DISCUSSION | Players Championship 11 & 12 - Is a major title now imminent for history maker Beau Greaves? Encouraging signs for Michael Smith?

The latest Players Championship double header gleamed an all too familiar feeling but also a new one as again Wessel Nijman sealed a title, his fourth of the year while Beau Greaves registered her first title success.

A story that due to it making history as a result touched all over the world, she continues to break down gender stereotypes and became a ProTour champion at just age 22. But is the sky now the limit?

Also for Wessel Nijman, a player who continues to prove himself as one of the best in the world. Michael Smith also showed real encouraging signs when it came to this past week reaching a final before losing to Greaves.

While in the second tournament, Nijman showed that it is an evergreen summer also for Dutch Darts with three out of the four semi-finalists being from the nation and not MVG or Van Veen. In fact it was Nijman, Wattimena and Kevin Doets who are all emerging from the shadows into the light. A lot to discuss from Greaves to Nijman to Michael Smith.

The latest Players Championship double header very much set the standard when it came to what we have expected so far this year with big names deciding to play this week such as Humphries, Van Veen, Bunting and Rock.

But it was not only a familiar set of names that really rose to the fore but a new story in Beau Greaves who has not even qualified for a European Tour yet in her debut year but in fact is now a champion on the ProTour much to the shock of herself even.

Greaves famously said that she didn't think that the women could compete with Littler, Van Gerwen, Humphries among others when she was at the Women's World Matchplay but since then and after gaining new confidence, she will well and truly believe that she can in fact do so.

But what is next? Is a major title too much of a talking point too soon for Greaves or is the sky the limit? I think expectations do need to be tempered somewhat in that she hasn't as was mentioned not even qualified for a European Tour yet but we can certainly dare to dream when it comes to her future progression and what it could mean.

So in that regard, she has a ceiling that could see her join the biggest names in the sport. The same can be said though for Wessel Nijman who perhaps was the forgotten man in all of this. He managed to seal yet another title this past week and is now on four for the year. He is dominating the rankings and is very much the kind of player where he will be a high seed for many tournaments when he gets past being ranked 16th which would put him in direct firing line for Luke Littler.

Of course he still needs to do it on TV but he is doing everything right in general so it is very much a matter of time in that regard.

Two more Players Championship events have given us a lot more to ponder on. The main topic on the tip of the tongues of every dart fan, and even some non-darts fans, is Beau Greaves triumphant run in PC 11. Not just the fact she won, but the way she won the title needs to be divulged. Defeating multiple world champions from Rob Cross to a Gary Anderson who had previously hit a nine-darter amid averaging 110 and 108 in his last two games. In the final, to keep that composure when on the receiving end of a fightback from Michael Smith was something.

The fashion that 142 was taken out in was exceptional, not being fazed by the moment. Luke Littler vibes came from that moment, a truly special honour for someone who will make their own way in this sport. There is a very good chance that this will not be the last record broken by Greaves. Euro Tour title? Major title?

The 2023 champion also deserves to get a mention. While nowhere near his best, he still found a way to grind out numerous tight matches to make it this far. It is not vintage ‘Bully Boy’, but it is very promising. Most significantly, he has put himself back in the race for the World Matchplay. Albeit a tricky task with a £10,000 gap to 16th place Damon Heta, the fact that he has given himself a chance is significant and a step in the right direction.

Onto PC 12, and I am going to divert may attention away from Wessel Nijman due to the overwhelming attention he has already received thanks to his consistent brilliance on the oche. Another Dutchman in the form of Jermaine Wattimena intrigues me. While not enjoying a great 2026, there are still signs that the 2024 European Championship finalist is still a very capable player who should be met with the upmost caution.

As for Anderson, he may have left Milton Keynes with no title or even a final, but the performances were out of this world. Along with the forementioned 110 and 108 averages, he averaged over 105 on four separate occasions. He is very much still a capable darts player and, on his day, up there with the elite still, and these last two days are evidence of that argument.

Two of the 34 Players Championship events were played earlier this week. While these tournaments might normally pass by with little attention, that was certainly not the case this time. On Monday, history was made by Beau Greaves. The 22-year-old Englishwoman, who only began competing full-time on the Pro Tour at the start of this year, became the first woman ever to win a Players Championship event.

Anyone predicting five or ten years ago that a woman could achieve this in a field full of professional male players would likely have been dismissed as unrealistic. Yet Greaves has proven otherwise and continues to establish herself as a true pioneer in women’s darts. The question now is where the limits lie for “Beau ‘n Arrow.” Who would still dare to claim she cannot win a major tournament? One thing is certain: no one was eager to draw her before, but now she will be a player everyone wants to avoid in the draw.

Another standout performance came from Wessel Nijman. The 25-year-old Dutchman has been the man of the early season. With four Players Championship titles and an additional European Tour victory, his rise has become impossible to ignore. The focus now shifts to the World Matchplay, the next major tournament, where Nijman has the opportunity to establish himself as one of the absolute top players on the big televised stage as well.

The story of this Players Championship week undoubtedly belongs to Beau Greaves. Not only because she became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title — but also because of the way she did it. A 142 checkout to seal the title in a deciding leg, while her opponent was waiting on his favourite double. That is the kind of material true champions are made of.

In my view, it is still too early to fully assess just how significant this moment really is. But hopefully, in many years — perhaps even decades — we will look back at the 11th Players Championship event of the 2026 season and talk about it as the beginning of something truly special. The fact that, in darts — traditionally such a male-dominated sport — we may be on the verge of seeing a woman compete at the very top level is probably the storyline that currently puts the biggest smile on my face.

Another player who is set to shape the future of the sport’s elite in the years to come is Wessel Nijman. Five titles in just four months — all in only his third year as a Tour Card holder. Among everything that already makes Nijman a world-class player, what excites me most is the development potential he still possesses: whether due to his relatively limited experience, his young age, or his performances on the biggest televised stages.

Finally, a look at German darts: Max Hopp is currently the best German darts player — a claim that would have sounded absurd two years ago, or even just one year ago, but is now difficult to dispute. With remarkable consistency, outstanding scoring power, and convincing performances overall, it was once again Hopp this week who carried the German flag at the Players Championship events.

With a run to the last 16 on Monday and a quarter-final appearance on Tuesday, Hopp has climbed into the Top 20 of the Players Championship Order of Merit. He is now clearly Germany’s number one in that ranking — sitting 23 places and £7,250 ahead of Gabriel Clemens. In the second year since his return to the Tour, Hopp remains firmly on track: he is very well positioned in the qualification races for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead and for the PDC World Darts Championship, putting him in an excellent position to retain his place on the Pro Tour. Max Hopp — a comeback that, in my view, is not being talked about nearly enough.

For me, the defining moment of 2026 already took place during this week’s Players Championship double-header. Beau Greaves made history by becoming the first woman ever to win a PDC title. The only way this could be surpassed this year is if she were to win another European Tour event or even a major. And why shouldn’t she?

She defeated no fewer than three former world champions – Gary Anderson, Rob Cross and Michael Smith – impressing particularly against Anderson with an average of over 105. Now that she has shown she is capable of winning tournaments of this calibre, it seems only a matter of time before she takes it a step further and adds a televised tournament to her list of achievements.

And the other man of the week is undoubtedly Wessel Nijman. The Dutchman is in sensational form and on Tuesday he claimed his fourth floor title of the year, which is a third of all tournaments played. These are unprecedented figures and if he can maintain this level at the majors, he could well find himself in the world’s top 10 by the end of the year.

Another Dutchman making a name for himself is Kevin Doets. This week, he once again reached the semi-finals on two consecutive days, putting him in an impressive third place on the Players Championship Order of Merit. He is currently just outside the world’s top 32, but if he keeps this up, he will break into it this year.

Many darts followers had already tipped Beau Greaves to win a floor title this year. To be honest, I had my doubts about that prediction, mainly because the pressure on the ProTour is significantly higher than on the Women’s Series, where Greaves can often play with far more freedom due to the lack of consistent top-level opposition. She emphatically proved otherwise on Monday by winning Players Championship 11, posting a superb tournament average of 98.13 in the process.

By doing so, the 22-year-old Englishwoman became the first female player ever to win a PDC ranking title, creating a historic moment in the sport. Even more impressively, her route to the title was anything but straightforward. Greaves defeated three former world champions in succession, overcoming Rob Cross, Gary Anderson and Michael Smith to lift the trophy.

That title has already guaranteed Greaves a place at the Players Championship Finals and the PDC World Darts Championship, while it will likely also secure qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts through that route. The television stage will now offer her the ideal platform to show how much her game has progressed. Alongside that, one obvious target will be to qualify for a European Tour event, something she has yet to achieve after missing out on the first eight of the fifteen events this season.

There were also encouraging signs from Smith, the former wonderkid and 2023 world champion. The Englishman has struggled with injuries over the last few years and currently hovers around the world’s top 32, which is clearly too low for a player of his calibre. His run to the final at Players Championship 11 has firmly placed ‘Bully Boy’ back in the race for qualification to the World Grand Prix, while he can still retain outside hopes of making the World Matchplay.

Tuesday’s event was won by Wessel Nijman, who could realistically reach double figures for ProTour titles this year. He has already collected four Players Championship crowns and one European Tour title after just 17 of the 49 ProTour events on the calendar. Nijman now sits comfortably clear at the top of both the ProTour rankings and the Players Championship Order of Merit. If he can translate his floor form onto the televised stage, Dutch darts may well have another genuine world-class contender on its hands.