World champion Luke Humphries wins in Brighton

Luke Humphries registered his first Premier League night win as the world champion defeated Michael Smith 6-3 in Brighton.

The final of the tournament's sixth night saw world number one Humphries, a competition debutant this year, surge into a 5-1 lead.

Smith, the 2023 world champion and winner of night one in Cardiff, hit back but 'Cool Hand Luke' was not to be denied.

Humphries said on Sky Sports: "I felt like I haven’t played my best, since the Worlds maybe for the first six weeks, and I’ve come back playing a lot better. Sometimes it takes a bit of time.

"I think after the Worlds, the way I played, everyone expected me to win everything, and that’s not going to happen. There is so much great talent out there, so many great players, and winning nights like these is fantastic because they are really hard. I’m really proud the way I played tonight.

"My dad said ‘you look a million dollars, you look like you’re throwing like you were in the Worlds’.

"I did feel really good after the Worlds – unfortunately some things happened. My Nan passed away and that did have an affect on me. But that’s no excuse. You build again, you go again, and I think in the last couple of weeks my mind has been straight again and I feel really good."

THE WORLD CHAMP UP AND RUNNING