James Wade (Picture: PDC)

Darts results: James Wade wins Players Championship One title in Hildesheim

By Sporting Life

Darts

Wed February 18, 2026 · 2d ago

James Wade kicked off his Players Championship campaign with victory in Monday’s Players Championship One in Hildesheim, after beating Nathan Aspinall 8-6.

Wade produced a series of dominant displays to secure his first title of 2026 in the year’s opening Players Championship event.

The two-time World Grand Prix winner fought hard throughout the day, coming through four deciding-legs matches before dispatching Aspinall to clinch his 12th Players Championship title.

Following back-to-back deciding-leg victories against Karel Sedlacek and Alexander Merkx respectively earlier in the day, Wade raced past Jeffrey De Graaf - beating the Swede 6-1 - before overcoming Austrian number one Mensur Suljovic 6-3.

The 42-year-old then denied Joe Cullen in a last-leg shoot-out to book his place in the semi-finals, where he overturned a 6-5 deficit against Michael van Gerwen, winning back-to-back legs and taking out finishes of 104, 127, 130 and 137 to secure a place in a ProTour final for the first time since June 2025.

Wade continued to fight back against a resilient Aspinall, averaging two points less than his opponent, while also firing in five 180s to claim the £15,000 top prize.

The world number eight trailed early on, with Aspinall taking five of the first eight legs to lead The Machine 5-3, but it was Wade who would reply with a brilliant four-leg rampage of his own.

Wade would win the next four legs in just 41 darts, before pinning an excellent 16-darter to cap off a clinical performance.

“I’m happy aren’t I!” admitted Wade, who suffered a quarter-final defeat to Gian van Veen at the recent Winmau World Masters.

“I probably should have beaten him [Aspinall] a lot easier than I did, but then again it’s Nathan; for four legs he absolutely pummelled me!

“I had nothing to give. I was as flat as a pancake, but yeah, I dug deep, and I’m quite happy.”

When asked about the timing of his finishing, Wade stated “It wasn’t bad, was it? I didn’t want to go to that last leg there!"

Wade’s victory denied Aspinall his first Players Championship title since August 2022, although The Asp enjoyed a brilliant start to his 2026 campaign.

Aspinall dumped out Arno Merk, Madars Razma and Joe Hunt in quick succession earlier in the day, before beating Beau Greaves in her first Players Championship campaign as an official Tour Card Holder.

The Stockport-born star then punished a below-par performance from Gabriel Clemens in the quarter-finals, before sealing his spot in the final with victory over former UK Open semi-finalist Adam Gawlas.

Justin Hood produced the performance of the day in Hildesheim, averaging 108.47 in his round two thrashing of European Champion Gian van Veen.

Hood’s brace of ton-plus averages at Halle 39 weren't enough to get further than round three, as he lost 6-4 to Mensur Suljovic, despite averaging nine points more than the Austrian number one.

Cam Crabtree and Wesley Plaisier averaged almost 108 in their round one and round two victories against Luke Woodhouse and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez respectively, while Mickey Mansell also stole the show in Hildesheim, pinning the perfect leg in his 6-4 success against Carl Sneyd in round two.