Jermaine Wattimena has once again made his mark on the PDC ProTour, claiming the third Players Championship title of his career in Leicester and his first of the year. In a stacked tournament, the Dutchman defeated the likes of Luke Littler and Luke Woodhouse before getting the better of fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets in the final. The victory also came at an interesting time, as Wattimena was appearing at a ProTour event with his new darts for the first time.
The 38-year-old enjoyed an excellent day, although by his own admission he occasionally made things unnecessarily difficult for himself. “Yeah, thank you very much. I think some games I make myself difficult. I play really well.” Wattimena won his first ProTour title in Germany last year, but in Leicester he proved it was not a one-off. One of the most notable results came in the quarter-finals, where he defeated Luke Littler for the first time in his career. “Luke Littler’s not there. Now you beat Luke Littler in the quarter-final. So they can’t moan now,” he said.
“To be honest, I feel always confident against him when I lose as well. Because I always play really well against him, to be honest. I think if you see the lost matches against him, I play always well. And now the 115 against him, yeah, that confidence get me back in there.” That convincing performance gave Wattimena a boost heading into the latter stages, and he carried it into the semi-final against Luke Woodhouse, where he produced several big finishes, including a decisive 128 checkout. “I didn’t realize that someone texted me, your ton-plus finishes, you’re really good. I didn’t realize that in the semi-final because you’re busy with the game,” he admitted.
In the final, Wattimena faced Kevin Doets, a fellow Dutchman and one of his best friends on tour. “All that was going through my mind was to play one of your best friends on the tour. That was going through my mind. But here you are enemies, but we are good friends. But on the board, you’re enemies. And I’m the lucky one to win this game because he missed some doubles. I think he missed two or three times.” The victory confirmed that Wattimena now knows how to play finals. “I don’t know what to say. I lost some finals, but now it’s easier to play a final, to be honest. More expectation, yes, because you know you can win some Pro Tours.”
The win came after a short break from the ProTour, during which Wattimena travelled to the United States for the DPVL live event. “Holiday and play some darts. I play a lot of darts there. I think four days. But new darts, this is the first time, first Pro Tour with the new darts.” He recently switched to new Winmau darts, deliberately choosing this moment. “I think because of the holidays. I think it’s the right time. I got some holiday. On holiday, you can practice with some darts, what you like. So I think that’s the best time to step over. That’s my opinion. And I like it. Practicing was going well. In America, I played some tournaments going well. Yeah, I’m happy with it.”
His ambitions for the rest of 2026 are not limited to the ProTour, with the European Tour particularly on his radar. “Hopefully European,” he quipped. With his victory in Leicester, Wattimena has once again shown he is among the dangerous outsiders on the ProTour, and he has an immediate opportunity to build on his success: another Players Championship is already on the schedule in Leicester the day after his title.
