Cool Hand Luke Humphries re-enthroned himself as a Pro Tour sovereign in Wigan, reclaiming Players Championship silverware for the first time since October 2024 – and doing so on the very same stretch of Lancashire terrain.
There is something deliciously poetic about that symmetry. Back then, it was Stephen Bunting who succumbed in the final. This time, Wessel Nijman occupied the runner-up column, as geographical déjà vu fused with competitive evolution in a narrative that felt almost choreographed by fate itself.
The 8-6 scoreline in the final scarcely conveyed the magnitude of Humphries’ brilliance. A scintillating 104.62 average flowed from his arm with metronomic precision, a masterclass in controlled ferocity. That the contest remained competitive was less an indictment of the Berkshire born star’s dominance and more a tribute to Nijman’s tenacious refusal to disengage from the contest’s gravitational pull.
Across the afternoon, the reigning Premier League champion radiated the composure and calibrated violence befitting the world’s number two. Seven matches. Seven victories. Six achieved north of the ton barrier. Only the opener required theatrical brinkmanship, the 31-year old English World Cup winner clinging to survival in a last-leg duel against Martijn Dragt, skating perilously close to elimination before reasserting command.
Thereafter, the procession assumed a relentless rhythm. Germany’s Marvin Kraft was comprehensively subdued. Woodhouse followed, even breaching a three-figure average himself, yet still finding the Humphries juggernaut immovable. Stephen Bunting absorbed the full velocity of Cool Hand’s scoring artillery, before the former World Champ produced his most refined display in a 6-2 quarter-final dismantling of Niels Zonneveld. Gerwyn Price was then methodically neutralised, setting the stage for a compelling reprise with Nijman.
For the precocious Dutchman, a title and a runner-up finish from the opening quartet of Players Championships would represent enviable harvest. Victories over Daryl Gurney and Callan Rydz reaffirmed his burgeoning credentials. Yet career Pro Tour title number five remains tantalisingly deferred.
Elsewhere, Mike De Decker orchestrated a much-needed renaissance, navigating to his first quarter-final since last June. The Belgian has struggled to recapture the incandescent heights of his maiden major triumph at the Grand Prix back in October 2024, but this represented substantive recalibration.
Sebastian Bialecki (above) also flourished, the Polish prodigy dispatching compatriot Krzysztof Ratajski en route to the last eight. History suggests danger when he advances beyond this juncture – on the sole previous occasion, he conquered the entire event. Today then was a first but we are sure he’s still smiling. Callan Rydz, meanwhile, may feel the sting of semi-final defeat, yet beneath the frustration lies relief. It has been over a year since Rosmalen offered him comparable momentum.
A couple of Euro Tour qualifiers remain on Wednesday. For many, Wigan’s tungsten theatre has one more act to stage.
PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR – WIGAN
Tuesday 17th February 2026
Quarter- Finals
Luke Humphries 6-2 Niels Zonnerveld
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Callan Rydz 6-2 Mike De Decker
Semi-Finals
Luke Humphries 7-4 Gerwyn Price
Wessel Nijman 7-3 Callan Rydz
Final
Luke Humphries 8-6 Wessel Nijman
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
