Wessel Nijman matched fellow Dutchman Michael van Gerwen’s achievement after continuing his outstanding Players Championship form with victory in the year’s 14th event.
The 25-year-old cruised to an emphatic 8-1 win over Max Hopp in the final in Hildesheim, Germany, to secure his fifth Players Championship title of 2026.
In doing so, Nijman became the first player since Van Gerwen in 2016 to claim five Players Championship titles in a single year.
“I don’t really care about records,” Nijman told the PDC website. “I care more about the form I’m playing in right now.
“I just want to break into the top 16 and get as close to world number one as possible by the end of the year.”
Several of darts’ leading stars, including Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, did not feature at the event.
Van Gerwen exited in the third round after a 6-4 defeat to Austria’s Mensur Suljovic, while two-time world champion Gary Anderson suffered a surprise 6-5 first-round loss to Lewis Pride.
The Players Championship season consists of 34 events, with the finals set to take place in Minehead in November.
