World champion Luke Humphries sets sights on creating Premier League history in Belfast

‘Cool Hand Luke’ celebrated a hat-trick of successes with victory in Dublin last week, dispatching Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall before beating Michael Smith 6-2 in the final.

The triumph in Dublin extended Humphries’ lead at the top of the table and he is first on stage in Belfast in a repeat of the World Championship final against teenage sensation Luke Littler.

“I’m super confident,” he said. “I feel like I can definitely make it four in a row.

"I’ve got a really tough draw, but there are no easy games in this Premier League.

“I believe I’m playing at a level where it’s going to take a top performance to beat me and I feel like the best player in the world at the moment.

“I’ve put myself in a good position, but the goal remains the same – finishing in the top four.

"You can’t get ahead of yourself because it can all come crashing down, so I need to keep pushing.

“At the start of the season it felt really tough for me, but now I’m enjoying the game and that’s when I’m at my best.

“I feel much more comfortable now – I feel like I belong here and the last three weeks have just been fantastic.

“I know I’m not unbeatable, but I feel like I’m playing at the level where its going to take a big performance to beat me.”

Humphries has registered 15 ton-plus averages in 18 Premier League matches so far this season in what is his debut campaign.

Since their epic World Championship final at the Alexandra Palace in January when Humphries reeled off five consecutive sets to win the title after being 4-2 down, Littler has won the last three encounters between the pair.

The 17-year-old is yet to win a Premier League night and slipped to fifth in the table after a quarter-final defeat against Smith last week.

Gerwyn Price made history in Belfast two years ago by becoming the first player to hit two nine-dart finishes on the same night in the Premier League.

The Welshman faces Aspinall in the quarter-final tonight and although results haven’t been going his way, he feels his game is in a good place.

“I’m playing really well, but the standard in this Premier League is so high,” he said. “Coming back to Belfast is a positive feeling and if I win the night I’m only one or two points away from the top four.

“My game is in a good place. I just need that extra one percent in my game when it comes to the doubles and taking shots out.”

Full Premier League schedule in Belfast:

Luke Humphries vs Luke Littler

Michael Smith vs Michael van Gerwen

Nathan Aspinall vs Gerwyn Price

Rob Cross vs Peter Wright