Nijman downs Wattimena to claim fourth Players Championship title of year

[p]The Dutchman recovered from 4-2 down to take six of the following seven legs to claim his fourth Players Championship title of the year, securing the £15,000 top prize. [/p][p][b]"It was kind of a nervy final. I went behind after missing some doubles,"[/b] said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nijman-wessel/xCX137Ee/"]Nijman[/a].[/p][p]"I’m so happy I kept it together. There were some finishes I hit with the last dart, the 57 (to go 6-5 up) was important.[/p][p][b]"When it clicks together, and you play those finals, and you’ve been playing those games all day long, the next time you come, you remember that."[/b][/p][embed guid="925bb63d-ec97-4952-9c56-a9d7215b0533" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2049183802853826599?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Nijman continued: "[b]Me and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wattimena-jermaine/0hcDtau6/"]Jermaine[/a] will be close in the next few months, but this is a big step into the top 16, and hopefully there will be many more steps made.[/b][/p][p][b]"Top 16 was one of the goals I had at the start of the year, to get that privilege of starting on the Saturday (in Euro Tours) and starting on the left side of the draw in big majors."[/b][/p][p]Nijman opened with a 6-2 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-scott/rDYjKpwB/"]Scott Williams[/a] before edging past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sykes-tom/jeWTGvxT/"]Tom Sykes[/a] after surviving a match dart. He then beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bialecki-sebastian/neVAFdz5/"]Sebastian Bialecki[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/searle-ryan/UFF3Eh5C/"]Ryan Searle[/a] 6-3, followed by a 6-2 victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/potter-nathan/z5JKoUgM/"]Nathan Potter[/a].[/p][p]He produced his best display in the semi-finals, averaging 103.41 in a 7-4 win against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bissell-tom/EBj9gX9j/"]Tom Bissell[/a].[/p][image alt="Nijman reacts" id="798aecbc-952f-4a06-890a-21372dd403f0" credit-line="PDC" guid="ff8bccd9-c65f-453e-94d4-704e1671f164" original-width="2400" original-height="2190" /][p]Wattimena made the stronger start in the final, but Nijman responded to lead 5-4 and moved ahead at 6-5 after an 80 checkout from his opponent. Wattimena missed six darts at double to level, allowing Nijman to take control before closing out the match in 14 darts.[/p][p]Wattimena, playing in his first final of the year, had earlier beaten [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dragt-martijn/2e19w4tA/"]Martijn Dragt[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lap-sietse/Wz5jt8Hq/"]Sietse Lap[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hunt-joe/bX9hv4f5/"]Joe Hunt[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lishman-tommy/KMjV5mc8/"]Tommy Lishman[/a]. He then averaged 104.43 in a quarter-final win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dobey-chris/dWj1FjDn/"]Chris Dobey[/a] and defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doets-kevin/I14LCcyQ/"]Kevin Doets[/a] 7-3 in the semi-finals.[/p][h2]Results[/h2][p][b]Last 16[/b][/p][p]Wessel Nijman 6-3 Ryan Searle[/p][p]Nathan Potter 6-2 James Wade[/p][p]Tom Bissell 6-0 Beau Greaves[/p][p]Max Hopp 6-5 Darryl Pilgrim[/p][p]Chris Dobey 6-1 Chris Landman[/p][p]Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Tommy Lishman[/p][p]Kevin Doets 6-5 Mike De Decker[/p][p]Gary Anderson 6-3 Alexander Merkx[/p][p][b]Quarter-finals[/b][/p][p]Wessel Nijman 6-2 Nathan Potter[/p][p]Tom Bissell 6-3 Max Hopp[/p][p]Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Chris Dobey[/p][p]Kevin Doets 6-1 Gary Anderson[/p][p][b]Semi-finals[/b][/p][p]Wessel Nijman 7-4 Tom Bissell[/p][p]Jermaine Wattimena 7-3 Kevin Doets[/p][p][b]Final[/b][/p][p]Wessel Nijman 8-5 Jermaine Wattimena[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/darts/world/players-championship-12/"]Catch up on PC12 with Flashscore![/a][/h2]