On the PDC floor circuit, titles attract attention. But the statistic of boards won reveals a deeper truth: that of consistency match after match, tournament after tournament.
In 2026, Kevin Doets emerged as the surprising leader in this category with 10 boards won in 16 Players Championship events - ahead of Wessel Nijman and Chris Dobey (9 each), as well as the revelation of the season, Beau Greaves, who posted 7 boards won in his first year with a tour card.
This article breaks down these performances, puts each player in career context, and explains why this statistic really matters in the long run of the PDC rankings.
Understanding the boards won statistic
Each Players Championship event is structured around 16 distinct boards. On each, 8 players compete in a knockout format. The player who wins his third match - i.e. who wins all three matches on his board - is deemed to have won his board. This moment corresponds to entry into the quarter-finals of the main tournament.
This statistic is not insignificant. It measures a player's ability to perform consistently from the very first hours of a tournament, often against opponents of widely varying levels. Winning a string of boards over an entire season demonstrates structural solidity - the kind that then allows you to aim for titles.
16 boards per Players Championship event
8 players per board, single elimination
The winner of the 3rd match wins their board
This corresponds to entry into the tournament quarter-finals
That's why this figure goes far beyond a simple popularity figure. It speaks of consistency, mental toughness and the ability to remain dangerous over the course of a PDC season.
Kevin Doets: the leader nobody expected
10 boards won out of 16 events played. Kevin Doets tops this statistic in 2026, and it's no coincidence. The Dutchman has had a remarkable start to the season on the floor circuit, stringing together solid performances long before the spotlight turned to him.
A historic first PDC ranking title
Doets' rise to prominence found its logical culmination at the Players Championship 13. There, he clinched his first PDC ranking title by beating Luke Woodhouse in the final - a result consistent with the level he has been displaying for several months. This title didn't come out of nowhere: it's part of a steady progression, brick by brick.
Of his 10 boards won this season, Doets has reached the quarter-final stage on 7 occasions. He has reached the semi-finals 4 times. These figures show a consistent presence in the latter rounds of tournaments - exactly what you'd expect from a player on the cusp of a breakthrough.
A structural advantage in the race
Nijman and Dobey have both played in two fewer events than Doets over the season, having sat out two tournaments. This makes it mathematically impossible to overtake him in this category for 2026. But this context in no way diminishes the Dutchman's performance: 10 boards won out of 16 appearances, a ratio of 62.5%. It's a level of efficiency that's hard to achieve over the course of a full season.
| Player | Boards won | Events played | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Doets | 10 | 16 | 62.5% |
| Wessel Nijman | 9 | 14 | 64.3% |
| Chris Dobey | 9 | 14 | 64.3% |
| Fallon Greaves | 7 | 16 | 43.8% |
The question now: can Doets turn this consistency into a real run of titles over the second half of the season? The signals are clearly positive.
Wessel Nijman: maximum efficiency, record conversions
9 boards won, 5 Players Championship titles. Wessel Nijman converts more than half of his boards into the final title. This ratio is simply out of the norm on the PDC floor circuit.
A benchmark season at 25
At 25, Nijman has established himself as one of the most consistent and formidable players on the circuit in 2026. His ability to not only reach the final rounds, but to win them, sets his profile apart from the majority of players on the floor.Five titles out of nine boards won means that once he gets going in a tournament, he is extremely hard to stop.
This momentum enabled him to cross the £100,000 threshold at the Order of Merit Players Championship - a symbolic and concrete milestone in equal measure, measuring financial (and therefore sporting) consistency across all the season's floor events. In the process, the Dutchman has moved into the top 16, a strategic position on the PDC circuit.
What the top 16 changes in concrete terms
Figuring in the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit opens doors directly: automatic qualification for the major stages of the circuit, potential seedings, and above all increased visibility during televised tournaments. For Nijman, 2026 could represent the decisive turning point in his career on the major circuit.
5 Players Championship titles in one season is the kind of performance that attracts the attention of World Cup selectors and the organisers of major televised tournaments. Nijman is now on their radar - if he wasn't already.
Chris Dobey: consistency as a signature
Chris Dobey, nicknamed "Hollywood", shares second place with Nijman: 9 boards won in 14 events played. But the profile of the two players diverges markedly.
Three finals, two titles
Where Nijman converts massively, Dobey shows a more linear but equally solid progression. He has reached the final on three occasions, winning it twice. This profile - consistent in the decisive rounds, capable of taking the final steps - is characteristic of a player who has reached a competitive maturity rare on the floor circuit.
Dobey is not a player who explodes in one season. He is settling in. His consistent presence in the final rounds of floor tournaments has been a constant for several years, and 2026 confirms this trajectory with solid numbers.
A profile that prepares for major televised tournaments
Performances in the Players Championship are not unrelated to results in televised tournaments. A player like Dobey, well versed in long matches, the pressures of the final rounds and decisive checkouts, arrives at the World Matchplay, Grand Prix or UK Open with a foundation of confidence built week after week. This is precisely what the boards won measure: not the one-off achievement, but lasting solidity.
Fallon Greaves: the feat of a first season
7 boards won for a player in her first year with a PDC tour card. The number speaks for itself. Fallon Greaves has made a debut on the circuit that would be the envy of many experienced players.
A ratio that improves over the end of the season
Over the final 8 floor tournaments of the season, Greaves failed to win her board in 3 of them. But in that same sequence, she reached the quarter-finals on 4 occasions - one of which she won to go even further. To understand this statistic as a whole is to measure how consistently she is in the final rounds, even when she doesn't convert.
First PDC ranking title for a woman
One of those quarter-final wins led to one of the defining moments of the 2026 PDC season: Greaves became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title. This historic achievement is part of an overall remarkable season, buoyed precisely by this consistency on the floor revealed by the statistics of boards won.
For a player at the start of her career on the main circuit, posting a 43.8% ratio of boards won while regularly making it past the quarter-finals represents a solid performance base. The trajectory is there.
The rest of the rankings: six boards and beyond
Behind the top four, several players find themselves with 6 boards won over the season. This group also reveals some interesting dynamics.
The players with 6 boards
Andrew Gilding: recently took his total to 6 by winning his second PDC title, after the UK Open 2023.
Stephen Bunting: also on 6 boards, but in just 10 Players Championship appearances this season - a particularly high ratio per event.
Joe Cullen: a consistent presence in the later rounds, true to his profile as an experienced tour player.
Dave Chisnall: always active and competitive on the floor despite an already established career.
Krzysztof Ratajski: a solid representative of the European floor circuit, consistent in his performances.
Names to watch at 5 boards
Danny Noppert is the most prominent name in this group. But two younger players deserve particular attention - Joe Hunt and Tom Bissell. Hunt is 21st in the Order of Merit Players Championship, Bissell 15th. Their consistency on the floor is directly responsible for these positions, and projects them as names to watch for the second half of the season.
Keane Barry completes this group of 5 boards. The former UK Open semi-finalist seems to be back to his best - a resurgence that many have been waiting for on the tour.
| Player | Boards won | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Gilding | 6 | 2nd PDC title clinched in 2026 |
| Stephen Bunting | 6 | Only 10 events played |
| Joe Cullen | 6 | Regularity confirmed |
| Dave Chisnall | 6 | Still competitive veteran |
| Krzysztof Ratajski | 6 | Solid on the European circuit |
| Danny Noppert | 5 | Reference name at this level |
| Tom Bissell | 5 | 15th on the Order of Merit PC |
| Joe Hunt | 5 | 21st in the Order of Merit PC |
| Keane Barry | 5 | Back to the front |
Why this statistic really matters
Boards won don't appear in the summaries of major sports newspapers. They don't appear on the cover of darts magazines. And yet they are one of the most reliable indicators of a player's competitive health on the PDC floor circuit.
Winning your board means surviving three matches in an environment that is often noisy, rarely televised, and against opponents who are precisely hungry to prove something. This is where champions are formed - or their status confirmed.
Doets, Nijman, Dobey and Greaves dominate this statistic in 2026 for different reasons. Doets by his absolute regularity. Nijman by an outstanding conversion capacity. Dobey because of the maturity he has built up over the seasons. Greaves by an entry on the circuit that redefines what can be expected of a first year with a tour card.
The next Players Championship events take place at Leicester on 18 and 19 May. A new series of boards to be won, and perhaps some new surprises in this ranking.