Luke Humphries kicked off his title defence in style in New York last night on a strong night for PDC starts at the bet365 US Darts Masters.
The World Series of Darts’ return to the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden saw the North American representatives showcased on Thursday’s opening night, as the eight PDC superstars went head-to-head with counterparts.
Reigning champion Humphries also took centre stage on Day One, dispatching former North American champion Leonard Gates 6-1 to begin his bid for back-to-back titles in New York.
“This is a really prestigious event and one of the best venues in the world,” declared the world number two.
“My brother told me in the last eight events I’ve played in – including the Premier League – I’ve made eight finals on the trot, so that’s given me a lot of confidence.
“I’ve been a really tough player to beat in the last few weeks, and it’s nice to have that winning feeling back.”
Humphries’ next assignment will be a tie against Stephen Bunting, who swept aside a struggling Alex Spellman 6-2 to register his first victory on the iconic Madison Square Garden stage.
The US Darts Masters will conclude on Friday evening, as the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are held in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,000 fans – a record for darts in the US.
This will be preceded by the bet365 North American Darts Championship on Friday afternoon, as the eight American and Canadian stars take to the stage to compete for silverware and World Championship qualification.
The 2026 bet365 US Darts Masters is being broadcast live on ESPN and FanDuel in the US, with coverage on DAZN also available exclusively in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Other live global coverage is being broadcast through Viaplay in various territories including the Netherlands, as well as via PDCTV in all countries, with delayed coverage available on ITV3 in the UK.
Delayed ITV coverage in the UK will be as follows:
1700-2100 BST Friday June 26 on ITV3 – showing Round One
1700-2100 BST Saturday June 27 on ITV3 – showing Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals & Final
2026 bet365 US Darts Masters
Thursday June 25
Round One
Gian van Veen 6-1 Fred Krueger
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Brayden Hall
James Wade 6-3 Adam Sevada
Jim Long 6-4 Josh Rock
Luke Littler 6-4 David Cameron
Luke Humphries 6-1 Leonard Gates
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Gary Mawson
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Alex Spellman
2026 bet365 North American Championship
Friday June 26 (1300 EST)
Quarter-Finals
Jim Long v Brayden Hall
Leonard Gates v Fred Krueger
Adam Sevada v Alex Spellman
David Cameron v Gary Mawson
Semi-Finals
Long/Hall v Gates/Krueger
Sevada/Spellman v Cameron/Mawson
Final v
All matches best of 11 legs
2026 bet365 US Darts Masters (1930 EST)
Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler v Jim Long
Gerwyn Price v James Wade
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Gian van Veen v Jonny Clayton
Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals
Littler/Long v Price/Wade
Humphries/Bunting v Van Veen/Clayton
Best of 13 legs
Final v
Best of 15 legs
—–ENDS—–
Inages: Ed Mulholland/PDC
