Chris Dobey Dazzles to Win Players Championship 4 “I want to be back in there (Premier League). I didn’t do enough last year”
Chris Dobey Dazzles to Win Players Championship 4 “I want to be back in there (Premier League). I didn’t do enough last year”
Chris Dobey delivered one of the standout displays of the early 2026 season in Wigan, storming to his ninth Players Championship crown with a dominant victory over Stephen Bunting. The Bedlington ace, known to fans as “Hollywood”, combined heavy scoring with ruthless finishing to secure his first PDC ranking title of the year and collect the £15,000 winner’s cheque in emphatic fashion.
Dobey, who captured three Players Championship titles during an impressive 2025 campaign, looked sharp from the outset and carried that momentum all the way through the day at the Robin Park Leisure Centre. By the time he reached the final, confidence was coursing through his game — and it showed.
The title decider proved to be a one-sided affair. Dobey burst out of the blocks, racing into a commanding five-leg advantage and leaving Bunting chasing shadows. Four of those opening five legs were wrapped up in five visits or fewer, underlining the clinical edge Dobey brought to the contest. His relentless scoring piled pressure on his opponent, and the gap quickly became insurmountable.
Bunting, the St Helens thrower, managed to halt the charge briefly with a tidy 14-dart leg to get on the board. However, any hopes of a comeback were swiftly extinguished. Dobey regained control immediately, closing out the match in style by sweeping the final three legs. The last two were dispatched in a combined 26 darts, a fittingly sharp conclusion to a commanding 8-1 triumph. In the final alone, Dobey averaged 11 points more than Bunting — a statistic that perfectly illustrates the gulf between the two on the day.
Reflecting on his success, Dobey expressed satisfaction with the overall standard of his performance. He felt he had maintained a consistent level throughout the tournament and was pleased to convert that into silverware. While acknowledging that fortune can play a role in any ProTour event, he also recognised the significance of defending ranking money from his previous triumph at the same event two years earlier. His ambitions, however, stretch beyond the floor tournaments. Dobey made it clear that a return to the Premier League remains a driving motivation, believing he did not quite do enough to secure a place last year and eager to replicate this level on the sport’s biggest stages.
“I felt like I played pretty steady all day, and I’m happy to get over the line,” stated Dobey,
“Stephen said he felt good before the game, but sometimes it just isn’t your day, and fortunately for me, I came out on the winning end.
“You need luck to win tournaments like this, I was defending this one from two years ago, and on Day One I won it.
“I want to be back in there (Premier League). I didn’t do enough last year; I want to produce this game on the big stages.”
Chris Dobey Dazzles to Win Players Championship 4
His path to the title was far from straightforward, even if the final suggested otherwise. Dobey opened his account with a comfortable 6-1 win over Shane McGuirk, settling into the day’s action with minimal fuss. That was followed by successive 6-4 victories against Jimmy van Schie and Ryan Joyce, the latter match seeing Dobey produce a superb 106 average to progress.
Momentum continued to build as he overcame former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks, demonstrating composure at key moments. In the quarter-finals, Dobey was pushed to the brink by Darryl Pilgrim in a gripping last-leg decider, but he held his nerve to seal his semi-final berth. That victory appeared to galvanise him further.
Awaiting in the last four was Tom Bissell, who had enjoyed a breakthrough run of his own. Dobey, however, proved too strong. He controlled the semi-final from the outset and conceded just two legs in a convincing 7-2 win to secure his place in the final.
Bunting’s journey to the final featured several eye-catching performances. He recorded three averages in excess of 100 during the day, including a 105-plus display in a 6-3 victory over Alexander Merkx. The 40-year-old also began with a commanding 6-1 win against Carl Sneyd and survived a deciding-leg battle with Derek Coulson to reach the last 16.
From there, Bunting produced solid displays to eliminate Danny Noppert, Jonny Clayton and James Wade, showcasing both scoring power and resilience. However, the final proved a step too far, as Dobey’s relentless standard left him with little opportunity to respond.
Elsewhere in Wigan, Bissell impressed by knocking out televised title winners Ritchie Edhouse and Rob Cross en route to the semi-finals. Wade, fresh from lifting the opening Players Championship title of the season, defeated Cristo Reyes and Kevin Doets before his run ended at the same stage.
The quarter-final line-up also featured Clayton, Doets, Pilgrim and Canadian representative Jim Long. Doets was particularly noteworthy, firing in three consecutive ton-plus averages on his way to the last eight, including a blistering 113 average against Owen Bates in the Last 64. Long enjoyed a memorable campaign as well, claiming a standout victory over Premier League star Josh Rock.
Pilgrim’s run was among the stories of the day. Having managed just one win in 2026 prior to this event, he defeated Maik Kuivenhoven, Gian van Veen, Ricardo Pietreczko and Krzysztof Ratajski before eventually falling to Dobey in the quarter-finals — a performance that signals encouraging progress.
Attention in Wigan now swiftly turns to Players Championship 4, which takes place at the same venue tomorrow. With form building and confidence restored, Dobey will aim to continue his momentum as the 2026 PDC ProTour season gathers pace.
Chris Dobey Dazzles to Win Players Championship 4
2026 Players Championship Three
Robin Park Leisure Centre, Wigan
Monday February 16
Last 16
Tom Bissell 6-5 Ritchie Edhouse
Jim Long 6-2 Karel Sedlacek
Chris Dobey 6-0 Bradley Brooks
Darryl Pilgrim 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Beau Greaves
Kevin Doets 6-3 Niko Springer
James Wade 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Quarter-Finals
Tom Bissell 6-4 Jim Long
Chris Dobey 6-5 Darryl Pilgrim
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Jonny Clayton
James Wade 6-4 Kevin Doets
Semi-Finals
Chris Dobey 7-2 Tom Bissell
Stephen Bunting 7-6 James Wade
Final
Chris Dobey 8-1 Stephen Bunting
