Wessel Nijman recently celebrated a landmark first big stage title with a European Tour victory in Goettingen.
The 25-year-old was phenomenal throughout that tournament as he dispatched a trio of Premier League stars, most notably Gerwyn Price in the final, to scoop the £35,000 top prize.
Nijman stole the headlines with some incredible scoring, recording five consecutive ton-plus averages and 42.39% on the checkouts.
While he was unstoppable in Germany, the newly established world No. 20 was knocked out of the Belgian Darts Open at the first hurdle by Sebastian Bialecki.
The Dutchman averaged 95.7 and 37.5% on the checkouts during a 6-3 loss, with his opponent just performing better than him on the day.
Mark Webster makes Jonny Clayton comparison with Wessel Nijman
Nijman recently quit his job to focus on darts full-time, and that decision has already delivered big improvements to his game.
Speaking on the Love The Darts podcast, Mark Webster referenced how Jonny Clayton did similar years ago, and that had a ‘big impact’ on his game.
“Yeah, obviously with Johnny [Clayton] it had a big impact on him when he stopped working. For Wessel [Nijman], I think the early evidence is good, what he’s made a European Tour title, he was explosive, he listed off the averages, they were brilliant.”
Webster thinks the next step in Nijman’s career is winning a major title, and the former PDC star believes he has the quality to break his major duck in 2026.
“And for me, I think he’s the next cab off the rank in terms of winning a major title,” he added.
He’s got the game now, he’s going to start going up the rankings as well, which means his draws should get a little bit more favourable in the opening round. But that is the natural next step for him now, winning a TV major.
“He’s won on the Pro Tour, he’s won a European Tour, and he’ll look to add a major title to that, and he’s certainly got the game to do it. And yeah, exciting times ahead for Wessel.”
Nijman’s impressive 2026 in numbers
Nijman’s European Tour triumph followed victory in the Players Championship 2, beating Price in the final on both occasions.
The Dutchman showed his class against an established Premier League player and has continued to demonstrate a relentless standard throughout 2026.
Only four players on the PDC ProTour have performed better on the checkouts than Nijman (44.23%), and only five others have a higher average (97.92).
Consistency is now the biggest question mark on Nijman’s head, but continuing to perform at this level will see him surge up the PDC’s Order of Merit.
