Wessel Nijman joins Michael van Gerwen in exclusive club after sixth Players Championship title of 2026
PDCWednesday, 17 June 2026 at 11:30
Wessel Nijman’s latest Players Championship title has put him level with Michael van Gerwen on one of the most exclusive ProTour lists of the modern era.
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The Dutchman beat Ryan Searle 8-6 in the final of Players Championship 21 to claim his sixth Players Championship title of 2026, continuing a floor season that has left him clear at the top of the Players Championship Order of Merit.
The wider landmark came from his status in the draw. Nijman has now won five Players Championship titles as number one seed since 2018, matching Van Gerwen at the top of that specific list.
Gerwyn Price sits next on four, with Dave Chisnall on three. Joe Cullen, Stephen Bunting and Peter Wright have each managed it once in that period.
Nijman draws level with Van Gerwen
Nijman’s overall 2026 tally now stands at six Players Championship titles, with wins at PC2, PC8, PC10, PC12, PC14 and PC21.
Five of those have been converted from the number one seed position, taking him alongside Van Gerwen as the joint leader in that regard since 2018. It is another measure of Nijman’s grip on the floor circuit, where he has repeatedly arrived as the player to beat and still found a way through the draw.
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His latest title came after another strong day in Wigan. Searle pushed him in the final, but Nijman came through 8-6 to add another £15,000 title to a season already stacked with ProTour success.
The result also strengthened his position on the Players Championship Order of Merit, where he has built a commanding lead over the rest of the field.
Wessel Nijman in action
Pressure keeps turning into titles
Winning as number one seed has been rare even for some of the biggest names on the ProTour since 2018.
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As mentioned, Price has done it four times, Chisnall three, while Cullen, Bunting and Wright have one title each from that position. Nijman is now level with Van Gerwen on five, after another event where top billing did not stop him converting.
That has become the defining pattern of his 2026 Players Championship campaign. Nijman has not just been winning events from outside the spotlight. He has been doing it while carrying the ranking, the expectation and the target that comes with being the leading name in the draw.
PC21 added his sixth Players Championship title of the year. It also moved him into Van Gerwen company on a list built around repeated wins from the most exposed position on the ProTour floor.
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
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- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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