"You'd rather have Van Veen than a Luke" - Second European Tour title boosts Wessel Nijman's World Matchplay hopes after crucial ranking rise

Wessel Nijman is one of the most inform darts players on the planet. He won the inaugural Slovak Darts Open to secure an eighth title in 2026. He will look to continue this form heading into the World Matchplay as he climbs to 14th in the world. This sees him avoid the likes of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries in the draw, a positive boost for the Dutchman as Vincent Van der Voort analysed his progress.

Following defeating Ryan Searle in the week to win PC21, Nijman travelled to Bratislava as a confident man. He is winning so many titles and so much money that he has shot up the order into the elite, a firm fixture of the top 20, and now the top 16.

He defeated Benjamin Pratnemer, Stephen Bunting, Mike De Decker and Ross Smith after taking out 341 in six darts. He averaged 103.8 in the final which was enough to see him defeat Rob Cross 8-3 and win himself another title to add to his rapidly growing collection.

It is a second European Tour title after he got the better of Gerwyn Price in the European Darts Trophy final. He banked a lucrative £35,000 in prize money as he jumped up to 14th in the world, a new career high.

Van der Voort was in high praise of the inform Dutchman. He had his full focus on the World Matchplay, commencing on the 18th July. Where you are placed in the draw depends on what seed you are. With Nijman 14th for the time being, he will be in the same bracket as the world number three Gian van Veen. The 16 other players from the ProTour Order of Merit will face one of the seeds in the first round.

This title will not only gain Nijman even more momentum, but Van der Voort pinpoints how significant that movement up the ranking is on the podcast Darts Drait Door. "He is doing very well heading into the World Matchplay, because you don't want to go there ranked fifteenth or sixteenth," he said. "Then you get Luke Littler or Luke Humphries in the second round, and you really don't want that."

Instead, he could take on van Veen who is not in great form in this current moment in time. "Now, with his fourteenth place, he would face Gian van Veen, and he is out of form. So that is a very favourable entry point for him. You'd rather have Van Veen than a Luke. Often, when you play this well, these kinds of things tend to fall your way."

There is a concern around the PDC World Darts Championship finalist for Van der Voort, believing Nijman would enter that contest as the favourite. "I don't think he's looking forward to that right now, even though he has a good record against him," he said. "I also think Van Veen has other things on his mind."

The rise continues for Nijman. Projected to be in the top 10 at the end of the year, he can soar up the rankings even more with a deep run in a major tournament, something that many are predicting that he could do. "Things could suddenly move fast for him," assess presenter Damian Vlottes and Van der Voort

Not just the prospect of winning big silverware, but what follows from that. Nijman could be in line to make his Premier League Darts and World Series debuts next year if he keeps up this form. "Certainly, and then you start thinking ahead again. About the Premier League Darts and the World Series, that he gets invited to those. Then you end up in a completely different position again," Van der Voort commented. "Then your status changes, people look at you differently, and everything changes again. And then we have to wait and see how he handles that."

His title numbers this year put him in a league of his own compared to anyone else. "Just look at who else has won eight tournaments in six months. There aren't many who can say that. I know that Littler isn't competing on the floor, and Littler didn't participate in the Euro Tours that Nijman won either. But there are still plenty of other good players left whom he does beat. He is doing something special, after all."