PDC Players Championship 14 Round-up | Wessel Nijman seals fifth Players Championship title of the year after taking down Max Hopp

Wessel Nijman is a man on fire. He wins his fifth ProTour title in 2026 at Players Championship 14 against the rejuvenated Max Hopp 8-1 at Halle 39.

It is the first time in a decade where someone has won five floor titles in a single season, going back to Michael van Gerwen in 2016. The fact that we are not even at the halfway stage shows how good the 25-year-old has been in recent times. He was dominant in the final against Hopp, averaging 104.62 with some incredible and eye-catching checkouts to seal more glory.

Nijman’s form in 2026 is just ridiculous. He has reached the quarterfinal in eight of the 12 Players Championship events he has competed this year, with six of them ending in finals, including today. He began his day with a comfortable 6-2 win over Daniel Klose. He had no issue dealing with fellow countryman Jurjen Van der Velde in a 6-1 trouncing.

Niall Culleton was then dealt with in a 6-3 scoreline before a very dangerous Joe Cullen was kept at arm’s length. He defeated the former Masters champion 6-4 before mustering up a second consecutive 102 average enroute to demolishing Krzysztof Ratajski 6-1. A tough task against Danny Noppert in the semi-finals was diverted with ease. He thrashed the world number nine 7-2 to reach yet another final.

While reaching finals seemed routine for Nijman, it was a completely different kettle of fish for Hopp. For the first time since 2019, he could call himself a Players Championship finalist, living up to the hype many in Germany placed on his shoulders as a youngster. He only played three legs against Christian Kist before the former world champion called it a day.

Lewis Pride and Damon Heta were dumped out with 6-4 scorelines. The Aussie had averaged over 110 in the match before, but his level dropped dramatically as Hopp pounced. The German then ended the run of 2018 world champion Rob Cross with a 6-2 scoreline. He dropped one more leg in the quarterfinal, taking down Joe Hunt 6-3 ahead of securing a spot in the final as Tom Bissell was dealt with 7-3.

It was a first meeting between the pair, and there was a lot on the line. Nijman missed double 16 to hold, allowing Hopp a chance to break on a tantalising 61. He busted his score after dragging the dart into double eight, and Nijman punished him. He would compound that with a break on double seven, taking out 88 with Hopp left stranded on tops.

He streaked away and added another buffer to his lead. Hopp had a chance to close the gap but wired double 14 for a 96 checkout. Nijman then pinned tops and was already at the halfway stage in this final.

Hopp had a chance to break, again at double 14 for a 121 checkout. He missed inside once more and Nijman utilised the bull for an 84 outshot. The former European Championship semi-finalist was getting blown away, and there was nothing he could do about it.

After taking out 140, Nijman was averaging 110. Hopp prevented the whitewash a leg later on tops in an off-leg for Nijman. It was also a break of throw, giving him a very small lifeline in this final. This was almost instantly extinguished. Nijman scored 165 to leave him double eight which he pinned. He came back a leg later to nail that same target for more success on the floor.

Being in Hildesheim, it was an obvious tournament for many of the top players in the world to skip. Luke Littler, Luke Humphires, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock, Stephen Bunting, Ryan Searle and Nathan Aspinall were all not involved. For the world number one, he remains last in the race to Minehead as he is yet to enter the fray on the floor.

Three top 10 players were in action. It was disappointing third round exits for van Gerwen and Damon Heta. The latter averaged over 110 in the second round before an abject display saw him exit the competition. Number two seed Chris Dobey fell a round earlier, with the finalist from PC13, Kevin Doets and Luke Woodhouse, failing to make it past the first hurdle.

In the race to the World Matchplay, Cameron Menzies is 16th in the ProTour Order of Merit despite not competing. Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith, Kim Huybrechts, Sebastian Bialecki and Mike De Decker all departed in the early rounds. Rob Cross gained some ground but a last-16 defeat halted his progress. Beau Greaves could only manage a second round run with Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld continuing to struggle.