Sporting Life
Wessel Nijman
Wessel Nijman

Darts results: Wessel Nijman swoops for fourth title of 2026 at Players Championship 10

By Sporting Life
Darts
Wed April 15, 2026 · 4h ago

Wessel Nijman maintained his sparkling start to 2026 by capturing his fourth ranking title of the year at Players Championship Ten in Wigan.

Nijman dispatched former Grand Slam of Darts champion Scott Waites 8-2 in Tuesday’s showpiece to reclaim top spot on the Players Championship rankings.

Chris Dobey briefly overhauled Nijman following his Players Championship Nine victory on Monday, only for the Dutchman to respond in emphatic style at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.

Following a hard-fought win against Martin Lukeman in his opener, Nijman dumped out Monday’s runner-up Justin Hood to book his place in round three – prompting the start of a blistering march towards glory.

Having averaged almost 110 in a six-leg demolition of Adam Gawlas, Nijman followed up victory over his compatriot Niels Zonneveld with another merciless performance against Beau Greaves.

The 25-year-old averaged 109.71 to sweep aside Greaves in the last eight, before averaging 108.46 in his semi-final showdown against Luke Woodhouse.

Nijman was similarly imperious in Tuesday’s decider, capitalising on a profligate start from Waites to establish early daylight, which set the tone for another dominant display.

Despite Waites halving the deficit in leg three, Nijman regained control with a 12-darter to lead 3-1, sparking a five-leg sequence which saw him power into a 7-1 advantage.

Waites doubled his tally with a comfortable hold of throw in leg nine, but this merely proved to be a consolation, as Nijman retaliated with a 15-dart hold to triumph with a 101.34 average.

"Today was probably the best floor event I’ve played all year,” admitted Nijman, also a winner at Players Championship Two and Players Championship Eight.

“I hit so many averages above 105, it was a really good day.

“When I broke again to make it 4-1, it was a really good feeling through the rest of the match and it helped me in the final.

“I’m happy with the way I played in the final and the way I played all day. Maybe these kinds of events suit me.”

Nijman also broke new ground with a maiden big stage success at last month’s European Darts Trophy, and he’s targeting more silverware in this weekend’s European Darts Grand Prix.

“When I’m in that zone and playing good, I could play all day like that,” continued the Dutchman, who climbs to 18th on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder.

“The top 16 was the goal for the year. The earlier I get that, the better it is.

“I lost in Munich and Wieze in the first round, but I hope I do a lot better in Sindelfingen this weekend.”

Waites – who received a late-call up for this week’s double-header courtesy of his position on the Winmau Challenge Tour – rolled back the years in advancing to his maiden ProTour final.

The 2010 Grand Slam champion dumped out Australian number one Damon Heta in round one, which he backed up with consecutive 6-1 wins over Tavis Dudeney and Joe Cullen.

Waites also accounted for Brendan Dolan and Kevin Doets respectively, before converting successive 116 and 121 finishes to defeat Karel Sedlacek in a high-quality semi-final.

Sedlacek’s run to the semi-finals saw him overhaul Andrew Gilding and move into the provisional qualification places for July’s World Matchplay, as he eyes a maiden appearance in Blackpool.

Czechia’s premier player defeated Max Hopp, Christian Kist and James Hurrell along the way, while also halting Dobey’s 11-match winning run in a dramatic quarter-final clash.

Woodhouse joined Sedlacek in the final four, defeating Darius Labanauskas, Mervyn King, Ryan Joyce, Scott Williams and Joe Hunt in advancing to his first ranking semi-final of 2026.

Hunt dumped out Premier League duo Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock to reach the last eight, having earlier kicked off his campaign with victory over Belgian number one Mike De Decker.

Elsewhere, Greaves made it back-to-back quarter-finals following another impressive showing, featuring wins over German number one Martin Schindler and Scottish star Cameron Menzies.

Doets landed a hat-trick of ton-plus averages during his run to the last eight – including a 107.36 average in his whitewash win over Gabriel Clemens – which was preceded by wins over darting stalwarts Peter Wright and James Wade.

Monday’s champion Dobey completed the quarter-final line-up, producing his performance of the day in his round three victory against Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld, averaging north of 105 in the process.

Players Championship Ten Results

Last 16

  • Wessel Nijman 6-3 Niels Zonneveld
  • Beau Greaves 6-4 Cameron Menzies
  • Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Scott Williams
  • Joe Hunt 6-5 Josh Rock
  • Chris Dobey 6-4 Daniel Klose
  • Karel Sedlacek 6-4 James Hurrell
  • Scott Waites 6-4 Brendan Dolan
  • Kevin Doets 6-0 Gabriel Clemens

Quarter-Finals

  • Wessel Nijman 6-2 Beau Greaves
  • Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Joe Hunt
  • Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Chris Dobey
  • Scott Waites 6-4 Kevin Doets

Semi-Finals

  • Wessel Nijman 7-4 Luke Woodhouse
  • Scott Waites 7-5 Karel Sedlacek

Final

  • Wessel Nijman 8-2 Scott Waites

Darts: Related content