Jermaine Wattimena wins first ever PDC title at Players Championship 23!

Jermaine Wattimena has long been considered one of the best players never to win a PDC title of any kind, but now, finally, the Dutchman has managed to get his hands on some silverware, outlasting German Lukas Wenig 8-5 in the final of Players Championship 23 this Wednesday afternoon in Hildesheim.

Wattimena, who recently showed his class by pushing eventual champion Luke Littler all the way at the 2025 World Matchplay, performed strongly all day at PC23, sending home the likes of Jose de Sousa, Rob Owen, Gabriel Clemens, Danny Noppert, Ryan Joyce and Bradley Brooks to reach the final. Wenig meanwhile, reached his first ever Players Championship final off the back of victories over players such as: Mario Vandenbogaerde, Tom Bissell, Jimmy van Schie, Daryl Gurney, Justin Hood and Wessel Nijman.

The Final

In the final itself, Wattimena held his nerve in a drama-filled contest to defeat Wenig on the German's home turf and lift his first senior PDC title in Hildesheim.

The Dutchman, affectionately nicknamed The Machine Gun, overcame a string of missed doubles — 26 in total — but still had the edge in key moments to eventually seal a 7–4 victory with a stunning 107 checkout. Early in the match, both players had chances to seize control. Wenig narrowly missed double 10 for an early break, allowing Wattimena to recover and hold on double four. The German again threatened with a big 170 attempt but couldn’t convert, and Wattimena punished him with a clinical 89 finish to move 3–2 ahead.

Wenig refused to fade. He capitalized on Wattimena’s missed bullseye for a 164 checkout and later punished a string of eight missed darts from the Dutchman to level the match again. Despite also struggling on the outer ring — missing six doubles in that leg — Wenig managed to break back and stay in the hunt.