Wessel Nijman (Photo PDC)
Wessel Nijman claimed a remarkable eighth ranking title of 2026 after scooping the inaugural Slovak Darts Open in Bratislava on Sunday, defeating Rob Cross 8-3 in a fantastic final.
Nijman – who had claimed Players Championship 21 on Tuesday – resumed his resounding form at the Incheba Expo to become the first-ever winner of the Slovak Darts Open.
The Dutchman follows in the footsteps of Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright in becoming just the fourth player to have claimed eight or more ProTour titles in one season, while becoming the first player in 2026 to claim multiple European Tour titles.
The 25-year-old blew away Cross in the final with an exceptional display, taking out two ton-plus finishes and four legs on the spin to lead 5-2.
Although Cross produced a valiant display himself and averaged north of 102, Nijman relentlessly ploughed on, taking out a 12-dart break before wrapping up victory with a 74 outshot – finishing the contest with a 103.80 average.
“I cannot put this into words. It’s so amazing,” confessed Nijman, who climbed to world number 14 after becoming the inaugural Slovak Darts Open champion.
“Sometimes you have those days where you feel this can be a winning day because you feel so confident and today was a day like that.
“I’m really happy I did it. It was so warm up here, so it was a game of stamina, but whenever you get control you’re probably going to win the game, and that’s what I did.”
Nijman kicked off his title bid with comprehensive victories over Benjamin Pratnemer and Stephen Bunting, including a 6-1 win over the latter after missing just a sole dart at double across the contest.
The Dutchman then produced a wondrous display to shrug off Mike De Decker in the quarter-finals, conjuring a 170 finish and producing a 104.50 average.
In the last four, the former Development Tour winner almost let a 5-2 lead slip against Ross Smith, but took out 341 in six darts in the last-leg decider to clinch his spot in the showpiece.
“This tournament just shows the level of darts at the moment,” continued Nijman, who now tops the 2026 European Tour rankings.
“Even without [Luke] Littler and [Luke] Humphries, the level is still high and that’s what the PDC is like now.
“I’m really looking forward to the World Matchplay. Last year I was there and I felt this was the best tournament there is.
“I hope I can do some damage there and show the darts I’ve been producing here, and we’ll just see what happens.”
Although Cross could not claim a third European Tour title, the 35-year-old followed up his Players Championship 22 triumph with a second £15,000 paycheque of the week after finishing runner-up in Bratislava.
The former World Champion’s campaign kicked off with an unconvincing win over Host Nation qualifier Juraj Holub, before upping his game to account for number one seed Gian van Veen with an accomplished 6-3 victory.
The two-time European Champion then pipped Kevin Doets in a last-leg decider having trailed 5-4, before recording his first win over Nathan Aspinall in 10 matches in emphatic fashion, defeating the former World Matchplay champion 6-2 with a 102.75 average.
Cross then took on European Tour debutant Tom Sykes in the semi-final, producing another efficient performance to reach a first European Tour final in over two years, despite falling short to an imperious Nijman.
“Wessel played great there,” professed Cross, who missed just two darts at double in the final despite losing 8-3.
“I don’t enjoy the heat, but the crowd this weekend have been fantastic. It wasn’t my weekend, but things are heading in the right direction.
“I wouldn’t say I’m at my peak at the minute, but I’m starting to get there. I won a title in the week, another final today, and this was good practice for the World Matchplay!
“It’s just the beginning again, and I’m sure I have got many more majors left in me.”
Sykes had a tremendously impressive run on his maiden European Tour appearance, winning four consecutive matches to reach the semi-finals and pocket £10,000.
The 33-year-old – who secured his Tour Card at Q-School in January – averaged 103.64 to down Niko Springer in his first-ever European Tour match, before also taking the scalps of Martin Schindler, Cameron Menzies and Jermaine Wattimena to assert his darting credentials.
Smith continued his stellar 2026 by reaching a third European Tour semi-final of the year, seeing off Joe Cullen, Chris Dobey and Andrew Gilding, including a sparkling 104.57 average against Dobey in the last 16.
De Decker rounded off the quarter-finalists alongside Aspinall, Wattimena and Gilding, with the Belgian number one recording his first European Tour win since February after an incredible display in his 6-2 thrashing of William O’Connor, finishing the match with an average north of 107.
RESULTS
Preliminary Rounds
Rob Cross 6-5 Kevin Doets
Nathan Aspinall 6-0 Ryan Searle
Tom Sykes 6-4 Cameron Menzies
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Danny Noppert
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Ross Smith 6-4 Chris Dobey
Mike De Decker 6-5 Ryan Joyce
Wessel Nijman 6-1 Stephen Bunting
Quarter-Finals
Rob Cross 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Tom Sykes 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
Ross Smith 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Mike De Decker
Semi-Finals
Rob Cross 7-2 Tom Sykes
Wessel Nijman 7-6 Ross Smith
Final
Wessel Nijman 8-3 Rob Cross
