PDC Round-Up: Littler Makes His Players Championship Return as Wattimena and Humphries Take the Titles

 

It was a busy few days on the PDC circuit, with the World Series of Darts Finals Tour Card Holder Qualifier followed by Players Championship 27 and 28.

There was plenty to take from all three tournaments. Jermaine Wattimena and Luke Humphries collected the Players Championship titles, four players booked World Series Finals places, and Luke Littler made his first Players Championship appearances of the 2026 season.

Littler's return to the floor was always going to attract attention, and despite not taking either title, a quarter-final and semi-final represented an impressive first couple of days back.

Four come through World Series qualifier

The week's action began on 24 August with the Tour Card Holder Qualifier for the World Series of Darts Finals.

The four players to emerge from the field were Callan Rydz, Rob Cross, Kevin Doets and Karel Sedlacek.

Rydz came through with five victories and a 96.44 tournament average, eventually beating Daryl Gurney 6-2 with a 98.95 average in his qualifying match.

Cross also produced some excellent darts. His route culminated in a 6-3 victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode, averaging 98.41, having previously edged Peter Wright 6-5.

Doets completed his run by defeating Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3.

But statistically, one of the performances of the qualifier belonged to Karel Sedlacek.

The Czech averaged 99.53 across his five victories, and saved his best for the decisive match. Sedlacek averaged 105.22 in a 6-4 win over Owen Bates to secure his place.

There was plenty of quality elsewhere too, with Cristo Reyes producing a 106.67 during the tournament and Van Duijvenbode, Mickey Mansell and Keane Barry also recording individual averages above 103.

Four places were available, though, and they ultimately belonged to Rydz, Cross, Doets and Sedlacek.

Wattimena wins Players Championship 27

The first of the week's two Players Championship events produced a title for Jermaine Wattimena.

Wattimena completed a perfect seven-match run by beating Kevin Doets 8-6 in the final, averaging 93.81 against Doets' 93.22.

His overall tournament average was an impressive 95.20, but perhaps the most significant thing about his victory was the quality of opposition he negotiated towards the end.

In the semi-final he defeated Luke Woodhouse 7-4 with a 100.71 average.

Before that came one of the biggest matches of the week.

Wattimena faced Luke Littler in the quarter-finals and edged a tight contest 6-5.

Littler actually produced the higher average at 95.68 to Wattimena's 92.36, but it was the Dutchman who found the decisive leg before going on to take the title.

Nijman produces the performance of the day

Wattimena took the trophy, but Wessel Nijman produced some spectacular numbers.

Nijman averaged 109.77 in a 6-1 Last 16 victory over Bradley Brooks and finished the tournament with a 97.49 overall average.

He eventually lost 7-5 to Doets in the semi-finals despite averaging 97.31.

Luke Woodhouse was another player to enjoy a strong run, reaching the last four with a 95.71 tournament average, while Cameron Menzies, Kim Huybrechts and Mickey Mansell all reached the quarter-finals.

But the big additional talking point was Littler.

Littler's first Players Championship of 2026

For all Luke Littler has already achieved, this was something we had not seen during 2026 – Littler competing on the Players Championship circuit.

And his first appearance certainly wasn't a token visit.

He began with a 6-2 victory over Archie Self before defeating Arno Merk 6-3 with a 105.12 average.

William O'Connor was beaten 6-3 before Littler whitewashed Chris Dobey 6-0 in the Last 16.

That set up the quarter-final against eventual champion Wattimena.

Littler lost 6-5, but finished his first floor tournament of the season with four wins, one defeat and a 97.47 tournament average.

Not bad for a first appearance.

And he wasn't finished.

Humphries takes PC28 – Littler goes one better

Players Championship 28 belonged to Luke Humphries.

The former World Champion went unbeaten through seven matches, defeating Brendan Dolan 8-6 in the final.

Humphries averaged 97.63 across the tournament and produced several outstanding individual displays along the way.

His peak came earlier in the event with a 108.66 average, while he also averaged 99.70 in his 6-5 Last 16 victory over Danny Noppert and 99.97 when defeating Mike De Decker 7-4 in the semi-final.

Dolan's appearance in the final was perhaps less predictable.

His overall tournament average was only 88.38, but he repeatedly found ways to win – and his biggest victory came against Littler.

Littler reaches the semi-finals

Having reached the last eight 24 hours earlier, Littler went one round further at PC28.

And this time his overall numbers were even better.

He averaged 98.36 across six matches, the best tournament average among the four semi-finalists.

His route included a 6-1 demolition of Martin Schindler in the Last 32 with a huge 107.23 average.

Andy Boulton was beaten 6-3 before Littler faced Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals.

That was an excellent contest.

Littler averaged 100.65, Ratajski 99.99, with Littler coming through 6-4.

That put him into his first Players Championship semi-final of the season at only the second attempt.

Dolan stopped him there.

The Northern Irishman produced one of his best performances of the tournament when it mattered most, averaging 97.63 to Littler's 96.42 in a 7-4 victory.

Humphries then denied Dolan the title in the final.

Two events, nine wins for Littler

The temptation whenever Littler enters a tournament is to judge anything short of victory as a disappointment.

The numbers don't really support doing that here.

Across his first two Players Championship appearances of 2026, Littler recorded:

9 wins from 11 matches

Quarter-final at PC27

Semi-final at PC28

97.47 tournament average at PC27

98.36 tournament average at PC28

105.12 best average at PC27

107.23 best average at PC28

And his only defeats came against the eventual PC27 champion Wattimena and PC28 runner-up Dolan.

There was no title, but there was very little evidence of difficulty adapting to the floor environment.

If anything, the second day suggested he was getting stronger.

A good week for Kevin Doets

Another name running throughout the week's results was Kevin Doets.

First he qualified for the World Series Finals by defeating Maik Kuivenhoven.

Twenty-four hours later he reached the PC27 final.

Doets beat Rob Cross, Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman during the latter stages before Wattimena finally stopped him 8-6.

That made it an excellent couple of days for the Dutchman: a World Series Finals place followed by a Players Championship final.

Woodhouse consistently goes deep

Luke Woodhouse didn't quite get the headline result, but his consistency deserves mentioning.

He reached the PC27 semi-finals and followed it with a PC28 quarter-final.

Across PC27 he averaged 95.71, including a 101.97 in his quarter-final win over Mickey Mansell.

At PC28 he averaged 96.95 across five matches and produced a 101.61 against Daniel Ayres.

Two events, two deep runs and some very solid numbers.

PC28 produces some huge averages

There were also several eye-catching individual performances away from the latter stages.

Martin Schindler hit 109.52, the highest match average in the PC28 data.

Humphries reached 108.66.

Littler produced 107.23.

Jimmy van Schie averaged 105.36, while Owen Bates, Chris Dobey and Kim Huybrechts were among several others to break through the 100 barrier.

It reinforced just how unforgiving these floor tournaments can be.

An excellent performance can still leave a player several rounds away from the title.

A week with several different stories

If there was one theme running through the week's PDC action, it was probably opportunity.

Rydz, Cross, Doets and Sedlacek took theirs to reach the World Series Finals.

Wattimena converted an excellent PC27 run into a title.

Humphries did the same a day later.

Doets enjoyed one of the week's most consistent spells, while Nijman produced one of its biggest individual performances.

And then there was Littler.

His decision to make his first Players Championship appearances of 2026 added another dimension to both tournaments.

A quarter-final followed by a semi-final may not have produced the trophy, but nine victories from 11 matches and tournament averages of 97.47 and 98.36 suggest his first venture onto the floor this season was hardly unsuccessful.

Whether we see considerably more of him in the remaining Players Championship events remains to be seen.

But his first two appearances certainly made the floor tournaments even more interesting.

What Are the Toughest Non-Televised Darts Tournaments of 2026 So Far?

 

Over the past few weeks, I've been using the Q4QS Tournament Strength data to look at the competitive landscape of darts from several different angles.

I've compared the world's leading tours, looked at the difference between the Players Championship, Challenge Tour and Development Tour, and most recently investigated just how tough ADC Vault tournaments can become.

This time I'm asking a simple question:

What have been the toughest individual non-televised tournaments of 2026 so far?

There is one important distinction before looking at the rankings.

This analysis does not include the PDC's televised events.

The ranking is based on the floor, qualifying, pathway, regional and open tournaments currently represented in the Q4QS Tournament Strength database. Events such as the World Championship, World Matchplay and other televised PDC tournaments are therefore not part of this comparison.

And, of course, we're only in August. This is a snapshot of 2026 so far, not a final end-of-year ranking.

First – Tournament Strength Is NOT an Average

This distinction is particularly important when looking at the numbers below.

A Q4QS Tournament Strength Score of 93.00 does not mean the players averaged 93.00.

Tournament Strength is a calculated Q4QS measure designed to assess the overall quality of a tournament field. It incorporates factors including player ratings, player performance and the overall strength of those competing.

It allows tournaments from very different levels and parts of the game to be compared using the same scale.

Think of it as a field-strength rating, not a three-dart average.

The Toughest Non-Televised Tournaments of 2026 So Far

Rank	Tournament	Q4QS Tournament Strength
1	PDC Players Championship 4	99.01
2	PDC Players Championship 1	98.15
3	Winmau World Masters – Preliminary Round Finals	97.99
4	PDC Players Championship 3	97.81
5	PDC Players Championship 2	97.75
6	European Tour 1 – Tour Card Holder Qualifier	96.51
7	European Tour 2 – Tour Card Holder Qualifier	95.00
8	UK Q-School Final Stage – Event 2	93.00
9	UK Q-School Final Stage – Event 1	92.81
10	PDC Challenge Tour 1	92.80
11	UK Q-School Final Stage – Event 4	92.61
12	UK Q-School Final Stage – Event 3	92.53
13	PDC Challenge Tour 2	92.46
14	PDC Challenge Tour 9	92.31
15	UK Q-School Stage 1 – Event 1	92.00
16	PDC Challenge Tour 3	91.50
17	EU Q-School Final Stage – Event 3	91.44
18	PDC Challenge Tour 4	91.41
19	EU Q-School Final Stage – Event 4	91.19
20	EU Q-School Final Stage – Event 1	91.18

Players Championship Is Still the Benchmark

Within the non-televised tournaments covered by this analysis, the Players Championship is the clear benchmark.

Players Championship 4 leads the database with a Tournament Strength Score of 99.01.

Players Championship 1, 3 and 2 are also all inside the top five.

These are 128-player fields packed with Tour Card holders, and there simply aren't many places for a weaker player to hide.

You can draw an outstanding player in the opening round and, should you win, potentially face another immediately afterwards.

The Players Championship doesn't have the crowds and atmosphere associated with televised darts, but purely in terms of field strength, the numbers underline just how unforgiving the floor circuit can be.

The World Masters Preliminary Stage Is a Standout

Sitting amongst all those Players Championships is something very different.

The Winmau World Masters Preliminary Round Finals scores 97.99, putting it third in the entire non-televised ranking.

That's an enormous Tournament Strength Score.

And it illustrates something that has become increasingly apparent while producing this series:

the most prestigious part of a tournament isn't necessarily the strongest part statistically.

When large numbers of extremely capable players are fighting for a limited number of places, preliminary rounds and qualifiers can create extraordinarily concentrated fields.

Tour Card Holder Qualifiers Are Brutal

Two European Tour Card Holder Qualifiers are next, scoring 96.51 and 95.00.

Those aren't European Tour stage events.

They're the tournaments players have to survive simply to reach them.

With fields consisting almost entirely of PDC Tour Card holders and only a limited number of qualification places available, straightforward matches are difficult to find.

Some of the strongest fields in darts therefore aren't playing in front of thousands of spectators.

They're playing on the floor trying to earn the right to do so.

Q-School Really Is That Difficult

Anyone who has followed Q-School knows its reputation.

The Tournament Strength data gives us an indication of just how difficult it really is.

UK Q-School Final Stage Event 2 records 93.00.

Event 1 scores 92.81, while Events 4 and 3 register 92.61 and 92.53 respectively.

For comparison, the strongest Challenge Tour event in the current data is 92.80.

That means the strongest UK Q-School Final Stage event actually edges it.

Q-School brings together former Tour Card holders, leading Challenge and Development Tour players, international competitors and ambitious players attempting to break into the professional game.

The numbers reinforce something anyone who has attempted Q-School already knows:

earning a Tour Card is brutally difficult.

Challenge Tour Shows the Depth Below the 128

Challenge Tour 1 reaches 92.80, with Events 2 and 9 recording 92.46 and 92.31.

That's another indication of the depth immediately beneath the PDC Tour.

It can be tempting to see Tour Card holders and non-Tour Card holders as two clearly defined standards of player.

The Tournament Strength data suggests reality is considerably less straightforward.

There is a huge amount of quality immediately outside the professional 128.

And Then It Starts Getting Really Interesting

The overall Top 20 is understandably dominated by Players Championship, Q-School and Challenge Tour events.

But move a little further down the rankings and tournaments from very different parts of darts start appearing alongside one another.

One in particular stands out.

ADC Winmau Championship South – Event 3: 89.02

The ADC Winmau Championship South Event 3 scores 89.02.

That's a significant number.

The event attracted more than 300 players in the Q4QS database, while another Championship South event scores 87.90 and the Friday night warm-up reaches 86.86.

In the previous article in this series I looked at how strong the sharp end of the ADC Vault system could become.

The Championship data takes that story another step further.

The strongest ADC Championship fields aren't at Challenge Tour level – there is still a meaningful gap between 89.02 and the Challenge Tour events above 92.

But they're considerably stronger than the term "grassroots darts" might lead some people to assume.

And Then There's the Dutch Open

The 2026 Dutch Open records 88.56 in the Q4QS database.

There is an important caveat with this figure.

The Q4QS Dutch Open data currently covers the tournament from the Last 1,024 onwards, rather than the complete entry.

The 88.56 Tournament Strength Score should therefore be interpreted as the strength of the section of the tournament represented in my database – not as a measurement of every player who originally entered the Dutch Open.

Even with that qualification, it provides another interesting reference point for the strength of major open darts.

Beyond the Top 20

Once we move away from the PDC-dominated top of the ranking, the variety becomes much more apparent.

Tournament	Q4QS Tournament Strength
ADC Winmau Championship South – Event 3	89.02
UK Q-School Stage 1 – Event 3	88.80
Dutch Open*	88.56
ADC Winmau Championship South – Event 1	87.90
EU Q-School Stage 1 – Event 1	87.86
PDC Europe Next Gen – Weekend 1	86.64
EU Q-School Stage 1 – Event 2	86.59
PDC Asian Tour 2	86.58
Scottish Open	86.56

*Dutch Open score represents the tournament from the Last 1,024 onwards.

This might actually be the most interesting part of the analysis.

We have ADC Championship darts, Q-School, Next Gen, the Asian Tour and major international opens all beginning to occupy similar territory.

They're very different competitions with very different purposes.

But Tournament Strength gives us a way of asking the same question of all of them:

How strong was the field?

A Bigger Tournament Doesn't Necessarily Mean a Stronger Field

Tournament prestige, prize money, crowd size and Tournament Strength are completely different things.

A small invitational event can contain some of the greatest players in the world.

A huge open tournament can contain hundreds or even thousands of players across a massive range of abilities.

And a qualifier can contain an unusually concentrated group of extremely strong players because almost everyone in the room is fighting for only a handful of places.

Tournament Strength isn't designed to tell us which event matters most.

It measures the competitive strength of the field represented in the Q4QS database.

That's a very different question.

And it's producing some fascinating answers.

Final Thoughts

So far in 2026, one thing remains very clear.

Within the non-televised tournaments covered by the Q4QS database, Players Championship darts sets an extraordinarily high benchmark.

But underneath it lies a much more interesting hierarchy.

Tour Card Holder Qualifiers are exceptionally strong.

Q-School really is as brutal as its reputation suggests.

The Challenge Tour demonstrates the enormous depth immediately outside the PDC's professional 128.

And further down, ADC Championships, major opens, Next Gen and international PDC circuits show just how much quality exists across the wider darts world.

Perhaps the biggest lesson from this series continues to be the same one:

The name above the tournament doesn't necessarily tell you how difficult the draw is going to be.

The players in the room do.

And that's exactly what the Q4QS Tournament Strength Score is designed to measure.

These are the standings in August 2026.

There is still plenty of darts to be played.

It will be fascinating to see whether anything can dislodge Players Championship 4 from the top before the end of the year.

Coming Next: The Toughest Darts Venues in Britain

We've compared tours.

We've compared individual tournaments.

Now the next question is:

Where are the toughest places to play?

Players Championship 25 & 26 Preview

 

Germany Hosts A Rare Opportunity As Many Of The Biggest Names Sit Out

The PDC ProTour heads to Germany this week for Players Championships 25 and 26, but these two floor events have a very different feel to normal.

An extraordinary 20 Tour Card holders are absent, including world champion Luke Littler, world number one Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen's recent rivals Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock, James Wade, Gary Anderson and many more.

That creates one of the most open Players Championship events of the season.

With so many established stars missing, there is a huge opportunity for the next generation of players, ProTour regulars and in-form outsiders to make a deep run and collect valuable ranking money.

A Huge Opportunity

Normally a Players Championship features virtually every elite player on the tour.

This week is different.

With nearly a quarter of the leading Tour Card holders absent, players who may usually expect to meet a top-eight seed in the later rounds suddenly find the draw looking considerably kinder.

History shows these are often the events where careers can change. One title or one semi-final can dramatically improve a player's ranking, confidence and qualification prospects heading towards the televised majors.

Players To Watch

Wessel Nijman

Nijman arrives as one of the form players on the circuit.

His recent victory in the PDC Slovak event came with a superb 99.45 tournament average, including an outstanding 103.80 average in an 8-3 victory over Rob Cross. He has also already won a Players Championship this season and remains one of the most dangerous scorers in the field.

Chris Dobey

Dobey may start as one of the favourites.

He reached the quarter-finals of Players Championship 24 and has produced several 100+ averages during recent ProTour events. His scoring remains among the very best on tour and the absence of several elite names strengthens his chances further.

Michael van Gerwen

Van Gerwen remains capable of winning any floor event despite a mixed few months.

His Players Championship 15 victory earlier this season came with a tournament average approaching 102, while he also recorded a stunning 122.34 average in one of his recent matches. If he finds his rhythm early, few players will want to face him.

Gabriel Clemens

Few players arrive with more confidence.

The German delighted home supporters by winning Players Championship 24, defeating Brendan Dolan and Luke Woodhouse during another excellent week. Returning to Germany immediately afterwards could make him one of the most dangerous players in the draw.

Kevin Doets

The Dutchman continues to threaten a major breakthrough.

He has already produced 100+ averages this season and has shown he can beat established names on the ProTour. Consistency remains the key, but his ceiling is extremely high.

Andrew Gilding

"Goldfinger" continues to quietly collect excellent results.

Recent victories over Michael van Gerwen and Luke Woodhouse demonstrate the level he is capable of producing, while his experience could prove invaluable in an unpredictable field.

Dark Horses

Several players could spring a surprise this week.

• Sebastian Bialecki continues to impress after Development Tour success.
• Cristo Reyes recently reached a Players Championship final.
• Owen Bates arrives full of confidence after reaching the UKDA National Finals final.
• Daniel Ayres has produced several deep runs across ADC and PDC events.
• Tommy Morris has already shown he can beat established professionals.
• Cam Crabtree continues to develop into one of the most exciting young players outside the elite.

Who Could Benefit Most?

With so many elite players missing, these events offer a genuine chance for someone to take the next step.

Don't be surprised if a player outside the world's top 32 reaches the final—or even lifts the trophy.

The ProTour has a habit of creating new stars, and Players Championships 25 and 26 could easily produce another breakthrough winner.

My Prediction

If the draw opens up as expected, I expect Wessel Nijman, Chris Dobey and Michael van Gerwen to be among the leading contenders.

However, if I had to pick one player to continue his momentum, Gabriel Clemens looks an excellent bet after lifting the Players Championship 24 title and now returning to home soil full of confidence.

Floor vs Stage: Do Some Players Perform Better Under the Lights? A Q4QS Analysis of the 2026 PDC Season

 

One of the oldest debates in professional darts is whether certain players are better suited to the Players Championship circuit or the sport's biggest televised stages.

Some players seem to produce their very best performances in front of packed arenas and television cameras, while others quietly build exceptional records on the ProTour week after week.

But is there actually any evidence to support that idea?

To find out, I compared my 2026 Q4QS Knockout Pedigree Rankings from two very different environments:

• Players Championship events

• Televised ranking tournaments

Rather than comparing averages or prize money, these rankings measure knockout success during the 2026 season. I then compared where every player ranked in each list to see who climbed the rankings under the lights and who built their strongest record on the Players Championship circuit.

Before diving into the numbers, there are two important points to make.

Firstly, these are Q4QS Rankings, not the official PDC Order of Merit.

Secondly, this comparison only covers the 2026 season. Players with insufficient participation have been excluded. Most notably, Luke Littler does not feature, having not competed in a Players Championship event during 2026. Without a Players Championship ranking, it simply isn't possible to make a fair comparison.

Biggest Movers Towards the Televised Rankings

The following players achieved a significantly higher Q4QS Televised Ranking than their Q4QS Players Championship Ranking.

Player	Q4QS Players Championship Rank	Q4QS Televised Rank	Movement
Josh Rock	62	6	▲ 56
Ryan Joyce	70	17	▲ 53
Gian van Veen	50	7	▲ 43
Mike De Decker	71	27	▲ 44
Gerwyn Price	43	2	▲ 41
Niels Zonneveld	55	15	▲ 40
Nathan Aspinall	47	9	▲ 38

Josh Rock heads the list, climbing an incredible 56 places between the two rankings. Ryan Joyce also makes a huge leap, while Gian van Veen continues to strengthen his reputation whenever the biggest tournaments come around.

Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall are perhaps less surprising. Both have built reputations over many years as players capable of producing some of their very best darts on the sport's biggest stages.

Biggest Movers Towards the Players Championship Rankings

These players recorded considerably stronger Q4QS Players Championship Rankings than their televised rankings.

Player	Q4QS Players Championship Rank	Q4QS Televised Rank	Movement
Andrew Gilding	5	29	▼ 24
Chris Dobey	2	20	▼ 18
Gary Anderson	30	40	▼ 10
Kevin Doets	3	12	▼ 9
Wessel Nijman	1	8	▼ 7
Luke Woodhouse	4	11	▼ 7
James Wade	9	13	▼ 4

Wessel Nijman's place at the top of the Players Championship rankings underlines just how impressive his ProTour campaign has been.

Chris Dobey, Kevin Doets and Luke Woodhouse have also put together exceptional Players Championship seasons, while Andrew Gilding's consistency on the floor has been rewarded with a remarkably high Q4QS ranking.

These results shouldn't be viewed as a weakness in televised tournaments. Instead, they demonstrate just how consistently these players have performed throughout the demanding Players Championship schedule.

Consistency Across Both Rankings

Some players don't show a dramatic difference between the two rankings.

Luke Humphries is a good example. While he ranks slightly higher in the televised list, he remains among the elite in both environments.

The same can be said for Michael van Gerwen, whose rankings remain consistently high regardless of whether he is playing on the Players Championship circuit or under the television cameras.

Those players may simply possess an ability to adapt to every environment they encounter.

Why Do The Rankings Differ?

There is probably no single explanation.

One obvious factor is match format.

Players Championship matches are generally played over shorter distances, meaning there is less time to recover from a slow start. Most televised ranking tournaments become progressively longer as the event develops, rewarding players capable of maintaining a high level over an extended contest.

The seeding system may also influence results.

Players Championship events are seeded using the Players Championship Order of Merit, whereas televised ranking tournaments are generally seeded using the main PDC Order of Merit. That can produce very different draws, particularly in the early rounds.

Participation is another important consideration.

Several leading players have reduced their Players Championship schedules during 2026, while others have entered almost every event. That inevitably affects the opportunities available to build a strong knockout pedigree.

Finally, there is the atmosphere itself.

Some players appear to relish performing in front of thousands of spectators, while others quietly produce outstanding results on the ProTour week after week.

Whether that's down to mentality, experience, preparation, playing style or something else entirely is impossible to measure—but it's certainly an intriguing discussion.

Final Thoughts

This analysis isn't designed to say that one player is better than another.

Instead, it highlights where players have built their strongest knockout records during the 2026 season.

Some have climbed the rankings when the television cameras arrive.

Others have quietly dominated the Players Championship circuit.

And a select few continue to perform at an exceptionally high level regardless of where they play.

As with any statistical comparison, there are caveats, but the trends are fascinating—and they raise an interesting question.

What do you think explains the differences? Is it the atmosphere, the format, the draw, the scheduling... or simply the mark of players who adapt to every challenge?