Dutchman Van Veen cruised to an 8-3 win over Humphries at Mattioli Arena in Leicester to secure his first PDC ranking title.

Van Veen raced into a 3-0 lead and then kept his cool to close out the victory.

The 22-year-old’s win came off the back of an 8-7 defeat by Joe Cullen in the final of the fifth Players Championship on Tuesday.

World champion Littler was knocked out in the second round in an 8-7 defeat by Dom Taylor.

Michael van Gerwen fell at the same stage to Ryan Meikle, who balances his professional darts career alongside his job as a barber.

There are 34 Players Championship events across the year, with the competition’s finals held in Minehead from 21 to 23 November.

Humphries will now turn his attention to another meeting with 18-year-old Littler in Nottingham on Thursday in the latest round of the Premier League.

The pair have met 16 times, with Littler winning nine of them, including last year’s Premier League final.

Humphries’ results have been mixed this year but he sits top of the Premier League standings after five nights.

“I’m in a good position, but I’m still going to have to work hard to pick up these wins,” the 30-year-old said.

“I’ve got Luke [Littler] this week, and then Michael [van Gerwen] in the quarter-finals next week.

“It’s going to be tough, but I know I’ve got the credentials to beat them both, and hopefully I can get some more points this week and stay top of the table.”

Littler comes into the match against Humphries with the belief he is playing the “best” darts of his fledging career.

The Warrington teenager has followed up his record-breaking World Championship success with victory at the UK Open, two weekly Premier League titles and the Belgian Open last week.

Littler threw his first nine-darter of the year in the fifth Players Championship on Tuesday, though his 19-match winning run came to an end with a semi-final defeat by Van Veen, before he was beaten by world number 65 Taylor a day later.

“I’ve always been confident in my own ability,” Littler said.

“The way my darts are going at the minute, it’s probably the best I’ve ever played on a consistent basis.

“That is why I can find those extra gears and dig myself out of trouble when I need to.

“I said at the start of the year, if I don’t win anything all year I’m still a world champion. I’m just enjoying my darts at the minute.”