Sebastian Bialecki wins Players Championship 22, claims maiden senior PDC ranking title against Niels Zonneveld
PDC
In the ultimate episode of taking your chances, Sebastian Bialecki faced Niels Zonneveld in the final of Players Championship 22 with both never having won a senior PDC ranking title.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was 'Bolt' who came of age and joins Krzysztof Ratajski and also Radek Szaganski as title winners from Poland. He edged past Zonneveld who led at the end of the final but couldn't convert in a closely ran affair.
As a result it was up to Bialecki who prevailed after Zonneveld had missed darts to send it all the way. It was a tough run through for the Pole who started his day seeing off Lukas Wenig, Adam Paxton and Luke Woodhouse. But he hit 102 and 101 averages in seeing off Cameron Menzies and Gian van Veen to really stake his claim.
He then edged past one of the only big names there in Danny Noppert to set up a tie with Zonneveld who saw off Haupai Puha, Henry Coates, Joe Cullen, Wesley Plaisier, Jamai van den Herik and Cam Crabtree. So a lot easier but it was a section that was pretty open to begin with. Ross Smith, Martin Schindler and Dave Chisnall all fell early throughout the draw.
There is also no Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price among others this week. Even James Wade hasn't bothered as all but Mike de Decker out of next week's World Series line-up are taking two days off. This has led to a strange final in many ways but one that sees Bialecki become the latest new ranking winner.
Bialecki missed 57 to go 2-1 up in the final but with 101 unable to be sunk, he returned for double 10 to edge ahead. An 81 checkout saw Zonneveld make it 2-2. Bialecki hit a 47 checkout to go 3-2 up. Double 18 saw Zonneveld draw level at 3-3. Bialecki hit double two for 4-3. Zonneveld hit double 20 for 5-4 to edge ahead once more.
Zonneveld missed darts for 6-4. But he did eventually seal it to go two away. He missed darts for 7-5 and Bialecki made it 66 and suddenly had the throw again. Zonneveld couldn't pin 121 and Bialecki hit double 20 to seal the title and a maiden one at that.
ADVERTISEMENT
| Sebastian Bialecki | VS | Niels Zonneveld |
|---|---|---|
| 91.65 | Average (3 Darts) | 89.75 |
| 20 | 100+ Thrown | 14 |
| 12 | 140+ Thrown | 10 |
| 0 | 180 Thrown | 3 |
| 81 | Highest Checkout | 81 |
| 0 | Checkout 100+ | 0 |
| 41.2 | Checkout percentage | 30 |
| 7 / 17 | Checkout | 6 / 20 |
| Player 1 | Average | Score | VS | Score | Average | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals | ||||||
| Sebastian Bialecki | (91.78) | 8 | VS | 6 | (90.03) | Niels Zonneveld |
| Semi-Finals | ||||||
| Sebastian Bialecki | (92.90) | 7 | VS | 5 | (91.57) | Danny Noppert |
| Niels Zonneveld | (98.31) | 7 | VS | 5 | (95.48) | Cam Crabtree |
| Quarter-Finals | ||||||
| Danny Noppert | (85.30) | 6 | VS | 4 | (84.53) | Jimmy van Schie |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (101.00) | 6 | VS | 4 | (95.11) | Gian van Veen |
| Cam Crabtree | (99.82) | 6 | VS | 3 | (88.83) | Matthew Dennant |
| Niels Zonneveld | (92.87) | 6 | VS | 1 | (90.03) | Jamai van den Herik |
| Top 16 | ||||||
| Jimmy van Schie | (87.05) | 6 | VS | 4 | (80.80) | Kevin Burness |
| Danny Noppert | (92.26) | 6 | VS | 5 | (88.25) | Gabriel Clemens |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (102.00) | 6 | VS | 4 | (101.36) | Cameron Menzies |
| Gian van Veen | (97.77) | 6 | VS | 1 | (90.55) | Ryan Meikle |
| Matthew Dennant | (84.39) | 6 | VS | 2 | (78.61) | Viktor Tingstrom |
| Cam Crabtree | (95.84) | 6 | VS | 4 | (93.35) | Keane Barry |
| Niels Zonneveld | (93.31) | 6 | VS | 4 | (85.65) | Wesley Plaisier |
| Jamai van den Herik | (84.46) | 6 | VS | 1 | (82.36) | Karel Sedlacek |
| Top 32 | ||||||
| Kevin Burness | (89.20) | 6 | VS | 5 | (92.89) | Niko Springer |
| Jimmy van Schie | (93.26) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.49) | Maximilian Czerwinski |
| Danny Noppert | (101.54) | 6 | VS | 3 | (97.09) | Andreas Harrysson |
| Gabriel Clemens | (97.54) | 6 | VS | 4 | (98.37) | Jermaine Wattimena |
| Cameron Menzies | (90.83) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.33) | Ian White |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (89.98) | 6 | VS | 4 | (84.35) | Luke Woodhouse |
| Gian van Veen | (106.74) | 6 | VS | 1 | (100.45) | Owen Bates |
| Ryan Meikle | (88.24) | 6 | VS | 5 | (89.96) | Dylan Slevin |
| Matthew Dennant | (87.02) | 6 | VS | 4 | (82.50) | Alan Soutar |
| Viktor Tingstrom | (86.17) | 6 | VS | 3 | (86.47) | Martin Lukeman |
| Cam Crabtree | (105.41) | 6 | VS | 1 | (92.40) | Steve Lennon |
| Keane Barry | (92.50) | 6 | VS | 3 | (82.08) | Arno Merk |
| Wesley Plaisier | (93.79) | 6 | VS | 2 | (85.75) | Dominik Gruellich |
| Niels Zonneveld | (93.02) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.09) | Joe Cullen |
| Jamai van den Herik | (96.87) | 6 | VS | 3 | (95.22) | Justin Hood |
| Karel Sedlacek | (95.85) | 6 | VS | 4 | (96.19) | Kevin Doets |
| Top 64 | ||||||
| Niko Springer | (90.36) | 6 | VS | 5 | (84.15) | Carl Sneyd |
| Kevin Burness | (92.49) | 6 | VS | 3 | (88.15) | Connor Scutt |
| Jimmy van Schie | (96.31) | 6 | VS | 3 | (97.04) | Krzysztof Ratajski |
| Maximilian Czerwinski | (86.95) | 6 | VS | 5 | (88.06) | Danny van Trijp |
| Andreas Harrysson | (110.18) | 6 | VS | 2 | (82.48) | Max Hopp |
| Danny Noppert | (96.83) | 6 | VS | 4 | (93.69) | Tom Bissell |
| Gabriel Clemens | (91.75) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.54) | Jeffrey Sparidaans |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (95.01) | 6 | VS | 5 | (86.98) | Adam Lipscombe |
| Ian White | (93.94) | 6 | VS | 0 | (84.65) | Stephen Burton |
| Cameron Menzies | (93.92) | 6 | VS | 4 | (92.43) | Robert Grundy |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (96.44) | 6 | VS | 2 | (74.74) | Adam Paxton |
| Luke Woodhouse | (93.02) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.43) | Thibault Tricole |
| Owen Bates | (92.02) | 6 | VS | 2 | (87.33) | Mickey Mansell |
| Gian van Veen | (89.77) | 6 | VS | 4 | (96.20) | Bradley Brooks |
| Dylan Slevin | (99.41) | 6 | VS | 3 | (95.38) | William O'Connor |
| Ryan Meikle | (88.80) | 6 | VS | 4 | (82.46) | Rhys Griffin |
| Alan Soutar | (87.08) | 6 | VS | 3 | (87.95) | Dom Taylor |
| Matthew Dennant | (96.95) | 6 | VS | 1 | (86.00) | Dave Chisnall |
| Martin Lukeman | (95.76) | 6 | VS | 3 | (89.20) | Berry van Peer |
| Viktor Tingstrom | (87.97) | 6 | VS | 5 | (86.29) | Nathan Rafferty |
| Steve Lennon | (95.04) | 6 | VS | 5 | (95.55) | Madars Razma |
| Cam Crabtree | (98.34) | 6 | VS | 2 | (84.13) | Mike De Decker |
| Arno Merk | (77.25) | 6 | VS | 5 | (75.69) | Marvin van Velzen |
| Keane Barry | (98.97) | 6 | VS | 1 | (81.37) | Maik Kuivenhoven |
| Dominik Gruellich | (90.11) | 6 | VS | 3 | (90.37) | Brendan Dolan |
| Wesley Plaisier | (101.59) | 6 | VS | 4 | (99.16) | Ross Smith |
| Niels Zonneveld | (92.85) | 6 | VS | 2 | (85.92) | Henry Coates |
| Joe Cullen | (102.81) | 6 | VS | 2 | (88.33) | Stefan Bellmont |
| Justin Hood | (94.17) | 6 | VS | 2 | (90.00) | Mensur Suljovic |
| Jamai van den Herik | (94.39) | 6 | VS | 4 | (87.62) | Darren Beveridge |
| Kevin Doets | (101.92) | 6 | VS | 2 | (98.03) | Adam Hunt |
| Karel Sedlacek | (99.49) | 6 | VS | 1 | (90.15) | Daryl Gurney |
| Top 128 | ||||||
| Niko Springer | (91.98) | 6 | VS | 2 | (79.26) | Stefaan Henderyck |
| Carl Sneyd | (98.38) | 6 | VS | 4 | (84.40) | Andy Boulton |
| Connor Scutt | (92.51) | 6 | VS | 5 | (90.02) | Martin Schindler |
| Kevin Burness | (88.86) | 6 | VS | 3 | (86.03) | Jim Williams |
| Krzysztof Ratajski | (93.15) | 6 | VS | 3 | (88.65) | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
| Jimmy van Schie | (95.24) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.12) | Kai Gotthardt |
| Maximilian Czerwinski | (91.14) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.37) | Ryan Joyce |
| Danny van Trijp | (92.05) | 6 | VS | 3 | (85.20) | Christian Kist |
| Max Hopp | (82.68) | 6 | VS | 5 | (85.61) | Callan Rydz |
| Andreas Harrysson | (89.29) | 6 | VS | 0 | (67.00) | James Hurrell |
| Danny Noppert | (95.94) | 6 | VS | 0 | (82.83) | Pero Ljubic |
| Tom Bissell | (98.68) | 6 | VS | 5 | (95.32) | Adam Warner |
| Gabriel Clemens | (91.07) | 6 | VS | 3 | (94.96) | Martijn Dragt |
| Jeffrey Sparidaans | (86.51) | 6 | VS | 4 | (82.16) | Danny Lauby |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (96.32) | 6 | VS | 5 | (99.98) | Mario Vandenbogaerde |
| Adam Lipscombe | (87.34) | 6 | VS | 4 | (81.18) | Leon Weber |
| Ian White | (81.93) | 6 | VS | 4 | (77.81) | Michael Flynn |
| Stephen Burton | (97.11) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.35) | Darius Labanauskas |
| Cameron Menzies | (100.51) | 6 | VS | 1 | (84.43) | Radek Szaganski |
| Robert Grundy | (94.20) | 6 | VS | 4 | (90.30) | Ted Evetts |
| Adam Paxton | (89.05) | 6 | VS | 2 | (85.71) | Ritchie Edhouse |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (94.69) | 6 | VS | 5 | (95.47) | Lukas Wenig |
| Luke Woodhouse | (97.98) | 6 | VS | 4 | (95.79) | Richard Veenstra |
| Thibault Tricole | (87.73) | 6 | VS | 2 | (85.96) | Tavis Dudeney |
| Mickey Mansell | (106.32) | 6 | VS | 2 | (92.26) | Florian Hempel |
| Owen Bates | (96.97) | 6 | VS | 1 | (87.66) | Patrick Geeraets |
| Gian van Veen | (95.54) | 6 | VS | 2 | (82.34) | William Borland |
| Bradley Brooks | (97.32) | 6 | VS | 4 | (91.63) | Ron Meulenkamp |
| William O'Connor | (96.81) | 6 | VS | 1 | (83.82) | Tom Sykes |
| Dylan Slevin | (85.09) | 6 | VS | 2 | (80.61) | Jarno Bottenberg |
| Ryan Meikle | (92.46) | 6 | VS | 5 | (89.93) | Ricardo Pietreczko |
| Rhys Griffin | (89.29) | 6 | VS | 0 | (80.84) | Jack Tweddell |
| Alan Soutar | (86.21) | 6 | VS | 4 | (83.20) | Jeffrey De Graaf |
| Dom Taylor | (102.67) | 6 | VS | 2 | (92.65) | Graham Hall |
| Dave Chisnall | (91.70) | 6 | VS | 3 | (79.16) | Benjamin Reus |
| Matthew Dennant | (93.50) | 6 | VS | 2 | (84.74) | Tytus Kanik |
| Martin Lukeman | (94.27) | 6 | VS | 4 | (95.59) | Ricky Evans |
| Berry van Peer | (97.20) | 6 | VS | 5 | (97.95) | Brett Claydon |
| Nathan Rafferty | (81.77) | 6 | VS | 3 | (75.50) | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Viktor Tingstrom | (95.94) | 6 | VS | 0 | (83.72) | George Killington |
| Madars Razma | (88.57) | 6 | VS | 5 | (92.31) | Rob Owen |
| Steve Lennon | (91.15) | 6 | VS | 1 | (83.30) | Greg Ritchie |
| Mike De Decker | (88.71) | 6 | VS | 5 | (88.01) | Alexander Merkx |
| Cam Crabtree | (100.72) | 6 | VS | 2 | (87.27) | Michele Turetta |
| Arno Merk | (84.39) | 6 | VS | 2 | (83.43) | Scott Williams |
| Marvin van Velzen | (88.85) | 6 | VS | 3 | (89.37) | Jelle Klaasen |
| Keane Barry | (98.02) | 6 | VS | 5 | (85.97) | Andrew Gilding |
| Maik Kuivenhoven | (86.54) | 6 | VS | 4 | (80.66) | Jim Long |
| Brendan Dolan | (81.94) | 6 | VS | 5 | (82.15) | Rusty-Jake Rodriguez |
| Dominik Gruellich | (88.33) | 6 | VS | 3 | (84.61) | Thomas Lovely |
| Ross Smith | (92.74) | 6 | VS | 3 | (85.05) | Chris Landman |
| Wesley Plaisier | (93.49) | 6 | VS | 1 | (80.83) | Nick Kenny |
| Niels Zonneveld | (101.56) | 6 | VS | 1 | (89.84) | Haupai Puha |
| Henry Coates | (85.59) | 6 | VS | 3 | (83.11) | Darryl Pilgrim |
| Joe Cullen | (93.25) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.10) | Jose De Sousa |
| Stefan Bellmont | (85.43) | 6 | VS | 5 | (85.43) | Dennie Olde Kalter |
| Justin Hood | (99.28) | 6 | VS | 4 | (99.72) | Kim Huybrechts |
| Mensur Suljovic | (87.40) | 6 | VS | 1 | (83.20) | Sietse Lap |
| Jamai van den Herik | (101.59) | 6 | VS | 3 | (95.33) | Wessel Nijman |
| Darren Beveridge | (92.54) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.61) | Mervyn King |
| Kevin Doets | (90.47) | 6 | VS | 1 | (75.16) | Joshua Richardson |
| Adam Hunt | (93.41) | 6 | VS | 3 | (90.07) | Cor Dekker |
| Daryl Gurney | (93.48) | 6 | VS | 2 | (84.70) | Jitse Van der Wal |
| Karel Sedlacek | (92.27) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.39) | Andy Baetens |
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- 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