Wessel Nijman Seals Second PDC Ranking Title with Dominant Display in Leicester

Wessel Nijman capped off a superb week on the ProTour with a commanding victory over Damon Heta in the Players Championship 30 final, claiming the second senior PDC ranking title of his career in style. The Dutch star produced a brilliant performance at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, powering to an 8–3 win with an average of over 103, and coming within a dart of a nine-darter in the process.

The 25-year-old, who lifted his maiden ProTour title almost exactly 12 months ago, looked in outstanding form all day and walked away with the £15,000 winner’s prize after dismantling Australia’s number one in Thursday’s showpiece. The contest was finely poised at 3–3 after the opening exchanges, but Nijman shifted through the gears, rattling off the next five legs in succession with clinical scoring and ruthless finishing to secure the title. His closing burst included legs of 14, 15, 14, 11 and 14 darts — underlining the level he maintained throughout the day.

Nijman’s route to the final was filled with high-quality performances. He began his campaign with a 103 average in an opening-round victory over Tom Bissell, before easing past Marvin van Velzen and then sweeping Andy Baetens aside without dropping a leg. A last-16 clash with Cameron Menzies briefly threatened to derail his momentum, but after falling 3–1 behind, the young Dutchman responded impressively to turn the match around.

From that point, he barely looked back. He overcame Chris Dobey in the last eight and then ended Ryan Searle’s hopes of a second title in three days with a polished semi-final win. By the time he stepped on stage for the final, Nijman had built up an irresistible rhythm, which carried him all the way to silverware. He even came agonisingly close to producing a perfect leg, missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish in the penultimate leg of the final.

Speaking after lifting the trophy, Nijman expressed his satisfaction with both his form and the result.

“I felt like this was coming,” he admitted. “I’ve been playing really well over the last three days. It would have been amazing to hit the nine-darter, but honestly, I was more focused on winning the final. I’m over the moon to have done it.”

The victory also provides Nijman with the perfect boost ahead of his debut at the BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix, where he is set to face 2018 World Champion Rob Cross on Monday evening.

“It’s a dream to play in the big majors like the World Matchplay, Grand Prix and European Championship,” Nijman added. “This is what we work all year for. I’ll just try to treat it like any other event and see what happens.”

Heta, meanwhile, also enjoyed an impressive day in Leicester despite falling short in the final. The Australian number one dropped just eight legs across his opening four matches, seeing off Lukas Wenig, Thibault Tricole, Cam Crabtree and Jeffrey de Graaf. He then defeated Rob Owen in the quarter-finals and survived six match darts in a dramatic semi-final win over Wesley Plaisier to reach the decider.

Plaisier produced a string of excellent displays to reach the last four, losing only five legs up to the quarters before edging past Bradley Brooks in a last-leg thriller. Brooks himself enjoyed another strong ProTour campaign, defeating world number one Luke Humphries and reigning World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker earlier in the day.

Ryan Searle, fresh from his Players Championship 28 triumph earlier in the week, also made the semi-finals but couldn’t repeat his earlier heroics against Nijman. Elsewhere, Jonny Clayton and Gary Anderson were among the notable names to fall in round three, while Josh Rock and Wednesday’s champion Ross Smith both suffered surprise first-round exits.

With this week’s treble-header now complete, the race to secure places at November’s Players Championship Finals is heating up. The final stretch of the ProTour season continues in Wigan on October 14–15 with Players Championships 31 and 32. Big names including Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen are currently outside the provisional qualification spots, adding extra intrigue to the final four events before the cut-off.

Wessel Nijman Seals Second PDC Ranking Title with Dominant Display in Leicester

2025 Players Championship 30

Thursday October 2

Mattioli Arena, Leicester

Last 16

Chris Dobey 6-0 Max Hopp

Wessel Nijman 6-4 Cameron Menzies

Ryan Searle 6-5 Andrew Gilding

Mickey Mansell 6-2 Ryan Joyce

Rob Owen 6-2 Luke Woodhouse

Damon Heta 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf

Bradley Brooks 6-1 Mike De Decker

Wesley Plaisier 6-1 Niels Zonneveld

Quarter-Finals

Wessel Nijman 6-2 Chris Dobey

Ryan Searle 6-3 Mickey Mansell

Damon Heta 6-3 Rob Owen

Wesley Plaisier 6-5 Bradley Brooks

Semi-Finals

Wessel Nijman 7-2 Ryan Searle

Damon Heta 7-6 Wesley Plaisier

Final

Wessel Nijman 8-3 Damon Heta