Charlie Manby enjoyed a breakthrough afternoon on Wednesday, claiming his first PDC ProTour title with an emphatic 8-2 victory over Maik Kuivenhoven in the final of Players Championship 31. The 21-year-old Englishman produced a series of impressive performances throughout the day, securing not only his maiden senior PDC title but also a place at the upcoming Grand Slam of Darts.

"It's absolutely amazing. I'm literally lost for words here," Manby told the PDC following his victory. "I think I've played well all day. There's that many good players here, and it's just crazy that I've actually done it."

Impressive route to maiden title

Manby was in excellent scoring form throughout the tournament, beginning his campaign with a convincing 6-1 victory over Karel Sedlacek, averaging 104.01. He then edged past Dennie Olde Kalter 6-5 before overcoming Adam Leek 6-4 to reach the last 16.

One of his standout performances came against Germany's Dominik Grüllich, with Manby averaging a remarkable 112.16 in a 6-3 victory. Another 6-3 win, this time against Alan Soutar, booked his place in the semi-finals.

There, he faced a stern challenge from Beau Greaves, who pushed him all the way before Manby eventually prevailed 7-5 to reach his first Players Championship final.

Against Kuivenhoven, however, there was considerably less drama. Manby dominated proceedings to complete an 8-2 victory, averaging 99.72 compared to the Dutchman's 84.76.

Manby in action

"When I was leading Beau, I had a bit of nerves"

Despite appearing in his first ProTour final, Manby insisted he had felt relatively little pressure heading into the biggest match of his career so far. "You've got to be confident, 100%, but it's just what can happen in a final," he explained. "My first ever one, but always confident, and I'm just glad to get over the line."

Interestingly, it was his semi-final against Greaves rather than the final itself that had caused the greatest anxiety. "Not into the final, no. I think when I was leading Beau, I had a bit of nerves, and when she started coming back, I just thought, 'God!'" Manby admitted. "Maybe I had a bit of a blip in between. Maybe that were nerves or just a lack of concentration, but not really much, no."

"I've always been good enough to do what I've done today"

Manby secured his PDC Tour Card at the beginning of 2026, having already attracted considerable attention through his performances on the Development Tour and his impressive run to the last 16 on his World Darts Championship debut.

Nevertheless, winning a Players Championship title in his first year on the professional circuit was not necessarily something he had expected.

"Maybe not in my first year. Obviously, definitely I wanted to win one, maybe over the course of two years," he admitted. "Anything can happen, I suppose, and I've always been good enough to do what I've done today. I wouldn't say it was a proper target in my first year, but I know I was definitely capable of doing it. Just over the moon."

Grand Slam qualification makes breakthrough even sweeter

Alongside his maiden PDC title, Manby's victory also secured qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts, providing an additional reason to celebrate after the disappointment of missing an earlier opportunity to reach the tournament.

The Englishman had previously suffered defeat in the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship, leaving him frustrated at having missed out on a potential Grand Slam place. "I was gutted to lose out in the World Youth semi-final for the Grand Slam, but I've managed to actually qualify through this, which is ten times better," he said.

That earlier defeat had clearly stayed with Manby, particularly as others continued to remind him of what was at stake. "I was a bit disheartened after that game. When people always bring it up, I just wasn't bothered about talking about it," he explained. "They were like, 'Oh, if you'd won that game, you'd be in the Grand Slam.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I already know, thanks!'"

Having now secured his Grand Slam debut through a Players Championship title instead, Manby was understandably delighted to put that disappointment behind him. "Thank God I've actually qualified. Great news."