Nijman Secures Fourth Ranking Title of 2026 with Dominant Performance

Wessel Nijman continued his impressive start to 2026, claiming his fourth ranking title of the year with a convincing victory 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. Earlier, Chris Dobey had briefly overtaken Nijman after winning the Players Championship Nine on Monday, but the Dutchman responded with a strong performance at the Robin Park Tennis Centre. After a hard-fought win against Martin Lukeman, Nijman went on to defeat Justin Hood, prompting a series of dominant victories. He averaged nearly 110 in a six-leg demolition of Adam Gawlas and followed up with wins over Niels Zonneveld and Beau Greaves. Nijman's semi-final performance against Luke Woodhouse was equally impressive, averaging 108.46. In the final, Nijman capitalized on Waites' slow start to establish an early lead, setting the tone for a dominant display. Despite Waites narrowing the gap in leg three, Nijman regained control with a 12-darter and went on to win with a 101.34 average. 'Today was probably the best floor event I've played all year,' Nijman admitted. '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 silverware 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 climbs to 18th on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder, with the top 16 being his goal for the year. Elsewhere, Beau Greaves made it back-to-back quarter-finals with impressive wins over Martin Schindler and Cameron Menzies.