Nijman claims fourth ranking title of 2026 with dominant display

Wessel Nijman continued his impressive start to 2026, securing his fourth ranking title of the year at the Players Championship 10 in Wigan. He defeated former Grand Slam of Darts champion Scott Waites 8-2 in the final to reclaim the top spot in the Players Championship rankings. Nijman's victory came after Chris Dobey briefly overtook him following his win at Players Championship Nine on Monday. However, the Dutchman responded with a strong performance at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, starting with a hard-fought win against Martin Lukeman. Nijman then went on to defeat Justin Hood, Adam Gawlas, Niels Zonneveld, and Beau Greaves, before facing Luke Woodhouse in the semi-finals. He averaged 109.71 to sweep aside Greaves and 108.46 to defeat Woodhouse. In the final, Nijman capitalized on a slow start from Waites to establish an early lead, which set the tone for a dominant display. Despite Waites reducing the deficit in leg three, Nijman regained control and powered into a 7-1 advantage. Waites managed to double his score, but Nijman retaliated to win with a 101.34 average. "Today was probably the best floor event I've played all year," Nijman said. "I hit many averages above 105, and it was a really good day. When I broke again to make it 4-1, it was a really good feeling for the rest of the match, and it helped me in the final." Nijman is now targeting more silverware in the European Darts Grand Prix and aims to break into the top 16. "When I'm in that zone and playing well, I could play all day like that," he added. "The top 16 was the goal for the year, and the earlier I achieve it, the better it is." Elsewhere, Beau Greaves made it back-to-back quarter-finals with impressive wins over Martin Schindler and Cameron Menzies.