Jonny Clayton will be hoping to extend his five-point lead at the summit after dispatching Luke Littler in last week’s final, and he plays Stephen Bunting in a quarter-final showdown.
The Welshman has been incredible since returning to the Premier League and has showcased why he belongs in the competition by winning four of the first 11 events, all but confirming his place at the O2 in May.
Littler, who trails the Ferret by five points, is also nailed-on to reach the semi-final stage for the third year running after winning the tournament on debut in 2024 before losing to Humphries in the 2025 final.
Somewhat surprisingly, the reigning champion finds himself playing catch-up in the final five weeks and failing to progress beyond the quarter-final stage on night 12 would put a huge dent in his play-off hopes.
Humphries must end Littler hoo-doo
Following his unfortunate 6-5 defeat to Littler in last week’s semi-final, Humphries finds himself three points behind the play-offs with only five nights of the league phase remaining.
‘Cool Hand’ hasn’t performed poorly in this year’s tournament by any means, but the ruthlessness and exceptional timing associated with his game haven’t been consistently present.
To put things into perspective, Humphries lost to The Nuke in Rotterdam with a 103 average and 71.43 per cent on the doubles, proving how brutal the world champion can be when his timing is on point.
Indeed, the world No. 2 won’t be pleased that another clash with Littler beckons on night 12, having tasted defeat in six of his last seven matches against the teenager. However, the 31-year-old knows he must end his recent struggles to stand any chance of making Finals Night.
Humphries is arguably hoping that Josh Rock conjures up some magic against Van Gerwen in the quarter-final, with the winner of that game set to play Humphries or Littler.
If the 2025 champion can somehow end his losing run against Littler and then topple the Dutchman, he would be in the driving seat for the top four. On the other hand, losing his quarter-final and watching Gian van Veen and Bunting win could drop him to seventh position.
Humphries needs to end worrying run of form
Almost everyone has backed Humphries to win a night at least once in this year's Premier League, and remarkably, 'Cool Hand' remains one of only three players yet to taste success.
In fact, the Englishman hasn’t even made a final across the first 11 nights, which is surprising for someone of his calibre, and that is a statistic he must erase to move ahead of Van Gerwen.
Humphries has worryingly lost three of his last four quarter-finals, and they were all against players currently in the top four. But he did thrash Van Veen 6-2 last week and was markedly improved on the doubles after struggling for most of the tournament.
The Leeds-born dartist heads to Liverpool with the third-worst finishing (37 per cent); however, across the last three weeks, he is third for that metric and is only bettered by Price and Clayton.
Consistency is now the challenge for Humphries, who has recorded the best percentage of 100-plus averages in the competition - 11 in 18 matches - putting him ahead of Price and Littler.
Indeed, combining power scoring with ruthless finishing and exceptional timing are the key elements for Humphries to not only climb into the top four, but stand any chance of retaining the Premier League title.