Hughes then reached the last 16 of the 2006 Winmau World Masters, defeating Ted Hankey before losing to Brian Woods.
A quarter final place in the Northern Ireland Open was Hughes' only credible run in 2007 which was a bad year, suffering early exits in the International Darts League, the World Masters and the BDO World Championship qualifiers.
2008 was Hughes' best year on the circuit, reaching the final of the Isle of Man Open, losing to Dave Chisnall.
He then reached for semi finals of the Welsh Open, beating Scott Waites, Dave Prins and fellow Welshman Alan Walker before losing to Webster.
Hughes qualified for the 2009 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship as one of the non-seeded players.