DISCUSSION | Players Championship 15 & 16: Van Gerwen returns to winners' circle but is it just a one-off?

Michael van Gerwen and Andrew Gilding triumphed during the latest set of Players Championship tournaments (15 and 16 played in Leicester this past Tuesday and Wednesday).

Van Gerwen won his first ProTour title since around October 2024, while for Gilding it was his first ever on the ProTour. Pretty remarkable for a former major champion, but a duo that were popular winners.

But is it just a flash in the pan for MVG as he went out the day after to Joe Hunt, the Challenge Tour leader but for the Green Machine it is those peaks and troughs as he navigates trying to stay at the top of the sport. Or can he now build on this?

While for Gilding, it is long-awaited, and is this also the start of something for Goldfinger? While the standard has also been debated with incredibly high averages, including MVG's 122, with also standout runs from Stephen Bunting and Niko Springer under the microscope. As the big names continue not to bother with ranking action, are they needed at the top table with the standard as high as it is?

Where to start but a certain Michael van Gerwen. The Dutch juggernaut produced a well needed return to title contention in the latest double header but at what cost?

Van Gerwen produced one of his best sustained spells of brilliance since he started to fade and wasn't the power at the top of the game that he once was. MVG has long said that he doesn't particularly care about the Premier League and that ranking action is his main concern. This of course due to the fact that he is looming in terms of a ranking drop and that he will look to stem the tide. He has missed out on Minehead before though and so this helps his cause with that.

But he then went out the day after, albeit to a quality operator in Joe Hunt, who has dominated the Challenge Tour rankings. The issue is, though, that MVG isn't able to add that sustained form; it is very much a crazy day as we saw with the 122 average, then we go back to a pretty poor loss straight away. Get a hold of that, and he will be fine, but that is the issue right now is that it is very high highs and very low lows.

But then you get Andrew Gilding who just won't go away. He won the UK Open out of nowhere when the establishment favourites lost out and he has also done so here for a nice milestone.

A player who in reality has shined against what the conventions of a dart player is and also good to see a winner that isn't Wessel Nijman or Chris Dobey as despite them being superb, the ProTour has become their show in the absence of big names.

To end, another point on the big names skipping. Over 16 again decided against playing; it is getting a bit of a farce now, and the PDC does need to step in, in my opinion. Especially when players play exhibitions over these events, and either the solution is to give them back-door entry if you want them at the year-end finals, or you make it mandatory. A tennis system might be needed.

There is only one place to start: Michael van Gerwen. It is astonishing that someone with as much calibre and quality as him has not clinched a Players Championship title in almost two years. This proved to be costly last year as he missed out on competing in Minehead, but on Tuesday he was a man on a mission. That 122.34 is an average that will be talked about for years. The fact that Martin Schindler averaged over 108 and did not even get a dart at double is mind-blowing.

The question does and always will remain over van Gerwen: Is this just a one-off? There have been times when he has shown his best darts over the past couple of years, teasing fans with a couple of Euro Tour titles and the World Series of Darts triumph last year. None of them has he kicked on from. With a playoff spot in the Premier League Darts not guaranteed yet, he needs to replicate his form in Leicester on the big stage if he is going to return to his best and not make another brilliant day of darts a red herring.

Fellow Premier League player Stephen Bunting has also not been at his imperious best. Noted for his tremendous consistency on the floor, his form has slowed down since reaching the final in the third event. Ahead of the most recent events, he has failed to get past the fourth round stage in seven tournaments competed in. However, a semi-final in PC 15 backed up with a quarter-final the next day is a resounding return to form.

In PC16, his tournament ended to the hands of Niko Springer. A familiar name in the world of darts, but not on the floor. In his first 49 Players Championship events, he has never made it past the fourth round. The 50th event saw the German break new ground with a semi-final run. Known for his displays on the big stage, he has struggled to adapt to the floor. It has massively boosted his chances of debuting in Minehead after withdrawing from last year, giving him some leeway is his poor form on the floor continues. Nevertheless, this could be a turning point for the 25-year-old.

Finally, Andrew Gilding winning a second PDC title should get some recognition. Having only had the UK Open to his name, ‘Goldfinger’ had a very strange CV. No PC titles, no Euro Tour titles but a major triumph. His drought on the floor is no longer. He was second favourite against the inform Jonny Clayton in the final, but a 99 average was plenty enough in a clinical display which saw Gilding get back in the winning enclosure. With a World Matchplay quarter-final to defend, it is a timely return to form for Gilding who has cemented his spot in Blackpool in July.

It took a while, but Michael van Gerwen has finally claimed his first ranking title of the season. Over the past few weeks there had already been glimpses of his very best form again, but the inconsistency was still preventing him from seriously challenging for titles. At Players Championship 15, however, all the pieces of the puzzle finally came together, highlighted by his astonishing 122.34 average in the semi-final against Martin Schindler.

Van Gerwen then went on to defeat Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-5 in an all-Dutch final, with ‘Aubergenius’ himself also badly needing a deep run after a difficult spell on the ProTour.

Just one day later though, Van Gerwen suffered a surprise defeat to Joe Hunt, a player without a PDC Tour Card. In many ways, that probably still fits the inconsistent pattern surrounding ‘Mighty Mike’ at this stage of the season.

On the second day, the title went to Andrew Gilding, who even seemed slightly surprised by his own triumph. ‘Goldfinger’ had of course already produced one of the great shocks in recent darts history by winning the UK Open in 2023, but a ProTour title was still missing from his résumé.

That gap has now been filled, meaning Gilding is set to appear at pretty much every major televised event in 2026. And that is certainly no bad thing, because cult figures are always a welcome addition to the darts circuit.

After weeks of sporting disappointment, this Players Championship block was arguably the highlight of the German darts season so far. Even if the overall depth of results is still lacking, it was the performances and results at the very top end that impressed in Leicester.

Leading this sporting resurgence was Martin Schindler, who at Players Championship 15 produced his first truly elite-level performances of the season. After two strong opening victories, Germany’s number one made a real statement in the board final with a 6–2 win and a stunning 113.79 average against Darius Labanauskas. Even more impressive to me personally was Schindler’s display against floor dominator Wessel Nijman, where he handled the Dutchman’s relentless pressure with remarkable composure and advanced to the quarter-finals with another 105 average. Schindler eventually progressed to the semi-finals, where he absurdly lost 0–7 to Michael van Gerwen despite averaging 108.

At Players Championship 16 on Wednesday, German darts had another standout result to celebrate. Niko Springer, who had already warmed up the previous day with a 112 average in the opening round, stormed into the semi-finals with a series of impressive performances before narrowly losing to Jonny Clayton in a deciding leg. Gabriel Clemens, who reached the quarter-finals, also finally rediscovered the level that had marked his strong start to the season.

Despite all of that, the headlines of the Pro Tour week naturally belonged to Michael van Gerwen. His first floor title in 19 months, a staggering 122.34 average, and a combined average of over 108 across the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. This was the best Michael van Gerwen we have seen in a very long time — the only question now is whether this title will allow us to see this version of “Mighty Mike” more regularly again in the future.

A share of the headlines also rightfully went to “Goldfinger” Andrew Gilding, who finally captured his first Players Championship title after an incredible 442 tournament appearances. At 55 years of age, Gilding somehow seems to be getting better and better — and now finds himself in an excellent position across all rankings and qualification races for the remainder of the season.

Finally, I found it remarkable just how extraordinarily high the standard of play was at Players Championship 15. With an overall tournament average of more than 93 and 45 averages over 100, it was one of the strongest floor tournaments in recent memory. And that was despite large parts of the world’s elite withdrawing from the event. Thankfully, darts is not played on paper.

Two fantastic Players Championship days are over, and once again we got two new winners. Michael van Gerwen showed his old self at PC15 and was simply unstoppable towards the end of the tournament. The Dutchman produced a fantastic day and entertained throughout, especially in the semi-finals with a stunning 122 average. Goodness me…

The second title went to Andrew Gilding, FINALLY! It always felt unbelievable that a player like Andrew Gilding had never won a Pro Tour title before, but now the curse has finally been broken. Over the last few weeks he had already shown clear improvements in form, and this time he produced exactly the performances he needed.

From a German perspective, it was a very successful weekend: two semi-finals and one quarter-final. Martin Schindler’s first day was simply out of this world. He completely dismantled his opponents with averages of 97, 99, 113, 106 and 97. Then came Michael van Gerwen. If you average 108 and only get two darts at a double, you simply did nothing wrong. On the second day he then lost despite averaging 95. Keep going like this, Schindler!

Niko Springer is also getting better and better. On the second day he reached the semi-finals before narrowly losing to Jonny Clayton in a deciding leg. On the first day he had already reached the board final, where Joe Cullen produced a 107 average against him. His opening match featured a brilliant 112 average, while on Wednesday it was perhaps less spectacular but still consistently strong from Springer.

Gabriel Clemens delivered a similar performance on Wednesday, although he seemed to run out of steam towards the end. Still, it was an important run for Clemens. On day one he lost in the first round to Stephen Bunting, despite averaging 107 himself. Maybe his luck in matches will soon return.

There are still concerns surrounding Ricardo Pietreczko. With averages of 76 and 66, he once again failed to produce convincing performances. The World Cup decision remains in his hands, and it seems he will wait until the very last moment before making a final call.