Luke Humphries returned to the ProTour in style at Players Championship 17, averaging 104.57 across the tournament and defeating Jermaine Wattimena 8-4 in the final. The world number two posted averages of 102 or higher in six of his seven matches, including a 112.18 in the first round against Rhys Griffin. However, he promptly withdrew from Players Championship 18 the day after, sparking debate about his future schedule. Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com, noted: 'I'm a bit perturbed as to what Luke Humphries will now do for the rest of the season. He promptly pulled out of remaining ProTour this week and won his second title presumably to say he could do it then left.'
At PC18, Luke Woodhouse finally claimed his first senior PDC ranking title, defeating Andrew Gilding in the final. Woodhouse had been one of the few players without a title and finally got the monkey off his back. Gilding, who needed 442 attempts to win his first PC title, reached another final less than a week later and celebrated warmly for his fellow Englishman. Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE, called it 'the most heart-warming moment of this ProTour week.'
The Dutch contingent was strong at PC17, with five Dutch players reaching the quarter-finals and three progressing to the semi-finals. Jermaine Wattimena eventually lost to Humphries in the final. Kevin Doets reached the quarter-finals at PC18, marking his ninth time in 2026 reaching at least the last eight on the floor circuit. Doets has now broken into the world's top 32 for the first time. However, Gian van Veen endured another disappointing pair of tournaments, suffering defeats in the third round and first round respectively. Pieter Verbeek, Editor for DartsNieuws.com, aired concerns for Van Veen and Mike de Decker, who suffered two first-round exits.
Humphries' tournament average of 104.57 was the second-highest ever recorded by a Players Championship winner in the DartConnect era. He has now collected £37,000 on the floor this year from just seven events, likely enough to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead. His decision to skip PC18 raised eyebrows, as he had averaged over 100 in all but one match the day before. Meanwhile, Harry Ward's return at PC18 caught attention as he reached the semi-finals, seven years to the day after his last PC semi-final.