The Machine Gun Jermaine Wattimena claimed only his second career PDC title this afternoon in Wigan, defeating Nathan Aspinall 8-2 in the final on a day the Manchester United fan was knocking in 9-darters more frequently than his football team tend to score goals.
The win for Wattimena comes just weeks after finally breaking his duck across the water in Germany. It’s that old London buses cliché – you wait years for one, then two come along at once. That was certainly the case for the Dutchman, who had to dig deep and turn around a 5-3 deficit against compatriot Christian Kist to get through the opening hurdle.
From that point on, the 37-year-old hit full throttle, firing in a trio of consecutive ton-plus averages to see off Madars Razma, Niko Springer, and Martin Schindler. After his double German conquest, it was back to eliminating fellow countrymen – and doing so in devastating fashion. Chris Landman managed to pinch just one leg, before a shell-shocked Niels Zonneveld failed to register any in a semi-final that lasted about as long as an ice cube in the desert.
Coming through from the other side of the draw was Nathan Aspinall, who earlier in the day announced he would be parting ways with his management company, ZXF Sports, at the end of the year. And almost as a nod of respect to owner Martin Foulds, The Asp fired in not one, but two nine-darters – with Steve Lennon and Lukas Wenig on the receiving end.
The Stockport slinger was in sublime form all day. In the quarter-finals, he edged the decorated James Wade in a high-quality encounter – as you’d expect – before seeing off Stephen Bunting, who usually pops up in the business end of these events, and more often than not, the final. Not this time though, as Asp rallied to a 7-3 victory.
So, onto the final: Wattimena versus Aspinall, with the Englishman starting as the slight favourite. However, it quickly became clear that the Dutchman was determined to add to his Hildesheim title from the end of July.
And that’s exactly what he did – producing a dominant display and another ton-plus average to deservedly take today’s honours.
Players Championship 31 – Wigan, UK
Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 James Wade
Niels Zonnerveld 6-2 Joe Hunt
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Chris Landman
Semi-Finals
Nathan Aspinall 7-3 Stephen Bunting
Jermaine Wattimena 7-0 Niels Zonnerveld
Final
Jermaine Wattimena 8-2 Nathan Aspinall
—–Ends—–
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