam of Darts starting on November 14, the stage is set for Morris to show this was not a one-off — it was the door opening.
