These notable names did not qualify for the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts

The Grand Slam of Darts will take place from Nov. 11 to 19 in Wolverhampton. The field of participants consists of 32 players who have qualified through various routes from the PDC. However, there will also be some notable names missing from the Aldersley Leisure Village.

One of the major absentees at this edition of the Grand Slam of Darts is Jose de Sousa. The Portuguese won the tournament in 2020, upon which he was then also gained entry into the 2021 Premier League Darts, where he reached the final. Since then, however, the current world number 21 has not played a televised final, meaning he will miss the Grand Slam of Darts for the second year in a row.

The highest ranked player in the world who failed to qualify for this edition of the Grand Slam of Darts is Joe Cullen. The number 12 on the world ranking list managed to qualify for this tournament every time since 2020, but will be missing this year in Wolverhampton. The 2022 Masters winner did not manage to take a single title this year. His best results at televised tournaments this year were reaching the semifinals at the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix. Remarkably, Cullen did not participate in the final qualifying tournament for the Grand Slam of Darts.

Another player in the top-16 who will not participate in this edition of the Grand Slam of Darts is Dimitri van den Bergh. The current number 15 in the world has participated in the tournament four times since 2016, but was not part of the field of participants in the last two editions. The former World Matchplay champion did not manage to take a single title this year, but did reach the semifinals of the World Darts Championship and the UK Open. Ross Smith did manage to win two Pro Tours this year, which, however, was not enough to secure his fifth Grand Slam of Darts entry. The 2022 European Championship winner lost to Nathan Rafferty in the final round of the Grand Slam of Darts qualifier in a last-leg decider.

Raymond van Barneveld participated in all editions of the Grand Slam of Darts from 2007 to 2018, capturing the overall victory in 2012. Upon his return to the professional circuit in 2021, he immediately managed to qualify again and last year the Dutchman was also there in Wolverhampton, when he made it to the semifinals as a big surprise. This year, however, Van Barneveld failed to make it through the qualifying tournament, as did other players in the top-32 such as Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler and Daryl Gurney.