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.
