113+ average! Wessel Nijman shows his class again at Players Championship 11
PDCTuesday, 28 April 2026 at 11:00
The spotlight at the Players Championship 11 was firmly on Beau Greaves, who became the first woman ever to win a PDC ranking title. In the shadow of the 22-year-old Englishwoman, however, Wessel Nijman once again showcased his class.
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With four titles in 2026, Nijman already stands out as the season’s best Pro Tour player, and on Monday he underlined exactly why he tops the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
After the Dutchman won his opening two matches against Jeffrey de Zwaan (6-3) and Connor Scutt (6-4), he cut loose versus Tom Sykes, powering to a 6-2 victory with a towering 113.37 average.
Nijman fired an 11-darter in the opening leg, and after Sykes levelled, the European Darts Trophy champion went into overdrive. With another 11-darter and three further legs won in five visits, Nijman surged into a 5-1 lead. Sykes took leg seven before Nijman sealed it with his third 11-darter of the match.
Following Nijman’s example, Gary Anderson was the only other player to break the 110 average barrier. The Flying Scotsman produced a 110.55 average in his fourth match against Alexander Merkx. In that contest, Anderson also threw a nine-darter in the opening leg, briefly pushing his average to 167 after one leg.
The last eight brought Anderson and Nijman head-to-head. Anderson won 6-3 with a 108.10 average, the third-highest mark of the day. Nijman replied with a 105.57 average.
Behind Nijman and Anderson, the likes of Jermaine Wattimena (107.64), Krzysztof Ratajski (107.63), Jeffrey de Graaf (106.99), Justin Hood (106.38), and Cristo Reyes (106.29) also impressed with strong numbers.
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William O’Connor likewise stood out with consistently high standards. The Irishman posted successive averages of 105.02, 105.89, 106.19, and another 106.19 to reach the quarterfinals of the eleventh Players Championship event.
Champion Beau Greaves recorded two ton-plus averages during her title run. Her best display came in the semifinal against Gary Anderson, where Greaves prevailed 7-1 with a 105.56 average. The three-time Lakeside champion also averaged 102.56 in her quarterfinal against Rob Cross (6-5).
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
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- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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