Stephen Bunting picked up his fourth PDC title of the year on Wednesday, after defeating Jermaine Wattimena 8-5 in the final of Players Championship 18.
Yet, as the midweek Pro Tour triple header continued in Leicester, several other narratives were visible to those looking past the ‘who won and why was it not Luke Littler?’ theme.
Bunting, the winner of the Nordic Darts Masters earlier this month, reached the final firstly by recording victories against William Borland, Ian White, Ritchie Edhouse, Alan Soutar, Karel Sedlacek and Dave Chisnall, to set up a clash with Wattimena.
Meanwhile, hidden within those names and those of his Dutch opponent’s run were several other stories of note. There were Quarter Final runs for the first time in 2025 for Cam Crabtree and Benjamin Reus as well as a solid return to top table for Merv King, who reached the last 16.
The last four run of Niels Zonneveld is perhaps the performace to pay the closest attention to. The 27-year-old has huge talent and has shown it in flashes for at least the last 5 years. But, two Pro Tour semi-finals, in relatively quick succession, combined with multiple quarterfinal and last 16 spots indicate a solidity that may indicate a more permanent change.
Back to the days main event, the final began with Wattimena taking the opener in 18 darts, before Bunting charged in front by rattling off six successive legs which included back-to-back 12 darters and a trio of 15 darters to go 6-1 ahead in a race to eight.
Wattimena went on to win back-to-back legs in 15 and 13 darts respectively before Bunting moved within one of victory in Leg 10 with a 15-dart break of throw.
Wattimena did pull two legs back in Legs 11 & 12 before ‘The Bullet’ sealed the victory in Leg 13 with an 11 darter to pick up a first Players Championship title in almost four years as well as collecting the £15,000 top prize.
Wattimena’s run to the final saw the quick-fired Dutchman record victories on the day against Darryl Pilgrim, Carl Sneyd, Josh Rock, Ryan Searle, Mike De Decker and Niels Zonneveld, before being denied by Bunting.
Another point to note is that more and more non UK players are performing well at UK based events and reaching the last stages. The World Cup of darts can act as a boost for some both financial and experience wise. Could ‘home advantage’ also be becoming less of a factor, due to there being Pro, European and Challenge Tour events held outside their traditional home?
Former World Champions in Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson were amongst the high profile first round casualties, with Tuesday’s PC17 Winner Chris Dobey suffering an exit in Round Three.
The PDC Pro Tour triple header concludes on Thursday with Players Championship Nineteen taking place in Leicester, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £125,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 13:00 BST.
Play will be broadcasted across four streaming boards on PDC.TV and various bookmaker websites worldwide, with all live scores and results on tv.dartconnect.com.
Players Championship 18
Last 16
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mervyn King
Cam Crabtree 6-3 Callan Rydz
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Alan Soutar
Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Damon Heta
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 James Wade
Benjamin Reus 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Mike De Decker 6-0 Ross Smith
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Ryan Searle
Quarter Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Cam Crabtree
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Benjamin Reus
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Mike De Decker
Semi Finals
Stephen Bunting 7-6 Dave Chisnall
Jermaine Wattimena 7-6 Niels Zonneveld
Final
Stephen Bunting 8-5 Jermaine Wattimena
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
