Wessel Nijman reaches major career milestone at 2026 European Darts Grand Prix

ASFN Admin · Apr 19, 2026

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Wessel Nijman reaches major career milestone at 2026 European Darts Grand Prix originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Wessel Nijman is currently in his third consecutive year on the PDC tour, having been issued a suspension for a few years, starting in 2020.

His progression since returning has been rapid, as he's flown up the ranking in the last year or so, making major progress in the 12 months.

He's claimed six Players Championship event titles, a European Tour event title, and has made numerous deep runs at tournaments since 2024, becoming one of the most consistent performers on the Pro Tour.

However, he hasn't been able to translate his Pro Tour success to the main stage, with little to show at majors amid some incredible stretches of play on the Pro Tour.

That could all change in the next few months, as Nijman reached a major career milestone on Sunday at the 2026 European Darts Grand Prix, which will open up many doors for him.

Wessel Nijman reaches major career milestone at 2026 European Darts Grand Prix

Nijman made a run to the semifinals at this weekend's Euro Tour event, but lost to the eventual event winner, Gerwyn Price.

Another Pro Tour title was in sight for him, but he was still able to come away with £10,000 in prize money.

That was enough to move Nijman up two spots on the Main OoM rankings, and he's now ranked #16 in the world.

MORE: Gerwyn Price makes history with 2026 European Darts Grand Prix title win

This is the first time in the Dutchman's career that he's in the top-16, and he'll only feel the benefits from that moving forward.

Even though Nijman was already positioned at the top of the Pro Tour OoM, which meant he'd be in the majors later this year that give spots to players ranked high on that OoM, being in the top-16 has its perks.

He'll no longer have to play seeded players in the first round of events like the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

He still has a lot of work to do to maintain his positioning in the top-16, but he's defending little to no prize money to finish the year, something many players aren't doing who are around him on the Main OoM.

Out of the remaining 10 Euro Tour events this year, he'll only be defending £12,500.

MORE: 2026 European Darts Grand Prix: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained

He'll be defending ~£53,500 across the remaining 24 PC events in 2026. He's on pace to earn much more than that, though, as in the 8 PC events he's already played in this year, he's taken home a total of £64,250 in prize money.

He'll only have to defend £8,000 during the remaining five ranked majors in 2026, which he is on track to qualify for.

If Nijman does qualify for all five ranked majors left this year, he'll already be guaranteed to get a total of at least £36,500 in prize money.

Depending on how Nijman plays at some of the majors left, we could see him make a push for the top-10 with how in-form he's been in recent months.

Wessel Nijman reaches major career milestone at 2026 European Darts Grand Prix

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