Maik Kuivenhoven’s first Players Championship final has shifted his next Leicester assignment from opportunity to proof point.
The Dutchman was beaten 8-5 by Rob Cross in the Players Championship 22 final, but the deeper point sits in the route rather than the defeat. Kuivenhoven beat Ryan Searle 6-3 in the last 16, then removed Gian van Veen by the same score before edging Tom Bissell 7-6 in the semi-finals, according to the published PC22 results.
Kuivenhoven Turns One Final Into A Ranking Question
That run matters because the next Players Championship block in Leicester on July 6-7 is the last ProTour double-header before World Matchplay places are settled. A single final does not make Kuivenhoven safe, but it does move him from supporting name to live variable in a field already shaped by tight margins.
DartsRankings lists Kuivenhoven at world number 72 after ET9, with £10,000 banked from PC22 and £44,000 of his £70,000 Order of Merit total coming in 2026. That is exactly the kind of profile that can change quickly when two floor events arrive back-to-back.
Cross took the title and the headline. Kuivenhoven took something nearly as useful: evidence that he can beat seeded traffic in one-day ranking darts.
MILESTONE WIN FOR MAIK! Maik Kuivenhoven moves into his first Players Championship final!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 17, 2026
