Wessel Nijman maintained his imperious form by clinching his third ranking title of 2026 at Players Championship Eight in Leicester on Tuesday.
Nijman defied a barrage of maximums from Joe Cullen to prevail in Tuesday’s decider at the Mattioli Arena, running out an 8-4 winner to cement top spot on the Players Championship rankings.
The Dutchman has made a scintillating start to the new season, winning Players Championship Two before celebrating a maiden European Tour triumph in Goettingen earlier this month.
Nijman has now made three finals in just six Players Championship appearances in 2026, and his latest victory marks his fifth ranking title since October.
“I’m living the dream life,” admitted Nijman, who underlined his status as the top seed in Leicester.
“This week was the first time I was the No 1 seed, so that was pretty special for me to be honest.
“With the way I’m playing, especially in the floor events, I’m feeling pretty confident and this helps a lot.
“I’m so just happy I played the way I did today.”
Nijman signalled his intent in an opening round demolition of Dominik Gruellich, averaging 103.57 before fending off a late fightback from Thomas Lovely to seal his spot in round three.
Following a whitewash win over Poland’s Tytus Kanik, Nijman then edged past an in-form Keane Barry to book his spot in the quarter-finals, where he launched a stunning fightback to deny Dave Chisnall.
The 25-year-old rattled off five consecutive legs from 4-1 adrift to advance with an average of 105.11, although he was forced to survive two match darts in his all-Dutch semi-final clash against Kevin Doets.
This set up a tantalising tussle against Cullen for the title, and there was nothing to separate the pair in the opening exchanges, as they traded five successive holds of throw.
Nijman established control with clinical 96 and 121 finishes to lead 4-2 and 5-3, yet Cullen continued to respond, landing a flurry of 180s to preserve his title hopes.
However, Cullen’s hopes evaporated when he squandered nine darts at double to cut the deficit in leg 11, and Nijman duly capitalised, moving 7-4 ahead before wrapping up proceedings with a 14-dart break.
Despite falling short in his bid for a tenth Players Championship crown, Cullen put in his best showing of 2026 so far to pocket the £10,000 runner-up prize in Leicester.
Following wins over Samuel Price and former world champion Michael Smith, the former Masters champion recorded deciding-leg wins against Damon Heta and Tom Sykes respectively.
Cullen averaged 103 in seeing off Sykes, which he backed up with impressive victories against rising star Charlie Manby and Poland’s No 2 Sebastian Bialecki in the latter stages of Tuesday’s play.
Results: 2026 Players Championship 8
Last 16
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Keane Barry
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Mervyn King
Chris Dobey 6-1 Wesley Plaisier
Kevin Doets 6-5 Richard Veenstra
Charlie Manby 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Joe Cullen 6-5 Tom Sykes
Sebastian Bialecki 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Leon Weber 6-3 Sietse Lap
Quarter-Finals
Wessel Nijman 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Kevin Doets 6-5 Chris Dobey
Joe Cullen 6-4 Charlie Manby
Sebastian Bialecki 6-1 Leon Weber
Semi-Finals
Wessel Nijman 7-6 Kevin Doets
Joe Cullen 7-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Final
Wessel Nijman 8-4 Joe Cullen
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