WATTIMENA WINS FIRST SENIOR TITLE AT PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 23
30/07/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
JERMAINE WATTIMENA secured a maiden PDC ranking title after beating Lukas Wenig 8-5 to win the Players Championship 23.
World No. 30 Wattimena capitalised on three missed darts at double from the German to fire an 18-darter and snatch a 5-4 lead.
Former European Championship finalist Wattimena pearled in a cracking 106 checkout to extend the advantage to 6-4 at Hildesheim.
Dutch thrower Wattimena nailed double 18 to go 7-5 ahead and then sealed the victory with a classy 107 finish.
Wattimena admitted he was overjoyed to finally snap a run of five straight final defeats on the PDC Tour and claim his first-ever ProTour crown.
He said: “Finally, I’ve won one and it means a lot because I have put in so much work for this to happen.
“I’m really happy to finally get a title here after I have lost five finals and a major final.
“Now I have got one finally. Lukas is a really good player and there was no favourite in the final.
“To hit a ton plus finish to win the final I am really happy, and I have no words to describe how happy I am.
“I’m in good form and a few games today I did not play to my best.
“But what counts in the end is when you win a tournament and I’m really happy with this one.”
‘The Machine Gun’ averaged a stellar 100 to triumph 7-2 against Bradley Brook in the semi-final.
Wattimena fired in four maximums on the way to overcoming Ryan Joyce 6-4 in the quarter-final
The 37-year-old fired in two ton plus checkouts, including a stunning 136 finish, to beat Danny Noppert 6-4 in the last 16.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
