Humphries Wins PC28 as Littler’s Finals Bid Stalls

Luke Humphries won Players Championship 28 in Leicester with an 8-6 victory over Brendan Dolan, while Luke Littler's late attempt to qualify for the season-ending Players Championship Finals remained unfinished. BBC Sport reported that Dolan stopped the world number one in the semifinals before losing to Humphries in Wednesday's title match.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkqF5cDy91A

Littler progressed one round farther than he had at Players Championship 27 on Tuesday, when Jermaine Wattimena beat him in the quarterfinals. At PC28, the 19-year-old defeated Benjamin Pratnemer, Martin Schindler and Krzysztof Ratajski to reach the last four, but Northern Ireland's Dolan ended his run before the final.

The semifinal appearance earned Littler £10,500 and moved him from 141st to 125th on the Players Championship Order of Merit. That improvement still leaves a significant qualifying gap: only the top 64 advance to the finals in Minehead in November, and BBC Sport reported that Littler is £16,750 behind Shane McGuirk, who currently occupies 64th place.

Littler's position reflects his limited schedule on the floor circuit rather than a lack of success elsewhere. He skipped the first 26 Players Championship events this year as part of an effort to manage his workload. Six events remain, while the projected qualification cutoff is expected to rise beyond £30,000 once all 34 tournaments have been completed.

The remaining calendar may therefore force a decision. Littler has previously said he intended to play only the UK events, with the Leicester tournaments on 4 and 5 November completing the qualifying stage. BBC Sport said he might also travel to Den Bosch next month to improve his chances of reaching Minehead and continuing his pursuit of a calendar sweep of ranking events in 2026.

Humphries, meanwhile, completed the week with the trophy after holding off Dolan in the final. The world number two acknowledged Littler's recent dominance after the victory and said he intends to challenge him for major honours. PC28 strengthened Humphries' own season and left Littler with a clearer calculation: he has climbed the standings, but must make up both places and prize money across the final six events.