Wessel Nijman has insisted he doesn't care about records and it is all about the here and now after he thrashed Max Hopp 8-1 to win the latest Players Championship, his fifth title of the season. The Dutchman scooped £15,000 for the victory, becoming the first player to win five Players Championship titles in a year since Michael van Gerwen in 2016.
Nijman, alongside Chris Dobey, has dominated the ProTour in 2026. He saw off Jurjen van der Velde, Niall Culleton, Joe Cullen, Krzysztof Ratajski and Danny Noppert before downing the returning German in the final. Hopp was in his first final since returning to the tour. Nijman said: "It's always good to hold your best game for the final. I'm just so happy to keep the streak I'm having right now, and I'm happy with the way I'm playing today, especially in the later stages of the tournament. The beginning probably wasn't the best I've ever played, but in the end I didn't hit an average under 100, so yeah, I'm really pleased to win another one."
Asked how he does it, Nijman replied: "Yeah, I don't know, to be honest. I'm feeling pretty confident playing these floor events, and let's hope I can keep playing like this on the floor for many, many more years." Despite the record-breaking feat, Nijman remains unfazed. "To be honest, I don't really care about records. I care about the form I'm playing right now, and that's pretty good. It's always nice to have those kinds of records, but obviously they don't give you much more than the form you're in."
Setting his sights on the future, Nijman stated: "I will tell you by the end of the year. As I said, I just wanted to be in the top 16, and I want to take as many steps towards number one as possible by the end of the year. I'm happy to be in the top 16 right now, and let's hope I can get into the top 10, top eight, top four, top two." On others skipping tournaments, he added: "I don't need motivation from other people skipping tournaments. I just want to be part of as many tournaments as possible and play as well as I can." Regarding Blackpool qualification, Nijman said: "The goal was to be seeded at Blackpool, and I think I'm okay to get into the left side of the draw, but who can tell? There are still three or four months, and a lot can happen in that time."
