Wessel Nijman beats Stephen Bunting 8-5 to win first Players Championship title

Dutchman Wessel Nijman claimed his first Players Championship title after an 8-5 victory over Stephen Bunting on the first of three days of action in Wigan.

The 24-year-old is back on the tour after serving a suspension for breaching betting and anti-corruption rules.

He was banned for five years in October 2020, but half of the ban was suspended and he returned to the sport in early 2023 and is now in his first full year on the ProTour.

On his way to Tuesday’s final he beat Mervyn King, Ryan Searle, Krzysztof Ratajski and Jose de Sousa, before a 7-6 victory over in-form Gary Anderson.

The Scot, a two-time PDC world champion, hit a nine-darter in his second-round win over Jamie Hughes and also dispatched current world champion and world number one Luke Humphries in the last eight.

Bunting, the reigning Masters champion, had got past Luke Littler 7-6 in the semi-finals and led 2-0 in the final before Nijman won the next five legs to take control.

“It is always hard to play a ProTour final, but I knew I could win,” Nijman said.

“At the start of the year I was hitting a 100 average but I felt like I was unlucky and lost some games.

“But I was patient and I started to bring it up and hit those match darts.

“My goal was to get into the top 64 after two years on the Tour, but it looks like I will make it this year.”