Luke Littler produced a series of mesmerising displays to clinch his first Players Championship title of the season on Wednesday, which confirms his qualification for next month’s Players Championship Finals in Minehead.
Littler – fresh from lifting the World Grand Prix title on Sunday – continued his magnificent form to celebrate Players Championship 32 success on a thrilling day of action in Wigan.
The World Champion found himself outside of the provisional qualification places for Minehead ahead of Wednesday’s play, although he rectified that with a sensational march to victory at the Robin Park Leisure Centre.
Following 6-4 wins over Dylan Slevin and Jeffrey de Graaf, Littler stormed through to the last 16 with a whitewash win over Adam Lipscombe, aided by an average of 102.
Littler then produced consecutive 130, 120 and 146 finishes to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Adam Hunt, before reeling off five straight legs from 3-1 down to sink Rhys Griffin in the last eight.
The Warrington wonderkid produced further heroics in his semi-final clash against top seed Stephen Bunting, winning five legs without reply from 4-2 adrift to prevail with a 109 average to Bunting’s 107.
This set up a fascinating showdown against surprise finalist Dennie Olde Kalter, who lost his opening 20 matches on the PDC ProTour earlier this year.
The Dutchman drew first blood in Wednesday’s showpiece with a terrific 121 finish, but Littler soon seized control, following up a 12-dart riposte with 152 and 101 checkouts to lead 3-1.
Olde Kalter doubled his tally in leg six, only for Littler to follow up his second 101 finish with back-to-back 11-darters to move to the cusp of victory at 7-2.
The World Champion then crashed in his tenth 180 of the contest to set up a match-winning opportunity, before completing a 72 combination to prevail with a magnificent 110.73 average.
“I’m really happy to come away with a win,” reflected Littler, who is now £11,000 above the qualification cut-off with two events remaining.
“I’m a bit angry it was only a 15-darter to finish with, because I knew my average felt really good!
“At the start of the day it was just about getting through the early stages, and you need to believe in yourself.
“I know I’ve got the capabilities to come from behind in matches and that’s what I did yet again today.
“Trying to qualify for Minehead was at the back of my mind. I had seen some people on social media say I wasn’t going to make it, but I’m very happy with the way I played today.”
Littler's exploits stole the headlines in Wigan, but it was also a landmark day for Olde Kalter, who claimed a host of big-name scalps to pocket the £10,000 runner-up prize.
The unheralded Dutchman had lost 25 of his 29 opening round matches on the ProTour this year, but he underlined his credentials with a hat-trick of wins over his fellow countrymen Marvin van Velzen, Niels Zonneveld and Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Victories over former Grand Slam champion Scott Waites and Premier League star Nathan Aspinall followed, before he halted Jermaine Wattimena's bid for back-to-back titles with a resounding 7-3 win in their all-Dutch semi-final.
That brought an end to Wattimena's 12-match winning run in Wigan, after the European Championship runner-up posted ton-topping averages in wins over Rob Cross and Chris Dobey in the last 16 and quarter-finals respectively.
Elsewhere, Bunting also featured in the semi-finals for a second day in succession, following up a six-leg demolition of Martin Lukeman with emphatic 6-2 wins over young stars Niko Springer and Wessel Nijman.
Earlier in the day, Sweden's Andreas Harrysson produced perfection in his round one tie against Radek Szaganski, just 24 hours on from Aspinall's incredible brace of nine-dart finishes.
Following this week's double-header, the PDC ProTour season will conclude later this month, as Players Championships 33-34 take place at the Robin Park Leisure Centre on October 29-30.
The race for Players Championship Finals qualification will dominate the headlines, as world number one Luke Humphries and two-time World Champion Peter Wright battle to confirm their spots in the 64-player field.
Seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen looks set to miss out on next month's extravaganza, with the Dutchman not expected to compete in the upcoming ProTour double-header due to family reasons.
Coverage from each of the four streaming boards at Players Championships 33-34 will be broadcast live on PDCTV, with German commentary provided on Streaming Board One.
See full results listed in the Match Centre.
Click here for match stats through DartConnect.
2025 Players Championship 32
Robin Park Leisure Centre, Wigan
Wednesday October 15
Last 16
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Niko Springer
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Cor Dekker
Luke Littler 6-4 Adam Hunt
Rhys Griffin 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Chris Dobey 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Rob Cross
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-1 Scott Waites
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Damon Heta
Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Wessel Nijman
Luke Littler 6-3 Rhys Griffin
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Chris Dobey
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Semi-Finals
Luke Littler 7-4 Stephen Bunting
Dennie Olde Kalter 7-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Final
Luke Littler 8-2 Dennie Olde Kalter
Nine-Darter!
Andreas Harrysson hit a nine-darter in his Round One tie against Radek Szaganski.