31 players now confirmed for Grand Slam of Darts 2026 as Jonny Clayton and Lisa Ashton qualify - but Gary Anderson still missing

The field for the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts continues to fill up, with Jonny Clayton and Lisa Ashton taking the number of confirmed players to 31 ahead of next month's £1 million tournament in Wolverhampton.

Clayton secured his place in emphatic fashion at the Swiss Darts Trophy, winning his first ranking title of the season to ensure an eighth appearance at the Grand Slam. Ashton, meanwhile, has qualified through the PDC Women's Series rankings.

That leaves 17 places still to be decided before the expanded 48-player field heads to WV Active Aldersley from 14 to 22 November, with a number of established names still yet to book their tickets. Gary Anderson is among the most notable absentees at this stage.

Clayton arrived at the Swiss Darts Trophy without his Grand Slam place guaranteed, but left Basel with both the title and qualification secured. The Welshman averaged 102.70 across the tournament and defeated Maik Kuivenhoven, Rob Cross, Karel Sedlacek, Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries on his way to victory.

It was Clayton's first ranking title of 2026 and also added his name to the list of European Tour event winners being used to fill the remaining Grand Slam places.

He will now make his eighth appearance in Wolverhampton. Despite his longevity at the top of the PDC, Clayton has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam.

Ashton has also returned to the field after finishing runner-up to Beau Greaves on the Women's Series rankings. Greaves had already qualified through her runner-up finish at the 2025 World Youth Championship and her Women's World Matchplay victory, meaning the available Women's Series place passed to Ashton. The four-time Lakeside champion will make her sixth Grand Slam appearance.

Defending champion Luke Littler remains the standout name among those already assured of their places. Littler has qualified through several routes after another dominant season, while Luke Humphries secured automatic qualification as the newly crowned World Grand Prix champion.

Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Ross Smith, Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen are among the other established names already in the field through performances in televised PDC events during the qualifying period.

Wade is set for his 19th Grand Slam appearance after reaching the UK Open final, while Price qualified through his World Matchplay runner-up finish. Smith's victory at the World Series of Darts Finals also secured his return.

The secondary tours have added a number of less familiar names to the line-up. Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt qualified by reaching the 2026 World Youth Championship final, while Sebastian Bialecki earned his debut after topping the Development Tour rankings.

Joe Hunt will also make his first appearance after winning the Challenge Tour rankings, with PDC Asian champion Paolo Nebrida and North American champion Adam Sevada joining him as Grand Slam debutants.

With 31 names now confirmed, several major players remain outside the field. Gary Anderson is one of the most eye-catching. The two-time world champion has not yet qualified through one of the automatic routes and will need the remaining events or the Tour Card Holder Qualifier to secure his Wolverhampton return.

There are still several opportunities for the picture to change substantially. The winner and runner-up at the European Championship will both qualify automatically, while places remain available to the PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship winner and the ANZ Premier League champion.

The remaining available positions up to a maximum of 40 pre-qualified players are then distributed among European Tour and Players Championship winners, based first on the number of tournament victories and then PDC ranking position.

Wessel Nijman leads that group after winning twice on the European Tour, with Josh Rock, Luke Woodhouse, Krzysztof Ratajski and now Clayton also safely through via European Tour success.

Chris Dobey and Cameron Menzies have each won two Players Championship events, while Ryan Searle, Jermaine Wattimena, Rob Cross, Kevin Doets, Andrew Gilding, Jeffrey de Graaf, Gabriel Clemens and Karel Sedlacek currently occupy qualification positions as Players Championship winners.

Henry Coates remains perhaps the most intriguing name on the provisional list. Coates produced one of the biggest surprises of the ProTour season when he won a Players Championship event in July despite not holding a Tour Card. Winning the title, however, does not automatically guarantee his Grand Slam place. He is currently the lowest-ranked eligible ProTour event winner.

With one European Tour tournament, four Players Championship events and the European Championship still to be played, Coates can yet be pushed out if enough new winners emerge who sit above him in the PDC rankings.

The situation also means every new winner over the closing weeks of the qualifying period could have consequences further down the list.

Whatever remains unresolved will eventually come down to the Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Leicester on Friday 6 November. At least eight places will be awarded there. Should fewer than 40 players have qualified beforehand, additional spots will be made available through the qualifier to complete the 48-player field.

The Grand Slam field will ultimately contain 48 players, leaving plenty still at stake before qualifying concludes on 6 November.