Wesley Plaisier is not yet a household name in darts. He does not appear on posters, dominate montages, or command automatic reverence in the pubs and living rooms of the sport. In other words, he is certainly no Gerwyn Price. And yet, it is precisely because of that which the Iceman’s journey at the 2026 PDC Paddy Power World Championship has already reached its end.
So who, exactly, is the man who silenced a former World Champion with such chilling authority? Plaisier hails from the tongue-twisting Dutch enclave of Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, is 35 years of age, and until recently occupied that uncomfortable space reserved for players everyone respected but few truly feared.
He is still waiting for that first senior PDC crown to land in his hands. Four Challenge Tour titles sit proudly on the shelf, respectable currency in anyone’s darting wallet, but the headline silverware has so far remained just out of reach. Scratch beneath the surface, though, and the CV suddenly starts shouting a lot louder than the honours list suggests.
In contrast and over in WDF territory, he has done something very few can claim. Twice. World Masters champion. Once in 2022, and then again a couple of years later, confirming beyond any doubt that the first was no fluke, no lightning strike, no friendly nod from the darting gods.
That maiden triumph arrived in unusual, unsettled times. The BDO had collapsed into history, the WDF was finding its feet, and the sport itself was slowly dragging itself out of the wreckage left behind by the COVID pandemic. It was a strange, transitional period for darts outside the PDC bubble and, as a result, that first World Masters win perhaps did not detonate in the public consciousness the way it normally would.
There is no asterisk beside it – nor should there be – but it is fair to say it slipped slightly under the radar, muted by circumstance rather than quality. A fact backed up by the other winners in the picture above!
Those who were paying attention, though, knew exactly what they were watching. By the time he struck again in 2024, everything had changed. The WDF was no longer treading water, it was swimming with confidence. The lights were brighter, the platform stronger, the validation undeniable. That second World Masters title was the exclamation mark. Same man. Same nerve. Same class. Only this time, the world was watching properly.
Also, if you happened to be present at the Belgium Open in 2022 or 2024 – or the Antwerp edition sandwiched neatly in between – you would have watched Wesley Plaisier lifting silverware with quiet intent.
Our resident coach – AIM180 – tells a tale of trying to get the wider darts community to take note of the Dutchman from around 2016:
A friend who is a good judge said I should watch this fella at the Antwerp Open. I was quite impressed and, for some reason, was put in mind of Kirk Shepherd, the former World finalist. So I made a note to keep an eye out and carried on my way. Almost three years later, I watched Wesley in an early Challenge Tour round. His performance was one of the best single games I have seen.
He was playing an experienced player, in decent shape, who threw solidly well. It did not matter a jot. Wesley threw a close-to-perfect game, averaged north of 107, and whitewashed his major finalist opponent 5-0.
From that day forth, I mentioned him to manufacturers, managers, and anyone else who might have an interest. It has to be said I had little luck, but I was as certain as I had ever been that here was a player destined to make an impact at the highest levels. My only query was whether he wanted to do so. I think we have our answer now.
The wider darting world first took notice in 2022 at the German Darts Prix. There, Plaisier did not tiptoe. He barged. Jim Williams, Joe Cullen, and Dirk van Duijvenbode were all brushed aside before the run finally ended in the quarter-finals – a last-leg defeat to the eventual champion, Luke Humphries. No disgrace there. Quite the opposite.
A year later, back on German soil at the German Darts Open, Plaisier went one better. Another deep run. Another dramatic exit. This time, a 7–6 semi-final defeat to Stephen Bunting. Close enough to taste it. Not quite close enough to keep it. Then came 2024. And with it, transformation.
A superb season on the Challenge Tour saw Plaisier finish second overall – a position of enormous consequence. A two-year tour card secured. No arduous, gruelling pilgrimage to the purgatory of Q-School. No uncertainty. No scrambling. Wesley Plaisier had arrived on the main circuit properly, by merit, and with momentum.
This is his second appearance at the PDC World Championship. Twelve months ago, he debuted against Japan’s Ryusei Azemoto, dispatched him, and then bowed out to Peter Wright. Respectable. Educational. Incomplete. This year is different. Because this time, Wesley Plaisier owns the greatest victory of his career. Defeating a former World Champion. A multiple major winner. A man forged in steel and noise. And not merely defeating him – annihilating him. A straight-sets whitewash of Gerwyn Price. A result that stunned the Palace and froze the narrative mid-sentence. Very few gave Plaisier a chance. Words eaten.
Unfortunately for Wesley, that was where the story ended as far as this campaign went. Edged in a thrilling seven set encounter by the Polish Eagle, Krzysztof Ratajski. Yet exits after making a huge statement. Wesley Plaisier may not yet be a household name. But households are starting to ask. If he can continue taking out huge scalps like multiple major champion, Gerwyn Price in 2026, his stock will exponentially grow – as will his reputation as a slayer of legends.
Our resident coach – AIM180 – tells a tale of trying to get the wider darts community to take note of the Dutchman from around 2016:
“A friend who is a good judge said I should watch this fella at the Antwerp Open. I was quite impressed and for some reason was put in mind of Kirk Shepherd the former World finalist. So I made a note to keep an eye out and carried on my way. Almost 3 years later I watched Wesley in an early Challenge Tour round. His performance was one of the best single games I have seen.
He was playing an experienced player, in decent shape, who threw solidly well. It did not matter a jot, Wesley threw a close to perfect game, averaged north of 107 and whitewashed his major finalist opponent 5-0.
From that day fourth I mentioned him to manufacturers, managers and anyone else who might have an interest. It has to be said I had little luck, but I was as certain as I had ever been that here was a player certain to make an impact at the highest levels. My only query was whether he wanted to do so. I think we have our answer now!”
—–ENDS—-
Images: PDC
