Jermaine Wattimena seals first PDC title at Players Championship 23
Jermaine Wattimena clinched his first PDC ranking title at Players Championship 23 in Hildesheim with an 8-5 win over Lukas Wenig in the final on Wednesday.
Wattimena had suffered defeat in six previous finals since joining the PDC circuit a decade ago, but finally went one better at Halle 39 to become the latest new winner of a ProTour event.
The Dutchman becomes the third consecutive first-time title winner on the Players Championship circuit, with Bradley Brooks and Sebastian Bialecki also securing maiden titles inrecent weeks.
“I have finally won a title. This means so much to me,” said an emotional Wattimena.
“After losing in five [ProTour] finals and a major final, now I have a title. I’m so, so happy!
“Lukas is a really good player. He’s one of the best in Germany. We both missed a lot of doubles, but thankfully it went my way.
“I have no words for this. I know I’m in good form. I wasn’t at my best in a couple of the games, but the only thing that counts is that I won the tournament!”
Wattimena averaged 103 and 104 in early wins over Jose de Sousa and Rob Owen, before taking out a 157 finish to defeat Gabriel Clemens 6-4 in the Last 32.
The 2024 European Championship runner-up then recorded back-to-back 6-4 victories over his compatriot Danny Noppert and Ryan Joyce to reach the semi-finals – where he thrashed Players Championship 21 winner Brooks 7-2.
The final was dominated by missed doubles in the opening exchanges, as Wenig restored parity at four apiece to threaten a famous victory on home soil.
However, Wattimena restored his two-leg cushion with a crucial 106 finish in leg ten, before converting a brilliant 107 checkout on tops to spark jubilant scenes of celebration.
Wattimena’s win sees him climb four places to 26th on the PDC Order of Merit, while Wenig rises eight places to 70th.
Wenig broke new ground by delivering a string of impressive displays to pocket the £10,000 runner-up prize and boost his hopes of World Championship and Players Championship Finals qualification.
The 30-year-old, featuring in his first ProTour final following a string of early exits this season, defeated Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde in the opening round, before edging out Tom Bissell in a deciding leg.
Wenig continued his charge with a trio of 6-2 victories over Jimmy van Schie, Daryl Gurney and Justin Hood, averaging north of 101 against Van Schie.
The German ace then accounted for another Dutch star in a dramatic semi-final, following up an 11-dart break with a clinical 109 checkout to deny Wessel Nijman in a deciding leg.
Nijman performed superbly in his run to the semis, averaging 109 to win through a third round thriller against Kim Huybrechts, before dumping out Ross Smith in the quarter-finals.
Brooks continued his blistering spell of form by registering ton-plus averages against Luke Woodhouse, William O’Connor and Gian van Veen prior to his defeat against Wattimena.
Earlier in the afternoon, Van Veen achieved perfection with a nine-darter in his third round win over Ryan Meikle, before wrapping up a 6-2 success with a 111.7 average.
Ryan Joyce produced the performance of the day, however, averaging 114 in his magnificent 6-3 victory over Ireland’s Michael Flynn in the Last 16.
Joyce was joined in the Last Eight by former European Champion Smith, left-hander Hood and multiple major finalist Mervyn King.
It was also a landmark day for Dennie Olde Kalter, who celebrated his first wins on the Players Championship circuit following a staggering run of 20 consecutive first round defeats.
Olde Kalter broke his duck with victory over Jim Williams, while he also overcame Thibault Tricole and Ricky Evans before losing out to King in the Last 16.
Cameron Menzies, Dave Chisnall, Krzysztof Ratajski and Joe Cullen were among the notable first round casualties.
Players Championship 23 Results
Wednesday July 30
First Round
Martin Schindler 6-5 Dom Taylor
Alexander Merkx 6-1 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-5 Niko Springer
Michael Flynn 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Adam Lipscombe 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Marvin van Velzen 6-3 Graham Hall
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Danny Lauby
Christian Kist 6-2 Greg Ritchie
Danny Noppert 6-2 Nathan Rafferty
Keane Barry 6-2 Tytus Kanik
Chris Landman 6-5 Madars Razma
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Matthew Dennant
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Jose De Sousa
Rob Owen 6-3 Sebastian Bialecki
Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Jack Tweddell
Tom Sykes 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Mervyn King 6-0 Cameron Menzies
Cam Crabtree 6-0 Jitse Van der Wal
Ian White 6-3 Thomas Lovely
Darren Beveridge 6-0 Carl Sneyd
Thibault Tricole 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-5 Jim Williams
Ricky Evans 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Brett Claydon 6-5 Adam Warner
Gian van Veen 6-3 Dominik Gruellich
Steve Lennon 6-1 Darryl Pilgrim
Mickey Mansell 6-5 Cor Dekker
Ryan Meikle 6-3 Adam Hunt
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Pero Ljubic
Bradley Brooks 6-2 Max Hopp
William O’Connor 6-3 Adam Paxton
Stephen Burton 6-1 Ted Evetts
Joshua Richardson 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Andy Baetens 6-3 Rhys Griffin
Alan Soutar 6-4 Haupai Puha
Robert Grundy 6-3 Berry van Peer
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Connor Scutt
Henry Coates 6-4 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Danny van Trijp 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Justin Hood 6-1 George Killington
Tom Bissell 6-5 Mike De Decker
Lukas Wenig 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Jimmy van Schie 6-2 Callan Rydz
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Martijn Dragt
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Richard Veenstra
William Borland 6-1 Radek Szaganski
Scott Williams 6-3 Leon Weber
Florian Hempel 6-5 Dylan Slevin
Ross Smith 6-2 Patrick Geeraets
Arno Merk 6-3 Stefaan Henderyck
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Jim Long
Owen Bates 6-1 Joe Cullen
Jamai van den Herik 6-2 Tavis Dudeney
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Martin Lukeman
Sietse Lap 6-5 Kai Gotthardt
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Viktor Tingstrom
Andy Boulton 6-3 Stefan Bellmont
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Mensur Suljovic
Benjamin Reus 6-2 Maximilian Czerwinski
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Michele Turetta
Andreas Harrysson 6-1 James Hurrell
Kevin Doets 6-1 Nick Kenny
Jarno Bottenberg 6-4 Kevin Burness
Second Round
Martin Schindler 6-4 Alexander Merkx
Michael Flynn 6-5 Jeffrey De Graaf
Marvin van Velzen 6-2 Adam Lipscombe
Ryan Joyce 6-2 Christian Kist
Danny Noppert 6-3 Keane Barry
Chris Landman 6-1 Ron Meulenkamp
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Rob Owen
Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Tom Sykes
Mervyn King 6-4 Cam Crabtree
Ian White 6-5 Darren Beveridge
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-2 Thibault Tricole
Ricky Evans 6-2 Brett Claydon
Gian van Veen 6-5 Steve Lennon
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Bradley Brooks 6-1 Luke Woodhouse
William O’Connor 6-3 Stephen Burton
Andy Baetens 6-0 Joshua Richardson
Robert Grundy 6-4 Alan Soutar
Henry Coates 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Justin Hood 6-3 Danny van Trijp
Lukas Wenig 6-5 Tom Bissell
Jimmy van Schie 6-4 Jelle Klaasen
Daryl Gurney 6-4 William Borland
Scott Williams 6-3 Florian Hempel
Ross Smith 6-3 Arno Merk
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Owen Bates 6-2 Jamai van den Herik
Sietse Lap 6-5 Maik Kuivenhoven
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Andy Boulton
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Benjamin Reus
Andreas Harrysson 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-1 Jarno Bottenberg
Last 32
Michael Flynn 6-2 Martin Schindler
Ryan Joyce 6-2 Marvin van Velzen
Danny Noppert 6-5 Chris Landman
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Gabriel Clemens
Mervyn King 6-3 Ian White
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-2 Ricky Evans
Gian van Veen 6-2 Ryan Meikle
Bradley Brooks 6-3 William O’Connor
Andy Baetens 6-5 Robert Grundy
Justin Hood 6-3 Henry Coates
Lukas Wenig 6-2 Jimmy van Schie
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Scott Williams
Ross Smith 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Owen Bates 6-2 Sietse Lap
Wessel Nijman 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Andreas Harrysson 6-4 Kevin Doets
Last 16
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Michael Flynn
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Danny Noppert
Mervyn King 6-4 Dennie Olde Kalter
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Gian van Veen
Justin Hood 6-3 Andy Baetens
Lukas Wenig 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Ross Smith 6-3 Owen Bates
Wessel Nijman 6-4 Andreas Harrysson
Quarter-Finals
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Ryan Joyce
Bradley Brooks 6-3 Mervyn King
Lukas Wenig 6-2 Justin Hood
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Ross Smith
Semi-Finals
Jermaine Wattimena 7-2 Bradley Brooks
Lukas Wenig 7-6 Wessel Nijman
Final
Jermaine Wattimena 8-5 Lukas Wenig
