A dramatic night began with Gerwyn Price forcing Littler to show why he is the world number one in the first semi-final.

Littler looked home and dry after walking off the stage at the interval with a 6-4 lead before putting three more legs on the board.

But Price’s response was superb. The Welshman won five legs in a row – with three 100+ checkouts – to take the match to a final-leg decider.

Littler took control of it with a 180, before landing double 16 to seal his spot in a third Premier League final.

While he was able to relax backstage before the final, defending champion Humphries and 2021 winner Jonny Clayton were involved in a titanic tussle of their own in the second semi-final.

After a confident opening, Humphries went into the break with a 6-4 advantage but, just like his Welsh compatriot Price, Clayton did not go down without a fight.

With a checkout rate of 28%, Humphries faced defeat, but a stunning 121 finish forced another deciding leg to settle the outcome.

And that was full of drama too as Humphries and Clayton exchanged a missed match dart each, before ‘Cool Hand’ set up his shot at Littler and the chance to go back-to-back.