Bunting wins first Players Championship title since 2021

The 18th Players Championship of 2025 was won by Stephen Bunting after a brilliant performance against Jermaine Wattimena.

The world number four won the final in Leicester against his Dutch foe, scoring six 180s and an average of 104.84.

Before Bunting reeled off six legs in a row with checkouts of 164 and 156 to take complete control, Wattimena broke to win the first leg.

Bunting won 94 for his first Players Championship title in nearly four years, beating Wattimena 7-5 to regain his previous record of almost four.

The Liverpudlian averaged 106.43 in the quarter-finals against Alan Soutar, who had earlier defeated him 6-4 in the final 16.

He defeated former World Championship semi-finalist Dave Chisnall 7-6 in the final four, defeating Karel Sedlacek of the Czech Republic 6-5, averaging over 100.

Before going down in the final, Wattimena had already won four one-leg shootouts in a row, defeating Bunting, Ryan Searle, Mike de Decker, and Josh Rock, with the other two coming off the bench.

The triple-header in Leicester wraps up on Thursday with Players Championship 20 following Chris Dobey’s victory in the 17th event on Tuesday.