Wessel Nijman continued his staggering Players Championship superiority by claiming his fifth title of the year at Event Fourteen in Hildesheim on Tuesday.
Nijman thrashed Max Hopp 8-1 in the showpiece to scoop the £15,000 top prize for a fifth time in just 12 appearances on the circuit, becoming the first player to win five Players Championship titles in one year since Michael van Gerwen in 2016.
The Dutchman punished Hopp busting 61 to lead 1-0, before taking an 88 checkout to double his advantage.
The 25-year-old then won another four legs straight to lead 6-0, including an 84 outshot on the bullseye and whopping 140 checkout in legs five and six respectively, averaging north of 110 two legs from victory.
Although Hopp broke in the seventh leg, it proved a mere consolation for the German, as Nijman broke back before sealing the title with a 15-dart hold.
“It’s always good to hold your best game for the final, professed Nijman, who produced his best performance of the day against Hopp with a 104.62 average.
“I’m just happy with the way I’m playing. I played well today, especially in the later stages of the tournament.
“I’m feeling pretty confident in these floor events, and I hope I can play like this on the floor for many more years.
“I don’t really care about records, I care more about the form that I’m playing right now. It’s always good to have those kinds of records in your bag, but it doesn’t give you much more than the form you’re in.
“I just want to be in the top 16 and make as many steps as close to number one as possible by the end of the year.”
The Dutchman kicked off the event with comfortable wins over Daniel Klose and Jurjen van der Velde, followed by a 6-3 win over Niall Culleton to reach the last 16.
The 25-year-old faced his closest match of the day against Joe Cullen at this stage, triumphing 6-4 with a stellar 102 average – the first of four consecutive ton-plus averages before clinching the title.
Nijman then thumped Krzysztof Ratajski 6-1 with a 102.98 average, before breezing past Danny Noppert 7-2 to reach a remarkable sixth final on the floor this year in just 12 attempts.
Hopp, on the other hand, entered the top ten of the 2026 Players Championship rankings after making his first final since 2019.
Following a walkover against Christian Kist, who was forced to withdraw mid-match through injury, the former World Youth Champion claimed a brace of 6-4 wins at the expense of Lewis Pride and then Damon Heta.
The 29-year-old kept his opponents at arm’s length throughout the day, defeating former World Champion Rob Cross 6-2 and Joe Hunt 6-3 to reach the last four.
There, Hopp dispatched an in-form Tom Bissell 7-3 to set-up a winner-takes-all clash against Nijman, but was denied his first title on the circuit since 2018 in emphatic fashion.
Bissell, meanwhile, took the scalps of number two seed Chris Dobey and Austrian stalwart Mensur Suljovic to reach his second Players Championship semi-final of the year.
Noppert reached the last four in impressive style, including two 6-2 victories with ton-plus averages over Dirk van Duijvenbode in the last 16 and then Richard Veenstra in the quarter-finals.
Veenstra struck perfection during his run to the quarter-final, taking out a nine-dart leg against Leon Weber in round two.
Heta’s 110.78 average against Jim Long proved the best performance of the day, while Cullen produced a 108.34 average in his 6-1 hammering of Adam Lipscombe in round three.
The 2026 PDC ProTour season continues next week with another Players Championship double-header, Events 15-16 will be played out in Leicester on May 12-13.
Coverage from four boards will be streamed on PDCTV and across bookmakers’ websites worldwide, with play getting underway from 1300 CEST (1200 BST) on each day.
2026 Players Championship Fourteen
Tuesday May 5
Halle 39, Hildesheim
Last 16
Wessel Nijman 6-4 Joe Cullen
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-1 James Hurrell
Danny Noppert 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Richard Veenstra 6-1 Oliver Mitchell
Tom Bissell 6-1 Lukas Wenig
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
Joe Hunt 6-1 Keane Barry
Max Hopp 6-2 Rob Cross
Quarter-Finals
Wessel Nijman 6-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
Danny Noppert 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Tom Bissell 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Max Hopp 6-3 Joe Hunt
Semi-Finals
Wessel Nijman 7-2 Danny Noppert
Max Hopp 7-3 Tom Bissell
Final
Wessel Nijman 8-1 Max Hopp
Nine-Darter!
Richard Veenstra hit a nine-darter in his round two tie against Leon Weber.
All photos credit PDC