Krzysztof Ratajski fires himself into World Matchplay contention, first title in over two years at Players Championship 15
PDC
Krzysztof Ratajski has put himself in position potentially suddenly for a World Matchplay spot after sealing a first ProTour title in over two years. He saw off Dave Chisnall 8-4 in the final of Players Championship 15 in Hildesheim.
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It is an eighth Players Championship title for Ratajski who hit a 101.73 average with two 180's and a high checkout of 123. He is in that 32nd and final spot for the World Matchplay now and something to build on after a poor run.
To start proceedings, Chisnall hit double five to open up the final holding throw one year on from winning a title in the same building.
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Chisnall couldn't break throw and Ratajski hit double 16 to make it 1-1. Ratajski missed bull for 130 and a break of throw. Chisnall was looking at 82 for a hold. But he missed double 20. Ratajski got another look and pinned double eight for 2-1.
Chisnall missed bull for 86 to hit back at 2-2. Ratajski returned to hold for 3-1. Ratajski pinned 123 on the bull for another break to make it 4-1.
A 10-dart leg saw Chisnall make it 4-2 breaking back. Ratajski left double 13 in a bizarre leg of darts and he hit it for a 13-darter to make it 5-3.
Ratajski missed double 16 to hold but was way ahead and returned to seal it 6-4. Ratajski missed bull for 127 but he returned to go within a leg at 7-4. Ratajski hit 86 on the bull and let out a loud shriek showing how much it meant to him.
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Final
Krzysztof Ratajski (101.73) 8 | 4 (98.39) Dave Chisnall
Semi-Finals
Krzysztof Ratajski (96.70) 7 | 4 (91.28) Scott Williams
Dave Chisnall (97.82) 7 | 6 (97.58) Danny Noppert
Quarter-Finals
Scott Williams (101.65) 6 | 3 (94.18) Dom Taylor
Krzysztof Ratajski (96.52) 6 | 5 (102.56) Ross Smith
Dave Chisnall (104.28) 6 | 2 (88.79) Mike De Decker
Danny Noppert (103.57) 6 | 1 (99.44) Gian van Veen
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Last 16
Dom Taylor (100.63) 6 | 1 (93.73) Jermaine Wattimena
Scott Williams (100.04) 6 | 4 (94.38) Gary Anderson
Ross Smith (92.95) 6 | 2 (84.53) Ryan Joyce
Krzysztof Ratajski (102.48) 6 | 0 (94.32) Carl Sneyd
Dave Chisnall (100.14) 6 | 2 (93.18) Joe Cullen
Mike De Decker (95.64) 6 | 1 (82.42) Jeffrey De Graaf
Danny Noppert (97.77) 6 | 5 (93.63) Callan Rydz
Gian van Veen (84.28) 6 | 0 (80.32) Niels Zonneveld
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Last 32
Dom Taylor (96.70) 6 | 5 (85.35) Martin Schindler
Jermaine Wattimena (91.74) 6 | 4 (89.54) Sebastian Bialecki
Gary Anderson (107.17) 6 | 2 (96.19) Martin Lukeman
Scott Williams (90.38) 6 | 3 (86.81) Thibault Tricole
Ross Smith (99.05) 6 | 2 (97.27) William O'Connor
Ryan Joyce (94.24) 6 | 2 (88.95) Keane Barry
Krzysztof Ratajski (95.78) 6 | 5 (84.82) Jamai van den Herik
Carl Sneyd (97.69) 6 | 4 (96.91) Dirk van Duijvenbode
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Dave Chisnall (101.91) 6 | 1 (92.70) William Borland
Joe Cullen (89.35) 6 | 4 (85.66) Martijn Dragt
Jeffrey De Graaf (93.49) 6 | 5 (91.60) Justin Hood
Mike De Decker (96.87) 6 | 3 (97.54) Ricardo Pietreczko
Callan Rydz (99.80) 6 | 4 (101.04) Dominik Gruellich
Danny Noppert (96.30) 6 | 2 (89.97) Michael Smith
Gian van Veen (97.88) 6 | 1 (90.11) Darryl Pilgrim
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Niels Zonneveld (89.26) 6 | 4 (90.72) Jim Williams
Last 64
Martin Schindler (94.66) 6 | 4 (91.04) Christian Kist
Dom Taylor (92.63) 6 | 4 (88.74) Sam Spivey
Sebastian Bialecki (90.65) 6 | 3 (85.00) Raymond van Barneveld
Jermaine Wattimena (98.68) 6 | 3 (85.41) Alexander Merkx
Gary Anderson (102.15) 6 | 4 (95.45) Matthew Dennant
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Martin Lukeman (85.40) 6 | 5 (85.15) Patrick Geeraets
Scott Williams (86.04) 6 | 2 (83.23) Ted Evetts
Thibault Tricole (86.62) 6 | 5 (86.47) Kevin Doets
Ross Smith (93.12) 6 | 2 (89.66) Adam Lipscombe
William O'Connor (98.42) 6 | 3 (90.53) Owen Bates
Keane Barry (98.76) 6 | 5 (93.81) James Wade
Ryan Joyce (89.95) 6 | 2 (83.86) Tom Bissell
Jamai van den Herik (92.44) 6 | 5 (89.94) Wesley Plaisier
Krzysztof Ratajski (96.94) 6 | 2 (88.46) Jim Long
Dirk van Duijvenbode (99.77) 6 | 5 (96.35) Ian White
Carl Sneyd (89.55) 6 | 5 (86.82) Danny van Trijp
Dave Chisnall (108.16) 6 | 1 (96.91) Darius Labanauskas
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William Borland (89.49) 6 | 5 (90.82) Gabriel Clemens
Martijn Dragt (93.94) 6 | 4 (96.23) Luke Woodhouse
Joe Cullen (94.39) 6 | 3 (89.67) Nathan Girvan
Jeffrey De Graaf (94.39) 6 | 4 (96.49) Ryan Searle
Justin Hood (101.10) 6 | 1 (95.54) Niko Springer
Mike De Decker (104.31) 6 | 1 (93.13) Kim Huybrechts
Ricardo Pietreczko (90.74) 6 | 5 (87.81) Darren Beveridge
Dominik Gruellich (95.29) 6 | 4 (88.67) George Killington
Callan Rydz (91.09) 6 | 0 (81.29) Jelle Klaasen
Danny Noppert (95.12) 6 | 4 (95.42) Maik Kuivenhoven
Michael Smith (104.01) 6 | 2 (92.81) Adam Hunt
Gian van Veen (91.32) 6 | 2 (86.40) Stephen Burton
Darryl Pilgrim (93.68) 6 | 3 (86.65) Alan Soutar
Jim Williams (91.80) 6 | 3 (84.58) Max Hopp
Niels Zonneveld (101.88) 6 | 5 (99.85) Nick Kenny
Last 128
Martin Schindler (88.22) 6 | 5 (85.49) Richard Veenstra
Christian Kist (92.58) 6 | 1 (90.57) Brendan Dolan
Dom Taylor (92.65) 6 | 3 (94.82) Mensur Suljovic
Sam Spivey (85.54) 6 | 2 (76.76) Andreas Harrysson
Raymond van Barneveld (100.57) 6 | 3 (88.79) Robert Grundy
Sebastian Bialecki (87.50) 6 | 3 (84.63) Benjamin Reus
Jermaine Wattimena (94.60) 6 | 3 (88.96) Pero Ljubic
Alexander Merkx (87.89) 6 | 2 (86.93) Oskar Lukasiak
Gary Anderson (101.30) 6 | 2 (96.89) Rob Owen
Matthew Dennant (89.30) 6 | 3 (84.87) Viktor Tingstrom
Martin Lukeman (99.90) 6 | 5 (98.98) Graham Hall
Patrick Geeraets (96.74) 6 | 1 (88.83) Stefaan Henderyck
Ted Evetts (93.58) 6 | 5 (98.74) Wessel Nijman
Scott Williams (100.60) 6 | 3 (97.35) Matt Campbell
Kevin Doets (104.86) 6 | 0 (88.64) Maximilian Czerwinski
Thibault Tricole (84.18) 6 | 2 (82.85) Florian Hempel
Ross Smith (96.86) 6 | 1 (89.51) Connor Scutt
Adam Lipscombe (87.24) 6 | 3 (83.56) Mario Vandenbogaerde
William O'Connor (91.23) 6 | 1 (73.51) Joshua Richardson
Owen Bates (103.02) 6 | 3 (92.11) Jack Tweddell
James Wade (108.62) 6 | 4 (105.91) Ryan Meikle
Keane Barry (78.71) 6 | 2 (78.23) Graham Usher
Ryan Joyce (90.00) 6 | 5 (86.03) Michele Turetta
Tom Bissell (90.18) 6 | 5 (88.89) Ricky Evans
Jamai van den Herik (93.12) 6 | 3 (94.32) Damon Heta
Wesley Plaisier (91.39) 6 | 4 (88.46) Chris Landman
Krzysztof Ratajski (91.34) 6 | 3 (89.79) Dylan Slevin
Jim Long (90.76) 6 | 2 (86.57) Karel Sedlacek
Dirk van Duijvenbode (95.96) 6 | 4 (94.46) Jose De Sousa
Ian White (90.81) 6 | 4 (88.74) Adam Warner
Carl Sneyd (83.74) 6 | 5 (80.43) Ritchie Edhouse
Danny van Trijp (93.28) 6 | 1 (87.84) Brett Claydon
Dave Chisnall (92.92) 6 | 3 (90.13) Berry van Peer
Darius Labanauskas (80.61) 6 | 3 (74.85) Leon Weber
Gabriel Clemens (94.39) 6 | 5 (99.80) Bradley Brooks
William Borland (91.66) 6 | 2 (80.77) Lukas Wenig
Luke Woodhouse (92.86) 6 | 2 (78.52) Adam Paxton
Martijn Dragt (91.80) 6 | 1 (87.53) Kai Gotthardt
Joe Cullen (93.40) 6 | 3 (83.89) Dennie Olde Kalter
Nathan Girvan (94.93) 6 | 2 (89.55) Rhys Griffin
Ryan Searle (87.89) 6 | 2 (87.63) Greg Ritchie
Jeffrey De Graaf (88.39) 6 | 4 (91.59) Mickey Mansell
Niko Springer (98.95) 6 | 2 (99.95) Madars Razma
Justin Hood (96.42) 6 | 1 (94.31) Andy Boulton
Mike De Decker (97.93) 6 | 4 (89.19) Danny Lauby
Kim Huybrechts (80.67) 6 | 3 (82.45) Tavis Dudeney
Ricardo Pietreczko (97.70) 6 | 2 (89.48) Dragutin Horvat
Darren Beveridge (85.61) 6 | 5 (84.61) Cor Dekker
Dominik Gruellich (93.94) 6 | 5 (96.55) Michael van Gerwen
George Killington (91.80) 6 | 3 (88.77) Tytus Kanik
Callan Rydz (102.21) 6 | 3 (93.19) James Hurrell
Jelle Klaasen (93.53) 6 | 3 (101.33) Cam Crabtree
Danny Noppert (106.72) 6 | 2 (94.73) Kevin Burness
Maik Kuivenhoven (85.08) 6 | 4 (79.49) Radek Szaganski
Michael Smith (100.52) 6 | 5 (94.14) Jitse Van der Wal
Adam Hunt (95.43) 6 | 3 (91.80) Jurjen van der Velde
Gian van Veen (107.41) 6 | 3 (98.79) Nathan Rafferty
Stephen Burton (84.58) 6 | 4 (87.57) Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Alan Soutar (87.81) 6 | 2 (79.03) Stefan Bellmont
Darryl Pilgrim (87.72) 6 | 1 (87.87) Marvin van Velzen
Jim Williams (94.57) 6 | 4 (92.82) Peter Wright
Max Hopp (85.28) 6 | 5 (84.02) Thomas Lovely
Niels Zonneveld (93.22) 6 | 3 (89.37) Steve Lennon
Nick Kenny (91.62) 6 | 5 (91.59) Andy Baetens

Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026







