Jermaine Wattimena won his first PDC title on Wednesday. The 37-year-old from Gelderland defeated German Lukas Wenig in the final of Players Championship 23 in Hildesheim, Germany: 8-5.
Wattimena had previously been in the final of a PDC tournament five times. Last month in Leicester, he narrowly missed out on the final victory of Player Championship 18, after also losing three finals on the Players Championship circuit in 2019 and 2020. In 2024, Wattimena was defeated in the European Championship final.
He succeeded in Hildesheim. The score was tied until 4-4, after which Wattimena took the initiative. With an impressive 107-finish, the Dutchman clinched the victory in style. Afterwards, ‘The Machine Gun’ could not hold back his tears.
“Finally, I win one,” Wattimena sobbed after the match against Wenig. “I do a lot for this. I have worked hard for this. I have no words for it.”
On the way to the final, Wattimena defeated José de Sousa (PDC-51), Robert Owen (PDC-58), Gabriel Clemens (PDC-39), fellow countryman Danny Noppert (PDC-15), Ryan Joyce (PDC-24), and Bradley Brooks (PDC-73), respectively. Wattimena occupies the thirtieth spot on the PDC Order of Merit.
Van Veen throws nine-darter in Hildesheim
Gian van Veen threw a nine-darter on Wednesday in the third round of the Players Championship in Hildesheim against Ryan Meikle, whom he defeated 6-2. He also recorded an impressive average of 111.68 points per three darts.
‘GVV’ threw the nine-darter in the classic way: seven times triple-20, one time triple-19, and a double-12 as the final dart. Meikle tried to fight his way back into the match, but could not reach Van Veen’s top level.
Van Veen was unable to continue his success. The darter from Poederoijen took the lead against Bradley Brooks, but relinquished that margin. Van Veen lost 4-6 to the Englishman and missed out on the quarter-finals.