The most consistent performer throughout the tournament so far, Humphries has slightly slowed his throw down during the last couple of rounds, which seems to have helped his grouping around the 60 and improved his scoring.

His averages throughout the week:

Against Nathan Aspinal last 32 – 87.64.

Against Krzysztof Ratajski last 16 – 95.58.

Against Cameron Menzies quarter-final – 91.50.

Average of Averages = 91.57.

He had a slight drop-off on the double-ins against Cameron Menzies in the quarters, hence the fall in average from the last 16, but unlike some of his opponents, he has not strayed from his favourite double 16 / 8 corridor, and it looks likely the consistency will return against Danny Noppert.

This looks to be a close affair as Noppert has been impressive, beating both Stephen Bunting and Gary Anderson on his way here.

His averages have been:

Against Jermaine Wattimena last 32 – 85.94.

Against Stephen Bunting last 16 – 85.55.

Against Gary Anderson quarter-final – 91.91.

Average of Averages = 87.8.

In this event, averages are often misleading; however, now that we are further in, they can provide a guide as to the player's consistency, especially in the double in category, which is obviously so important in this format.

Noppert has the lowest tournament-long average of the four players left and is the lowest-ranked.

The increase in the number of sets in this round, best of nine, will likely aid Humphries; he loves this event, winning it in 2023 and finishing runner-up last year.

It remains unbelievable what Luke Littler can produce on the dart board. The quarter-final against Gerwyn Price was quite simply mind-boggling.

From 2–0 down in sets and nowhere near his best, Littler somehow managed to produce a final leg victory with a 152 outshot that really didn’t look like happening – but this is the sort of thing that is becoming commonplace with him.

His averages throughout the week:

Against Gian Van Veen last 32 – 105.58, in what is still got to be among the best, if not the best, games in the tournament so far.

Against Mike de Decker last 16 – 91.86, dispatching the reigning champion.

Against Gerwyn Price quarter-final – 84.68, in a match which he should have lost.

Average of Averages = 94.04.

Expect this to go a long way as Jonny Clayton is a seasoned performer in this event and will relish the longer format.

Clayton’s averages are:

Against Andrew Gilding last 32 – 88.37.

Against Luke Woodhouse last 16 – 85.67.

Against Dirk van Duijvenbode quarter-final – 90.75.

Average of Averages = 88.26.

Littler very rarely has two games running where he doesn’t perform, so expect him to hit the Ferret with everything, and despite Clayton's unquestioned fighting spirit, expect the Nuke to be a bit too strong for him here.

Both players have won 2/3 180 battles leading into this match, but Littler exploded on the lipstick in the last round to hit 10 maximums.

Littler has won the 180 battle in all three of his games v Clayton this season. 9-8 despite losing to the Ferret at the World Masters, 10-2 at the UK Open and 5-4 in the World Series of Darts Finals.