Michael van Gerwen (Picture: PDC)

Darts results: Michael van Gerwen beats Luke Humphries in Nordic Darts Masters final

Darts

Tue June 09, 2026 · 3w ago

Michael van Gerwen won his second Nordic Darts Masters title in Copenhagen as he defeated Luke Humphries 8-7 in the final.

The Dutch darting icon produced a string of efficient displays at the Forum Copenhagen to claim his second World Series of Darts title in 2026, becoming the first player to win the Nordic Darts Masters twice since its inception in 2021.

After seeing off Oskar Lukasiak in round one on Friday, Van Gerwen dispatched another Swede in the form of Viktor Tingstrom in a last-leg decider, but not without drama.

The three-time World Champion found himself 5-3 down to Tingstrom - who dumped out last year’s champion Stephen Bunting in round one - but the Dutchman reeled off three consecutive legs and survived a match dart to squeeze through to the semi-finals.

There, the number one seed produced a stellar display to defeat Jonny Clayton 7-4, recording a 101.55 average and 44% outer-ring success rate to reach his third World Series final in just three events this year.

Van Gerwen took on an in-form Humphries in the final, where he found himself 3-1 down after a brace of 12-darters from his opponent.

Nevertheless, the 37-year-old rallied, taking four legs on the spin to assert a two-leg cushion himself, although this was imminently relinquished after Humphries took two more legs to tie the contest at 5-5.

The tension continued as the match was taken to a last-leg decider, where Van Gerwen survived a match dart at the bullseye before cooly dispatching a 15-dart hold of throw to win an incredible 18th trophy on the circuit.

“It was a really tough game,” reflected Van Gerwen, who converted 57% of his double attempts to seal victory against Humphries.

“Luke had the chance to be 4-1 and 5-2 up and luckily I took advantage.

“My performances in the first two rounds were not good, I have to acknowledge that, but more importantly the way I bounced back and kept grafting, that helped me win today and I’m really pleased with that.

“Winning tournaments and winning games is the only medicine to try and get better. I’ve been playing this game for a long time, but I love what I do, and this gives me an amazing feeling.

“I want to do this more often. I’m going back on the practice board, I will keep investing time in myself, and I hope I can show everyone a lot more.”

Although he fell short in the showpiece, Humphries continued his rich vein of form with some glittering performances in Copenhagen.

The world number two kicked off his title bid with an astonishing 109.92 average in defeating Jeffrey de Graaf in round one on Friday, to set up a titanic quarter-final clash with Gian van Veen in the last eight.

In a frenetic tussle, the former World Champion pipped Van Veen in a last-leg decider, aided by five 180s to propel him to the semi-finals.

There, Humphries enacted revenge on Luke Littler for his Premier League final defeat just nine days earlier, averaging a sparkling 105.82 and hitting 50% of his doubles to down the World Champion and set up a finale with Van Gerwen.

The 31-year-old fell agonisingly short in the final, missing a match dart for his first World Series title since the 2025 US Darts Masters last June, with his 98.83 average in the final being his only average under a ton in Copenhagen.

“At the moment I’m losing a lot of finals and that isn’t good enough,” admitted Humphries.

“Hopefully in the World Cup I can gain some silverware and win a tournament - it would be nice for me, that’s what I need.”

In the other quarter-finals, Clayton got the better of fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price with a 6-3 win, capitalising on a wasteful outer-ring display from his compatriot.

Littler waltzed past James Wade in a rematch of this year’s UK Open final, as the World Champion cruised to a 6-1 victory to reach his second World Series semi-final of the year.