Wessel Nijman has eight ranking titles to his name in 2026, but is still chasing the first major quarter-final of his career. After beating Rob Cross in the opening round of the World Grand Prix, the Dutchman believes Leicester could finally bring the run he has been waiting for all year.
The world number 12 won 2–0 to set up a meeting with former champion Jonny Clayton on Wednesday. Leading both the ProTour and Players Championship rankings, Nijman arrived with another substantial season of results behind him, although he made no attempt to dress up the performance that took him past Cross. "Without going too much into the game, I'm just really happy I won this one," he said in his post-match press conference to DartsNews.com. "This is maybe the kind of luck that I need to get into the later stages of these kinds of tournaments. Obviously, Rob wasn't at his best. I wasn't at my best. It probably wasn't the best match of the night, but I'm just really happy that I won this one."
Six Players Championship victories and European Tour titles in Göttingen and Bratislava have made Nijman one of the most prolific winners of the season. Earlier this month, however, his World Series of Darts Finals campaign ended with a 10–7 defeat to James Wade in the last 16. Asked how important opening-round wins were for his confidence and development, Nijman acknowledged their value. "I think it is important. I think you're right. But I still have that in me, and I know I have," he said. "To be honest, I never doubted myself because I know I can play like that, and I can play like anyone else on that stage. But it's maybe a bit of luck." "It just needs to be one small step further, and then I'm there," he added. "I've been waiting for that probably the whole year, and I hope it will be this week."
Nijman earned his Tour Card through the Development Tour before beginning to collect titles on the senior circuit. "To be honest, this wasn't on the list of development when I started back then. This is far beyond that," he said when asked about his ambitions at the beginning of that process. "I know it's there, but it's hard to put it on a timeline, to be honest." "I know it is there, and I know I can beat everyone," Nijman continued. "I know I can play like everyone else, but I'm just waiting for that moment, and I'm hoping that moment will be pretty soon."
With those titles have come repeated questions about whether Nijman can turn his form into a major-winning campaign. Asked whether being identified as a dark horse brought extra pressure, he pointed back to his second World Championship appearance. "No, not really. When I played my second Worlds, they already put me as fifth favourite, so there's probably not going to be more pressure than that," he said. "I'm not putting that much pressure on myself, but I just want to show the world that I can do it on these big stages. I know I can. It's just a matter of time." When a follow-up question suggested that experience had prepared him to handle anything, Nijman recalled how the tournament had ended. "No, I'm not sure if I really came out of that. I won that first-round game, but then I lost the second-round game against Joe," he replied. "I know I can handle everything, but maybe it's waiting for the right moment."
Clayton has already stopped Nijman at a major this year, winning their opening-round meeting at the World Masters 3–1 in January. They meet again on Wednesday with a quarter-final place at stake. "I know it will be a tougher game than it was against Rob today," Nijman said. "But, as I said, if I play my own game, if I play my A-game, I can beat anyone. I hope I will play my A-game on Wednesday."
Nijman's victory closed a session in which Michael van Gerwen and defending champion Luke Littler also departed. Littler's defeat to Luke Woodhouse came immediately before Nijman took to the stage, while he was preparing to face Cross. "To be honest, if you're the next game on, you don't really watch the darts game that's on the stage. I'm not really sure how that game went," he said. "I'm not really concerned about who I play in a semi-final or a final. I just see it as the next game, and the next game is Jonny. That's enough for me right now." Clayton had a considerably longer opening-night assignment, needing a deciding set to get past Krzysztof Ratajski 2–1. The 2021 champion will now provide Nijman's next test in Leicester.
