Kevin Doets clinches maiden PDC ranking title at Players Championship 13
Kevin Doets secured his first PDC ranking title at Players Championship 13 courtesy of an 8-5 win over Luke Woodhouse in the final in Hildesheim on Monday.
Doets has been one of the sport’s most improved players over the last 12 months and underlined that progress with a landmark triumph at Halle 39.
The Dutch star featured in back-to-back semi-finals during last week’s ProTour double-header, but he broke through that barrier in Germany before denying Woodhouse to become the latest new winner of a PDC ranking title.
The pair were the two highest-ranked players without a PDC title to their name, and Woodhouse appeared poised to buck that trend after establishing a 4-2 lead.
Doets opened proceedings with a sublime 11-dart hold, but Woodhouse soon settled into the contest, breaking throw with an 80 finish and cementing that advantage with legs of 14 and 13 darts.
However, Doets burst into life with a 100 checkout in leg seven – sparking a five-leg sequence which saw him assume command.
The 27-year-old followed up his second 11-darter by converting consecutive 105 and 128 checkouts to lead 7-4, before defying some late nerves to triumph with his ninth match dart.
“I don’t even know what to say. Finally! What a relief,” expressed Doets, who averaged 100.6 to claim the £15,000 top prize.
“My confidence is growing. I have been playing pretty well lately, and I showed it again today.
“I was a bit nervous in the beginning of the final, but as soon as I got into it, I played great.”
Doets registered an impressive tournament average of 99.65, following up wins over Mervyn King and Darryl Pilgrim with a whitewash of Kim Huybrechts to storm into the Last 16.
The ice cool Dutchman then averaged 105 and 107 in victories over Jermaine Wattimena and Rob Owen respectively, defying a 107.8 average from Wattimena in a sensational Last 16 contest.
Doets also came through another all-Dutch tie in the semi-finals, annihilating fellow countryman Maik Kuivenhoven 7-1 with a 98 average.
“I need to be a winner. Today I was, and I’m going to try and continue that,” vowed Doets, who rises to third on the 2026 Players Championship rankings.
“I said at the beginning of the year I wanted to get a title otherwise I won’t be satisfied, but now I’ve got one, I’m aiming for more.
“The next goal for me is to get into the top 16 of the world and win a major [title], because I have shown everyone that I have the game to do it.”
Woodhouse’s wait for a PDC title continues, though the former European Championship semi-finalist acquitted himself superbly in Hildesheim.
Having whitewashed Cam Crabtree in his opener, Woodhouse eased through to the Last 16 with 6-2 wins over Adam Leek and Mike De Decker, averaging over a ton against the Belgian number one.
The 37-year-old also dumped out Krzysztof Ratajski and second seed Chris Dobey, before sweeping aside Austrian veteran Mensur Suljovic 7-2 in the semi-finals.
Suljovic’s run to the Last Four was characterised by his trademark resilience, as he overcame the likes of Niels Zonneveld and 2024 European Champion Ritchie Edhouse along the way.
Kuivenhoven also impressed in reaching the same stage, dumping out Damon Heta, Sebastian Bialecki and Andrew Gilding to advance to his first ranking semi-final of the year.
Earlier in the day, Dirk van Duijvenbode added another nine-dart finish to his growing haul, producing perfection in his opening round tie against Madars Razma.
Van Duijvenbode averaged 109 in dispatching the Latvian, although that performance was later usurped by Gilding, who averaged a staggering 118.66 in his third round whitewash of Joe Cullen.
Michael van Gerwen – the solitary Premier League star in action – was beaten by Ratajski at the same stage of the competition, while top seed Wessel Nijman lost out to Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom in round two.
Players Championship 13 Results
Monday May 4
First Round
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Jeffrey De Graaf
Viktor Tingstrom 6-5 Keane Barry
Christian Kist 6-4 Callan Rydz
David Sharp 6-3 Yorick Hofkens
Joe Cullen 6-4 Adam Lipscombe
Joe Hunt 6-5 Marvin Kraft
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Adam Paxton
Leon Weber 6-1 Niall Culleton
Niko Springer 6-3 Martin Lukeman
Lewis Pride 6-5 Jenson Walker
Jurjen van der Velde 6-4 Alan Soutar
Marvin van Velzen 6-5 Adam Gawlas
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Damon Heta
Thomas Lovely 6-4 Filip Bereza
Sebastian Bialecki 6-1 Steve Lennon
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-3 Tom Bissell
Danny Noppert 6-0 Tavis Dudeney
Rob Owen 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Kai Gotthardt 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Beau Greaves 6-1 Peter Wright
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Madars Razma – *Van Duijvenbode hits a nine-darter*
Tyler Thorpe 6-1 Oliver Mitchell
Connor Scutt 6-4 Gary Anderson
Arno Merk 6-4 Scott Williams
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Ricky Evans
Cor Dekker 6-5 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Rob Cross 6-1 Owen Bates
Danny Trueman 6-1 Nick Kenny
Kevin Doets 6-4 Mervyn King
Darryl Pilgrim 6-4 Shane McGuirk
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Adam Warner
Andy Boulton 6-4 Jack Tweddell
Chris Dobey 6-3 Nathan Potter
James Hurrell 6-3 Matthias Ehlers
Tom Sykes 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Maximilian Czerwinski 6-5 Ben Townley
Martin Schindler 6-5 Samuel Price
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Dennie Olde Kalter
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Rhys Griffin
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-1 Pero Ljubic
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Stephen Rosney
Tommy Lishman 6-5 Max Hopp
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Stefan Bellmont
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-4 Stefaan Henderyck
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Cam Crabtree
Adam Leek 6-5 Tytus Kanik
Mike De Decker 6-4 Sietse Lap
Tommy Morris 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Ross Smith 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jim Long 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Jimmy van Schie
Darius Labanauskas 6-2 Ryan Meikle
William O’Connor 6-2 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Daniel Klose 6-5 Charlie Manby
Karel Sedlacek 6-3 Callum Goffin
Derek Coulson 6-5 Dominik Gruellich
James Wade 6-2 Wesley Plaisier
Alexander Merkx 6-2 Stephen Burton
Richard Veenstra 6-5 Justin Hood
Ritchie Edhouse 6-2 Florian Preis
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Chris Landman
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Ian White
Thibault Tricole 6-4 Michael Smith
Pascal Rupprecht 6-4 Martijn Dragt
Second Round
Viktor Tingstrom 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Christian Kist 6-3 David Sharp
Joe Cullen 6-3 Joe Hunt
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Leon Weber
Niko Springer 6-5 Lewis Pride
Marvin van Velzen 6-2 Jurjen van der Velde
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-1 Thomas Lovely
Sebastian Bialecki 6-5 Benjamin Pratnemer
Rob Owen 6-4 Danny Noppert
Beau Greaves 6-2 Kai Gotthardt
Tyler Thorpe 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Connor Scutt 6-5 Arno Merk
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Cor Dekker
Rob Cross 6-2 Danny Trueman
Kevin Doets 6-3 Darryl Pilgrim
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Andy Boulton
Chris Dobey 6-2 James Hurrell
Tom Sykes 6-1 Maximilian Czerwinski
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Tommy Lishman
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Adam Leek
Mike De Decker 6-3 Tommy Morris
Ross Smith 6-1 Jim Long
Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Brendan Dolan
William O’Connor 6-5 Daniel Klose
Derek Coulson 6-1 Karel Sedlacek
Alexander Merkx 6-2 James Wade
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Richard Veenstra
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Thibault Tricole 6-5 Pascal Rupprecht
Last 32
Viktor Tingstrom 6-5 Christian Kist
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Joe Cullen
Marvin van Velzen 6-4 Niko Springer
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
Rob Owen 6-5 Beau Greaves
Tyler Thorpe 6-2 Connor Scutt
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Rob Cross
Kevin Doets 6-0 Kim Huybrechts
Chris Dobey 6-5 Tom Sykes
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Martin Schindler
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Mike De Decker
Darius Labanauskas 6-0 Ross Smith
Derek Coulson 6-3 William O’Connor
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Alexander Merkx
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Thibault Tricole
Last 16
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Viktor Tingstrom
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Marvin van Velzen
Rob Owen 6-2 Tyler Thorpe
Kevin Doets 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Chris Dobey 6-1 Dave Chisnall
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
Darius Labanauskas 6-2 Derek Coulson
Mensur Suljovic 6-0 Ritchie Edhouse
Quarter-Finals
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-2 Rob Owen
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Chris Dobey
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Darius Labanauskas
Semi-Finals
Kevin Doets 7-1 Maik Kuivenhoven
Luke Woodhouse 7-2 Mensur Suljovic
Final
Kevin Doets 8-5 Luke Woodhouse
