Rising Dutch star Wessel Nijman claimed his second career Pro Tour title yesterday, dispatching Damon Heta 8-3 with an impressive ton-plus average performance.
To be fair, the Aussie wasn’t exactly chucking bricks – he ended north of a ton himself – but after the early exchanges it was the 25-year-old from Uitgeest (place in Holland) who shifted gears and never looked back.
Nijman looked sharp from the off, scoring heavily to brush aside Tom Bissell. Next up came a below-par Marvin van Velzen, followed by poor Andy Baertens, who got bageled out of Leicester without so much as a whimper. To be fair, he was far from the worst Belgian on show during the week.
Cameron Menzies gave Wessel more of a contest, bowing out 6-4 with credit intact, before Nijman comfortably dealt with Premier League man Chris Dobey in a well-fought scrap. One away from the final, he turned over Tuesday’s winner Ryan Searle, handing Heavy Metal the same matching defeat as Mr Hollywood – dropping just two legs in each. When you’re brushing off those names with that kind of ease, you know you’re doing something right.
Then came the final: Nijman versus Australia’s finest, Damon Heta. The Heat had happy memories last time out in Leicester, having won a Players Championship there a few months earlier. Naturally, he fancied doing the same again. Not so long ago, the Australian could have enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in his own bed after a Pro Tour in this particular venue, back when he and Dimitri van den Bergh shared a place in the East Midlands. Domestic bliss, tungsten style. But he’s bagged enough this year in his former city of dwelling to probably care.
Heta, who was chasing a season hat-trick after Rosmalen glory in April, started well. He kicked off his afternoon by knocking out Lukas Wenig, Thibault Tricole and Cam Crabtree to win his board (no, he didn’t get to keep it – just means last sixteen). From there, he beat Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3, which must have been awkward given they usually sit together at Pro Tours, before sending Rob Owen the same way. A last-four ding-dong with Wesley Plaisier went the full distance, but Damo held firm and marched into the final.
Quick detour: Plaisier himself was a big mover in the rankings after a solid week, now sitting pretty in a Minehead spot. Mickey Mansell (pictured) also gave himself a timely boost with a quarter-final run that could be enough to sneak him in. So, in a place we’ve had snow before, a November cyclone might just be on the way.
Anyway, back to the main event. Half a dozen legs in, Nijman and Heta were deadlocked, hinting we might be in for a thriller. But Nijman flicked the switch, found the turbo, and rattled off five straight to race past the line at supersonic pace. He even flirted with perfection, missing double 12 for the nine-darter by a whisker in the penultimate leg. Response … shrugged, cleaned it up next dart, and a couple of minutes later sealed the title.
We’re now down to just four floor tournaments before the Players Championship line-up for Minehead is locked in. All of them will be in Wigan – just down the road from a certain Luke Littler, who, bafflingly, isn’t even in the qualifying spots yet.
Wouldn’t it be typical if he just popped over from Warrington, won the first one, then spent the rest of the time hammering FIFA instead of bothering with the other three? That’s where my £1 bet is going.
Next stop: across the other side of the Mattioli Arena and the small matter of the World Grand Prix.
Quarter-Finals
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Chris Dobey
Ryan Searle 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Damon Heta 6-3 Rob Owen
Wesley Plaisier 6-5 Bradley Brooks
Semi-Finals
Wessel Nijman 7-2 Ryan Searle
Damon Heta 7-6 Wesley Plaisier
Final
Wessel Nijman 8-3 Damon Heta
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
