Luke Humphries recovers from 3-0 down to beat Gerwyn Price 6-4 and win the World Grand Prix darts title

Luke Humphries is the 2026 World Grand Prix champion after a big comeback in Sunday's final at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. The Englishman lost the first three sets to Gerwyn Price and then beat the Welshman 6-4 in the best-of-11-sets final on 4 October.

The title is worth £150,000 and is Humphries' second World Grand Prix crown. He also beat Price in the 2023 final. It is his first PDC ranking title in about 16 months, a run that had included several defeats in major finals. For Malaysian fans, the final finished in the early hours of Monday morning local time.

Price starts fast in Leicester

Price, a former world champion, began the final in top form. He took the first set in 34 darts and averaged about 132 in that set, according to Darts News. He took the next two sets as well, with checkouts of 101 and 82, and led 3-0.

The World Grand Prix uses a double-in, double-out format. Players have to hit a double to start scoring in each leg as well as to finish it, which makes it one of the hardest events on the PDC calendar. A slow start in a leg can be very costly, and Price used the format well in the early sets.

The 105 checkout that changed the final

The turning point came in the fourth set. Humphries hit a 180 and then a 105 finish to win the set, and afterwards he called it the most important shot of the match. If he had lost that set he would have trailed 4-0. Instead he won four sets in a row to lead.

Price fought back and wasted set darts at one stage. The final went to a deciding 11th set, and Humphries won the last three legs without reply to take the title. He averaged 93.16 and hit ten maximums. Price averaged 95.37, higher than Humphries over the whole match, but did not take his chances late on.

After the match Humphries said, "It's kind of like I needed this to give me a bit of confidence." He spoke about how hard the past year and a half had been after losing several major finals, and said the standard on the tour is higher now than when he was winning more often.

Littler and Van Gerwen out early

The 2026 event, held from 28 September to 4 October, had several early upsets. Defending champion Luke Littler, who beat Humphries 6-1 in the 2025 final, lost 2-1 in sets to Luke Woodhouse in the first round on the opening night. Michael van Gerwen also went out in the first round, beaten 2-1 by Ryan Joyce.

Humphries did not drop a set in his quarter-final win over Niels Zonneveld, which he won 3-0, and he then beat James Wade 5-3 in the semi-finals. Price beat Jonny Clayton 3-2 in a close quarter-final and then beat Nathan Aspinall 5-2 to reach the final.

Prize money and what comes next

The total prize fund this year rose to £750,000. The runner-up got £80,000, the beaten semi-finalists £50,000 each, and the quarter-finalists £35,000 each. Phil Taylor still holds the record for World Grand Prix titles with 11.

The PDC's European Tour continues with the Swiss Darts Trophy from 9 to 11 October. The Grand Slam of Darts follows in Wolverhampton from 14 to 22 November, and the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace runs from 11 December to 3 January.

Key takeaways

• Luke Humphries beat Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the World Grand Prix final in Leicester on 4 October after trailing 3-0.
• It is Humphries' second World Grand Prix title after 2023, and his first PDC ranking title in about 16 months.
• A 180 followed by a 105 checkout in the fourth set started the comeback.
• Defending champion Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen both lost in the first round.
• Humphries won £150,000 from a £750,000 prize fund.

FAQ

Who won the 2026 World Grand Prix darts? Luke Humphries won, beating Gerwyn Price 6-4 in sets in the final on 4 October 2026 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

What is special about the World Grand Prix format? It is a double-in, double-out event. Players must hit a double to start scoring in each leg and must also finish on a double or the bullseye.

What is the next big PDC event? The Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton runs from 14 to 22 November. Before that, the European Tour stops at the Swiss Darts Trophy from 9 to 11 October.

Sources: Sky Sports, Darts News, Yahoo Sports, Wikipedia