Players Championship 16 takes place in Leicester today, with Michael van Gerwen returning less than 24 hours after ending his wait for a first Pro Tour title of the 2026 season, having beaten Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-5 in Tuesday’s Players Championship 15 final. The Dutchman opens PC16 against Joe Hunt.
Beau Greaves is also back in the draw after another impressive run yesterday, when she reached the quarter-finals before losing out to Van Gerwen. She begins today’s event against Harry Ward. Wessel Nijman, who has been one of the standout players across this year’s Players Championship series, begins his PC16 campaign against Lukas Wenig. Dirk van Duijvenbode, beaten by Van Gerwen in yesterday’s final, opens against Tommy Morris.
There are several other notable first round ties across the draw. Rob Cross faces Jeffrey De Graaf, while Michael Smith takes on Jeffrey De Zwaan and James Wade begins against Greg Ritchie. Stephen Bunting has been drawn against Jenson Walker, Dave Chisnall faces Dennie Olde Kalter, and Josh Rock meets Brendan Dolan in one of the more eye-catching opening round matches. Elsewhere, Krzysztof Ratajski takes on Peter Wright, while Cameron Menzies faces Dimitri Van den Bergh. Damon Heta, who topped the PC14 averages list with a 110.78, opens against Yorick Hofkens.
Kevin Doets, winner of Players Championship 13, faces Tommy Lishman, while Luke Woodhouse, runner-up to Doets in Hildesheim, starts against Jack Aldridge. Other ties of note include Kim Huybrechts against Jimmy van Schie, Jonny Clayton against Marvin van Velzen, Martin Schindler against Nick Kenny, and Ross Smith against Rob Owen.
With Van Gerwen looking to back up his Leicester title, Greaves aiming to build on another deep run, and Nijman still carrying one of the strongest records of the season, Players Championship 16 has plenty of early intrigue.
