Nijman secures fourth ranking title of 2026 with dominant display

Wessel Nijman continued his impressive start to 2026, winning his fourth ranking title of the year at the Players Championship 10 in Wigan. Nijman defeated former Grand Slam of Darts champion Scott Waites 8-2 in the final to reclaim the top spot in the Players Championship rankings. This victory came after Chris Dobey briefly overtook Nijman following his win at Players Championship Nine, but Nijman responded with a strong performance at the Robin Park Tennis Centre. Nijman began his campaign with a hard-fought win against Martin Lukeman and then eliminated Justin Hood to advance to the third round. He then produced a series of impressive performances, including a six-leg demolition of Adam Gawlas, averaging nearly 110, and victories over Niels Zonneveld and Beau Greaves. In the final, Nijman capitalized on Waites' slow start to establish an early lead, which set the tone for the rest of the match. Despite Waites narrowing the deficit in the third leg, Nijman regained control with a 12-darter to lead 3-1 and went on to win 8-2. Nijman reflected on his performance, saying, "Today was probably the best floor event I've played all year. I hit many averages above 105, and it was a really good day." Nijman, who also won the Players Championships Two and Eight, is now targeting more success in the upcoming European Darts Grand Prix. "When I'm in that zone and playing well, I could play all day like that," he said. Nijman has broken into the top 18 on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder and is aiming to reach the top 16. Elsewhere, Beau Greaves made it back-to-back quarter-finals with impressive wins over Martin Schindler and Cameron Menzies.