Humphries Headed Home After Opening Night Carnage in Minehead

Minehead’s opening night doubled down on drama, detonating another barrage of shocks as more big-name titans were hurled unceremoniously through the exit doors before they’d even warmed up their practice boards.

If the afternoon session of the 2025 Players Championship Finals felt chaotic, its evening cousin swaggered onto the Somerset stage and declared, “Hold my pint.”

Front and centre of the carnage was the reigning two-time champion Luke Humphries — a man who has treated this tournament like his personal playground for the last 24 months. But hopes of a glorious hat-trick evaporated under the ferocious glare of the newly crowned European Champion, Gian van Veen.

In a matchup worthy of the Sunday showpiece, two World Youth champions collided in a tungsten dogfight of dizzying precision, with the Dutch prodigy edging an entrancing, nerve-rattling classic to send Cool Hand home.

Then came the next tremor: Bullyboy Michael Smith, rediscovering his swagger in recent weeks, was unceremoniously derailed by German number one Martin Schindler in the very first match on the main stage. The opening act wasn’t a curtain-raiser — it was more a warning shot. Schindler played with icy menace, and Smith paid the price.

After that early turbulence, the main stage settled into a smoother rhythm. Stephen Bunting, Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey all advanced with the calm assurance of men who read the script and refused to deviate from it.

But over at the secondary stage? Oh, that’s where the trouble lived. The board two battleground became a minefield of jeopardy and unexpected ambushes. Jermaine Wattimena continued his red-hot form with a controlled dismissal of fellow Dutchman Wesley Plaisier, but that was merely the opening chord.

The next act saw Wessel Nijman — heavily backed to go deep this year — ambushed by compatriot Richard Veenstra in a ruthless display of precision and composure. And then came the biggest boom:

Latvian darting deity Madars Razma dismantled Dirk van Duijvenbode, sending The Aubergenius and his explosive walk-on energy straight back to the Minehead chalets.

Peter Wright remains one of darts’ greatest enigmas — equal parts genius, chaos, theatre and mystery. Tonight, Snakebite arrived in one of his fiercest incarnations, and Joe Cullen discovered the hard way that this was the version that still bites. The Rockstar was unceremoniously dumped out as Wright rolled back the years with shimmering brilliance.

To close out the evening’s fireworks, Justin Hood added another chapter to Damon Heta’s spiralling misery. The Aussie number one, desperate for a spark, instead found himself doused as Hood coolly completed a 6–4 victory to deepen the Heat’s cold streak.

So the dust settles on Friday night with only 32 warriors still standing as the tournament surges toward a blockbuster Saturday afternoon.

Minehead has spoken — and it’s in no mood for mercy.

Main Stage

Martin Schindler 6-4 Michael Smith

Josh Rock 6-3 Gabriel Clemens

Gerwyn Price 6-2 Max Hopp

Stephen Bunting 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse

Luke Littler 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf

Gian van Veen 6-5 Luke Humphries

Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Karel Sedlacek

Chris Dobey 6-1 Keane Barry

Stage Two