Luke Humphries beat Niels Zonneveld 8-4 to win Players Championship 33 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old has now won three of his four Players Championship appearances in Leicester this term. He also won the World Grand Prix at the same venue last month.
After beating Archie Self, Darius Labanauskas, Tom Bissell, Steve Lennon and Gerwyn Price, Humphries edged a high-quality semifinal against Gary Anderson to book his place in the final, where he pulled away to triumph with an average of 103.77.
Humphries, who missed the recent European Championship due to illness, said: "The way I've been the last few weeks, it's an unexpected win. It was more about coming back and seeing where my energy levels were at, because I've been very ill the past few weeks.
- Luke Humphries darts titles, prize money, career history, more
"I'd never miss a major if I could play. I was devastated. I was on a good run after winning the World Grand Prix.
"Four Players Championship wins, a Euro Tour, the World Grand Prix, a win on the World Series; I've done some good things this year. I think my yearly average is better than it's ever been.
"I still want to win another major. If it's not the Grand Slam or Players Championship Finals, then I want it to be the World Championship.
"That's the thing I really search for now, is to try and put my name in the legacy of some of the greatest there has ever been. I am far away from that yet, so I need to try and win a lot more."
Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen made a timely run to the last four where he was beaten by Anderson.
It was also a good night for another Dutch legend as Raymond van Barneveld gave his World Championship qualification hopes a shot in the arm by progressing to his second ProTour quarterfinal of 2026.
Tommy Lishman hit a nine-darter in his round one tie against David Sharp.
The 2026 ProTour reaches its climax on Thursday when the Mattioli Arena hosts Players Championship 34.
- Darts' best walk-on songs ranked... but Luke Littler only at No. 9
Information from PA and ESPN's Tom Chambers contributed to this report.
Players Championship 33 results
Round of 16
Gary Anderson 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Tyler Thorpe
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Luke Humphries 6-2 Steve Lennon
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Ross Smith
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Tommy Morris
Danny Noppert 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Quarterfinals
Gary Anderson 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Luke Humphries 6-2 Gerwyn Price
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Danny Noppert
Semifinals
Luke Humphries 7-4 Gary Anderson
Niels Zonneveld 7-5 Michael van Gerwen
Final
Luke Humphries 8-4 Niels Zonneveld
