Michael van Gerwen has won his first ProTour title since October 2024, defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-5 in the final of Players Championship 15 in Leicester. The victory is his 37th ProTour title overall and marks a significant milestone in a season where he has prioritised rankings over everything else.
Van Gerwen's path to the title was highlighted by an astonishing 122 average in his semi-final demolition of Martin Schindler, winning legs in 12, 12, 15, 11, 22, 13, and 11 darts. Earlier, he had beaten Beau Greaves 6-2 with a 102 average, Gian van Veen 6-4 averaging 101, and also saw off Ross Smith, Adam Lipscombe, and Dennie Olde Kalter, with his averages climbing from the mid-90s to over 100 by the latter stages.
The final itself saw Van Gerwen start strongly, going 3-0 up before Van Duijvenbode fought back to level at 5-5. But Van Gerwen regained control with a 98 checkout on double 19, broke with an 87 checkout, and sealed the title with a bull finish on 65 before hitting double four. Van Duijvenbode had reached the final by defeating Stephen Bunting 7-5 and Josh Rock 6-3, having also beaten Chris Dobey, Darryl Pilgrim, Niall Culleton, and Tytus Kanik.
The day featured several huge averages in the Last 32: Martin Schindler averaged 113 against Darius Labanauskas, Chris Dobey hit 110 against Richard Veenstra, Kim Huybrechts swept aside Jermaine Wattimena with 107, and Joe Cullen hit 107 against Niko Springer. Wessel Nijman, the forerunner in the ProTour standings, lost 6-5 to Schindler in the Last 16 despite a 105 average, while Jonny Clayton fell 6-5 to Dave Chisnall.