Cameron Menzies clinches second ProTour title of 2026 at Players Championship 29
Cameron Menzies sealed his second ProTour title of the year at Players Championship 29 in Den Bosch with an 8-4 victory over Gian van Veen in the final.
Menzies, who opened his account for the season at Players Championship 23 in July, doubled his tally courtesy of a series of superb displays on Tuesday.
The Scottish number two averaged 101 in his opening round win over Nick Kenny, before denying Canada’s Jim Long an impressive comeback in a last-leg decider.
After dispatching Slovenian number one Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4, the World Cup semi-finalist then toppled top seed Wessel Nijman by the same scoreline to reach a third Players Championship quarter-final in his last five events.
Menzies then overcame Sweden’s Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 with a 97.3 average to reach the semi-finals – where he defied a 99.5 from in-form Kevin Doets to clinch a 7-5 victory.
Menzies made a blistering start to the final, romping into a 5-0 lead without affording Van Veen a dart at a double, only for the Dutch star to hit back with three straight legs of his own.
Nevertheless, Menzies his nerve, winning three of the next four legs to complete a dominant 8-4 victory and secure the £15,000 top prize.
“I just wanted to win a game today. To go and win another ProTour is awesome. I’m so happy,” said Menzies, who has now won two titles in a year for the first time in his career.
“I think this is my fifth year on the tour and I’ve won four ProTours. That’s not bad I suppose!
“My aim is to make a good life for myself. That’s the aim that I think is achievable, but winning a major and having a good run at the World Championship would be amazing.
“I’ve put more effort in this year than I ever have because I nearly lost it all and I’m grateful to be in this position.”
Despite falling short in the final, Van Veen reached a first Players Championship final in 18 appearances this year, largely thanks to some trademark clinical finishing.
The Dutch number one won six straight legs in his opening match 6-1 victory over Tommy Morris, before seeing off Germany’s Daniel Klose 6-2.
The world number three then recorded his best average of the day (104.8) in his 6-4 win over Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas, before fending off a 104 average from Nathan Aspinall to deny the former World Matchplay champion in a last-leg decider, having trailed 5-3.
Van Veen’s doubling excellence continued in the quarter-finals, where he defied another ton-plus average from Chris Dobey with a match-winning 120 checkout – his third ton-plus finish of the contest.
The European Champion then pinned 50 per cent of his double attempts against William O’Connor to prevail 7-5 in the semi-finals.
Doets reached a remarkable seventh Players Championship semi-final this year, including averages of 113.9 and 104.6 in victories over Henry Coates and Jermaine Wattimena along the way.
Irish number one O’Connor also showed admirable consistency to reach the semi-finals, defeating 16-year-old star Archie Self 6-4 and Norway’s Cor Dekker en route.
Self – a Challenge Tour top-up player – secured his first ProTour win against Croatia’s Pero Ljubic, with the talented teenager also defeating Karel Sedlacek in a last-leg decider to reach the Last 32.
Dobey reached the quarter-finals thanks to a series of blistering displays, recording ton-plus averages in all five of his matches.
The former Masters champion dropped just one leg in his first three victories, averaging 103.6, 112.7 and 106 in thrashing Cam Crabtree, Wesley Plaisier and Maik Kuivenhoven, before averaging 106.6 in a 6-3 success over Josh Rock.
Swedish duo De Graaf and Lukasiak were joined in the quarter-finals by Wattimena, who himself recorded three consecutive ton-plus averages against Jeffrey de Zwaan, Ricardo Pietreczko and Callan Rydz.
Spanish number one Cristo Reyes struck a nine-darter in his opening round rout of Ian White, concluding the match with a 110 average, while former World Youth Champion Max Hopp also struck perfection in his second round triumph over Tom Bissell.
Three-time World Champion Michael Van Gerwen and second seed Luke Woodhouse were amongst the first round casualties in Den Bosch, with Krzysztof Ratajski and Martin Schindler also falling at the first hurdle.
Players Championship 29 Results
Tuesday September 22
First Round
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Nathan Potter
Viktor Tingstrom 6-5 Martin Lukeman
Ted Evetts 6-1 Justin Hood
Keane Barry 6-4 Stef Kosters
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Chris Landman 6-1 Steve Lennon
Cameron Menzies 6-2 Nick Kenny
Jim Long 6-2 Arno Merk
Danny Noppert 6-5 Jimmy van Schie
Lukas Wenig 6-3 Sietse Lap
Beau Greaves 6-2 Tommy Lishman
Rhys Griffin 6-5 Levy Frauenfelder
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Maximilian Czerwinski
Peter Wright 6-5 Alexander Merkx
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1 Mervyn King
Connor Scutt 6-4 Tyler Thorpe
Kevin Doets 6-0 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Kai Gotthardt 6-0 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Samuel Price
Henry Coates 6-4 Marvin Kraft
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Filip Bereza
Adam Gawlas 6-4 James Hurrell
Cristo Reyes 6-1 Ian White
Gilbert van der Meijden 6-5 Adam Warner
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 James Beeton
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-2 Thibault Tricole
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Lewis Pride 6-1 Marvin van Velzen
Callan Rydz 6-5 Damon Heta
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Tom Sykes
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Adam Paxton
Stefan Bellmont 6-3 Leon Weber
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 Charlie Manby
Max Hopp 6-1 Matthias Ehlers
Tom Bissell 6-2 David Sharp
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Christian Kist
Scott Williams 6-3 Dominik Gruellich
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Jurjen van der Velde
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-5 Madars Razma
Martijn Dragt 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Stephen Rosney
Richard Veenstra 6-5 Owen Bates
Cor Dekker 6-2 Niall Culleton
William O’Connor 6-0 Tytus Kanik
Greg Ritchie 6-5 Florian Preis
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Carl Sneyd
Archie Self 6-1 Pero Ljubic
Chris Dobey 6-0 Cam Crabtree
Wesley Plaisier 6-1 Tavis Dudeney
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-2 Andy Boulton
Rob Owen 6-3 Adam Lipscombe
Josh Rock 6-2 Alan Soutar
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Dennie Olde Kalter
Sebastian Bialecki 6-0 Michael Smith
Darryl Pilgrim 6-3 Ricky Evans
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Mike De Decker
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Stefaan Henderyck
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Ryan Meikle
Joe Hunt 6-2 Adam Leek
Gian van Veen 6-1 Tommy Morris
Daniel Klose 6-0 Stephen Burton
Thomas Lovely 6-5 Martin Schindler
Darius Labanauskas 6-5 Shane McGuirk
Second Round
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Viktor Tingstrom
Keane Barry 6-1 Ted Evetts
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4 Chris Landman
Cameron Menzies 6-5 Jim Long
Danny Noppert 6-4 Lukas Wenig
Beau Greaves 6-1 Rhys Griffin
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Peter Wright
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-2 Connor Scutt
Kevin Doets 6-2 Kai Gotthardt
Henry Coates 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Adam Gawlas 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Gilbert van der Meijden
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Lewis Pride
Callan Rydz 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Stefan Bellmont
Oskar Lukasiak 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Max Hopp 6-2 Tom Bissell
Scott Williams 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Martijn Dragt 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Cor Dekker 6-2 Richard Veenstra
William O’Connor 6-4 Greg Ritchie
Archie Self 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
Chris Dobey 6-0 Wesley Plaisier
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-2 Rob Owen
Josh Rock 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Darryl Pilgrim
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Joe Hunt
Gian van Veen 6-2 Daniel Klose
Darius Labanauskas 6-4 Thomas Lovely
Last 32
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Keane Barry
Cameron Menzies 6-2 Benjamin Pratnemer
Danny Noppert 6-4 Beau Greaves
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-4 Henry Coates
Cristo Reyes 6-1 Adam Gawlas
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko
Callan Rydz 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Oskar Lukasiak 6-0 Max Hopp
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Scott Williams
Cor Dekker 6-5 Martijn Dragt
William O’Connor 6-4 Archie Self
Chris Dobey 6-1 Maik Kuivenhoven
Josh Rock 6-1 Sebastian Bialecki
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Gian van Veen 6-4 Darius Labanauskas
Last 16
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Danny Noppert
Kevin Doets 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Callan Rydz
Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 Dave Chisnall
William O’Connor 6-4 Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey 6-3 Josh Rock
Gian van Veen 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Quarter-Finals
Cameron Menzies 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
Kevin Doets 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
William O’Connor 6-3 Oskar Lukasiak
Gian van Veen 6-5 Chris Dobey
Semi-Finals
Cameron Menzies 7-5 Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen 7-5 William O’Connor
Final
Cameron Menzies 8-4 Gian van Veen
