Dutch rising star Wessel Nijman sensationally claimed his third career Players Championship title this afternoon in Wigan, defeating Luke Woodhouse in a superb final display to end the season as the number two seed for the Minehead tour finale.
Remarkably, at the start of October, Nijman had just one of these career bad boys to his name. Then came Leicester – where he saw off Damon Heta on the opening day of the month – and now, as it ends, he’s added another to his rapidly growing collection.
The 25-year-old looked menacing from the first dart, continuing his blistering run of form that’s seen him reach at least the quarter-finals in each of the past five events. After bulldozing his way past Callan Rydz, Rhys Griffin, and compatriot Maik Kuivenhoven, he produced a jaw-dropping 116.87 average against Adam Paxton to surge into the last eight. There, he dispatched another Dutchman – albeit one based in Sweden – Kevin Doets, before a thrilling semi-final with Chris Dobey.
Just 24 hours after Dobey had eliminated him at the same stage, Nijman got his revenge in style. A break of throw in the deciding leg sealed it for the man from Uitgeest, after Dobey had clawed back from 6-4 down.
As for Woodhouse, the Harrows man is still waiting for his first Pro Tour title – though he’s now come agonisingly close on multiple occasions, including a runner-up finish to Damon Heta in Hildesheim two years ago.
Judging by today’s performance, that monkey’s not long for this world and will soon be thrown from the Worcestershire players back.He started the day with a tight, high-quality decider against Willie Borland, followed by another full-distance win over Florian Hempel – though, as he’d probably admit, a less dramatic victory would’ve been far more enjoyable.
He then comfortably took out Joe Cullen, before surviving yet another 6-5 thriller against Karel Sedláček.An Irish double over Keane Barry and Willie O’Connor, including a monstrous 112.29 average against the former, booked him a second career final. But despite matching Nijman blow-for-blow through the opening ten legs, the Dutchman found another gear and powered home for an 8-5 victory.
Elsewhere, world number one Luke Humphries safely secured his spot at next month’s Players Championship Finals – despite an early round-two exit to Rob Owen.At the start of the day, “Cool Hand” technically faced elimination danger – but honestly, the odds of him missing Minehead were about the same as getting attacked by a shark while shopping in Tesco. As expected, he qualified comfortably.
The big mover of the day was Keane Barry, who arrived in Wigan ranked 69th and in need of a big run. Dynamite exploded, reaching the quarter-finals to guarantee both a tidy payday and his place at the final major before the World Championships.
Heading in the opposite direction was Dominic Gruellich, whose day turned from light green to pure white – and not just on dartsrankings.com. He arrived in Wigan sitting on the edge of qualification (light green, for the uninitiated), hoping to turn a shade darker. Unfortunately, an early exit and a few awkward results elsewhere saw his chances fade faster than his complexion. There’s always next year, Dom.
Dimitri Van den Bergh made a brave late charge for the Minehead line. The Belgian, miles off the pace before a dart was thrown, reached the quarter-finals and was closing in on the final qualification spot. The man sitting nervously in that position? Max Hopp, refreshing the live standings every 30 seconds and probably ageing a year per leg.
For Dimitri, only a tournament win would do – and for a moment, it looked possible. Locked at 4-4 with yesterday’s winner Chris Dobey, Van den Bergh had the scent of glory. But “Hollywood” reeled off two legs on the bounce to crush those hopes and, in doing so, put a broad smile on one very relieved Max Hopp.
So, as the dust settles on another dramatic day in Wigan, the field for the 2025 Players Championship Finals is complete. Nijman continues to prove he’s the real deal, Woodhouse edges ever closer to his maiden title, and the countdown to Minehead is officially on. And here is the draw…
[1] Gerwyn Price – Max Hopp [64]
[32] Rob Cross – Sebastian Bialecki [33]
[16] Martin Schindler – Michael Smith [49]
[17] Niels Zonneveld – Nick Kenny [48]
[8] Stephen Bunting – Ritchie Edhouse [57]
[25] Brendan Dolan – Daryl Gurney [40]
[9] Cameron Menzies – Adam Lipscombe [56]
[24] Bradley Brooks – Martin Lukeman [41]
[4] Ross Smith – Niko Springer [61]
[29] Jeffrey de Graaf – Luke Littler [36]
[13] William O’Connor – Ricardo Pietreczko [52]
[20] Gary Anderson – Mario Vandenbogaerde [45]
[5] Chris Dobey – Keane Barry [60]
[28] Mike De Decker – Cam Crabtree [37]
[12] Jonny Clayton – James Hurrell [53]
[21] Luke Woodhouse – Alan Soutar [44]
[2] Wessel Nijman – Richard Veenstra [63]
[31] Karel Sedlacek – Nathan Aspinall [34]
[15] Danny Noppert – Ricky Evans [50]
[18] Dirk van Duijvenbode – Madars Razma [47]
[7] Gian van Veen – Luke Humphries [58]
[26] Krzysztof Ratajski – Raymond van Barneveld [39][10] Josh Rock – Gabriel Clemens [55]
[23] Scott Williams – Ian White [42]
[3] Damon Heta – Justin Hood [62]
[30] Andrew Gilding – Dom Taylor [35]
[14] Joe Cullen – Peter Wright [51]
[19] James Wade – Mickey Mansell [46]
[6] Jermaine Wattimena – Wesley Plaisier [59]
[27] Dave Chisnall – Ryan Joyce [38][
11] Ryan Searle – Darren Beveridge [54]
[22] Kevin Doets – Callan Rydz [43]
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Ends—–
