Jermaine Wattimena fended off a late fightback from his compatriot Kevin Doets to clinch his third PDC ranking title with victory in Tuesday’s Players Championship 27 showpiece in Leicester.
Wattimena won through his all-Dutch affair against Doets to scoop the £15,000 top prize at the Mattioli Arena, having also accounted for world number one Luke Littler en route to glory.
The former European Championship runner-up overcame Stephen Rosney and Martin Lukeman to kickstart his title bid, before edging past Daryl Gurney to continue his progress.
Wattimena then backed up a 102 average against Carl Sneyd with a dramatic quarter-final victory against Littler, sealed with a clutch 115 checkout on tops in a last-leg decider.
The 38-year-old produced further heroics in his semi-final showdown against Luke Woodhouse, reeling off six straight legs from 4-1 down, aided by an astonishing flurry of five ton-plus finishes.
Wattimena converted 136, 135, 115, 127 and 128 outshots to complete the comeback, before winning six straight legs against Doets to power into a commanding 6-2 lead.
Doets responded by winning four of the next five legs to threaten an improbable turnaround, only for Wattimena to fire in a brilliant 11-darter and return to the winner’s enclosure in the East Midlands.
“I played really well today, but I think some games I made difficult for myself,” conceded Wattimena, who reclaims a place in the world’s top 16 at the expense of Ross Smith.
“There’s more expectation now because you know you can win some ProTours. I just made a European Tour final against [Krzysztof] Ratajski, so hopefully I’m getting there
.“I’ve been to America on holiday but I played a lot of darts there, and this was my first ProTour with my new darts from Winmau, so I’m very happy!”
Wattimena’s first career victory over Littler also generated major headlines, and the Dutchman insists that landmark win gave him the impetus to secure his first title of 2026.
“I always play really well against Luke to be honest,” added Wattimena, who was involved in an epic encounter against the teenage sensation in last year’s World Matchplay.
“Even when I lose I play well, and that 115 finish against Luke gave me big confidence.
“I didn’t realise I hit five ton-plus finishes in the semi-final because you’re busy with the game, but I’m very happy with this win.”
Doets, featuring in his third ranking final of the campaign, wasn’t at his blistering best in Leicester, despite claiming the scalps of Rob Cross, Cameron Menzies and top seed Wessel Nijman.
Nijman – a six-time winner on the Players Championship circuit in 2026 – averaged almost 110 in his brutal last 16 demolition of Bradley Brooks, while averaging over 102 in his quarter-final success against Kim Huybrechts.
Woodhouse completed Tuesday’s semi-final line-up, denying Dirk van Duijvenbode in a last-leg thriller in the last 16, before averaging north of 101 in his quarter-final victory over Mickey Mansell.
Mansell was joined in the last eight by Menzies, Huybrechts and Littler, who made his eagerly anticipated return to Players Championship action at the Mattioli Arena.
The 19-year-old is bidding to make a late surge and qualify for November’s Players Championship Finals, and he finds himself £22,250 adrift of the cut-off with seven events remaining.
Littler swept aside Archie Self, Arno Merk and William O’Connor before whitewashing Chris Dobey in the last 16, yet his title challenge was eventually derailed by Wattimena in a gruelling contest.
Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen also returned to competitive action in Leicester, although the pair were condemned to round one exits against Cam Crabtree and Nick Kenny respectively.
Nathan Aspinall was another high-profile name in action, and the Stockport star struck perfection during his opening round tie against Thibault Tricole, before succumbing to Mansell in round three.
The PDC ProTour season continues with Players Championship 28 on Wednesday, as the race to qualify for the BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix and Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals intensifies.
Coverage from four boards in Wednesday’s event will be streamed on PDCTV and across bookmakers’ websites worldwide, with German commentary also available on Stream One.
Images: PDC
