“I went on holiday to Greece with my girlfriend, so I didn't touch a dart in ten days” – Novelty of winning not worn off yet as Wessel Nijman shakes off rust in style

Wessel Nijman is again a ProTour champion. He won Players Championship 21 after a very nervy and edgy final against Ryan Searle went his way 8-6. It is his sixth floor title in 2026 and was the first time he picked up a dart in 10 days after going on holiday.

The break must have done him the whole load of good. A whopping six events it had been since the last time he tasted glory. For Nijman, that is some drought when you look at his form in 2026. He won five of the first 14 floor events, despite not competing in two of them, and has added a ninth Players Championship title overall following another triumphant day out in Wigan.

He was not at his best throughout the day, but he was winning, which was the main thing and something the Dutchman has recently gotten accustomed to. Wins over Kevin Doets and Beau Greaves late on set him up with a clash against Ryan Searle. The odds were very much in his favour when you look at the head-to-head. Before the contest, all seven matchups went the way of Nijman. When the final had culminated, it was eight.

This could have been different. Searle broke the throw numerous times but every single time Nijman instantly responded. All he needed to do was hold and another title would be coming his way. ‘Heavy Metal’ missed crucial darts on the outer ring late on and spurned the chance of finally breaking his duct against Nijman.

Double 18 was the double which was pinned to confirm the victory. Nijman has enjoyed more comfortable finals. Averaging 96.56, it was not a bad performance but those moments at the end of legs made it for stressful watching.

In his interview afterwards, he admitted that not once he felt in control. “To be honest, not really,” he said. “You saw it was break after break after break. Sometimes when I broke him, I thought to myself, "Okay, it's my own leg now, and then I'm in control." But obviously he kept breaking me back, and that's tough to manage.”

Nijman may not have enjoyed it, but it was certainly a brilliant match to view, and he knew so. “In the end, though, I thought it was a really good match to watch.”

Today was the day where that imperious head-to-head record could have been altered. The PDC World Darts Championship semi-finalist somehow still cannot shake off Nijman despite all his efforts.

“I think I've won all of my matches against Ryan Searle up until now, but this one was probably one of the closest games I've played against him,” Nijman acknowledged. “He's just a really tough opponent.”

Some players do not want to know the head-to-head records before matches or even just do not pay much attention to it. They only focus on the task at hand, not has cropped up in the past. This was firmly in Nijman’s head, but it was most certainly not an advantage in his opinion.

“I wouldn't say it gives me an edge before the game, but it's always in your head,” he stated. “For example, I know I've got a negative head-to-head record against Jonny Clayton. I knew he was playing Ryan Searle in the semi-finals, and I thought to myself, ‘Okay, if Ryan wins that one, then the odds might be more in my favour.’”

One thing is for certain, winning all these tournaments is still a special feeling with the novelty not worn off. “No, it's never getting boring, I'm telling you that!”

In true Luke Littler fashion, Nijman had been reluctant of pursuing any time on the oche in favour of going on holiday with his girlfriend in Greece. He had deserved some time away with a gap opening in the darting calendar.

Now back to business, he was slightly rusty after not playing darts for a period of time and was most certainly not expecting the result he got.

“I came into this tournament without any expectations, to be honest, because I hadn't thrown a single dart in ten days. I went on holiday to Greece with my girlfriend, so I didn't touch a dart. I thought to myself, ‘Okay, no expectations at all.’ I think I might need to go to Greece more often now.”

He will make sure to be prepared for the tournaments on the horizon. The World Matchplay is soon coming up with other big TV tournaments at the end of the year also catching Nijman’s eye.

Playing the darts he is, all players will be wary when drawn against him. Most importantly, he has an eye for winning. Already with seven PDC ranking titles this year, including the European Tour title at the European Darts Trophy, he is happy to step back and let all his achievements sink in, knowing it is not common to be this successful.

“I'm very pleased with the way I'm playing right now and with the titles I've won,” he said. “I think it's probably not normal, the amount of titles I've won this year.”

The job is nowhere near done yet. Nijman will fancy himself a crack at the big titles, knowing he has what it takes to become a major champion. “But I'm always looking ahead to the next tournaments. I'm going into these TV events differently than I did before. Last year was my debut season in a lot of them, but now I'm gaining more experience, and I think that might make a difference.”

When asked if he was going to make it seven tomorrow, he kept his cards to his chest. “I'll tell you that tomorrow,” he concluded.