DISCUSSION Players Championship 27 and 28 | Can Luke Littler still make Minehead as uphill struggle set after ProTour in Leicester?

The 27th and 28th Players Championship tournaments took place over this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Luke Littler was the main story whether some liked it or not as he aimed to do the perhaps unthinkable and make it to Minehead after not playing all year.

Littler had some success reaching a Quarter-Final and Semi-Final. But for such a winning machine, it wasn't exactly plain sailing. He should have lost early in the 28th edition to Benjamin Pratnemer and lost eventually to Brendan Dolan.

Dolan and Jermaine Wattimena - the latter won Players Championship 27 paid heed to any sort of run that Littler wanted especially given that in theory he wanted to win both titles and barely play again on the ProTour this season. In today's discussion, we look at Littler's likely route to Minehead and in theory whether he makes it at all.

Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com sees Littler not likely making it as the beauty of the ProTour.

"Luke Littler is likely in my view to not make it to Minehead after the latest ProTour double header in what was perhaps a naive gamble which showed off the ProTour system at its finest.

"Often the likes of Aspinall have won titles with events to go and made it, but often it has been down to prior steady progress in playing other events. Littler hasn't done any of that and perhaps was relying on winning both titles this weekend, sitting and waiting and if he needs to, he would then return to play a few before the cut off.

"That is what he essentially will still be doing. I don't see him playing Den Bosch which leaves a nervy wait towards the end of the year to win a few titles and make a few finals. But the equation is pretty simple that he will have to play multiple ProTours still before the turn of the year.

"Something that perhaps Littler didn't account for and I don't think he either bothers now or he falls short. We often see such players as Michael van Gerwen struggling on the ProTour losing to lesser lights and in reality Littler could've so easily have lost to smaller players like most of the big names and likely could again. No reputation needed, just pure darts. That is the beauty of the ProTour."

Pieter Verbeek, Editor for DartsNieuws.com also isn't sure as to what Littler's route will now be and believes he will have to make multiple finals also to do it.

Luke Littler is finally off the mark, but it is certainly not the start he would have hoped for. All eyes were on ‘The Nuke’ during the ProTour double-header in Leicester, where Littler made his first Players Championship appearances of the year. He needs to make up a deficit of just under £30,000 to break into the top 64 of the Players Championship Order of Merit. Littler has a maximum of eight tournaments to do so and, after the first two, his tally stands at £10,500.

On Monday, Littler was surprisingly beaten by Jermaine Wattimena in the quarter-finals, before Brendan Dolan stopped him in the semi-finals a day later. Reaching the top 64 is certainly not out of the question for Littler, but his task has not become much easier either. He will likely need to win at least one of the remaining tournaments and probably reach another final somewhere along the way.

From a Dutch perspective, Players Championship 27 proved particularly successful, with three Dutch players reaching the semi-finals. In the end, it was Jermaine Wattimena who walked away with the title, a triumph that has also seen him break into the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit. It marks an impressive milestone for ‘The Machine Gun’.

The Belgian contingent also produced some encouraging results. Kim Huybrechts reached the quarter-finals on both days, keeping himself firmly in contention for qualification for the World Grand Prix.

There was also a much-needed boost for Mike De Decker, who made it through to the semi-finals of Players Championship 28. That run could hardly have come at a better time, as it has lifted De Decker into the top 64 of the Players Championship Order of Merit.

Bram Coenen, Editor for DartsNieuws.com has lauded Mike de Decker and Kim Huybrechts for their runs. Huybrechts in particular will be looking forward to potentially playing at the World Grand Prix.

"The main conclusion from the past two Players Championships is that Luke Littler has failed to achieve his goal of securing qualification for the Players Championship Finals. Littler, who has been unbeatable in the majors this year, will secretly have hoped to win at least one, and possibly both, of these tournaments, but he could only reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

With six tournaments still to play, he is currently only in 125th place. The gap to 64th place is still around £17,000. The pressure on Littler will only increase over the coming Players Championships. Of course, Littler knows how to handle pressure, as he has proven on numerous occasions over the past few years, but this is still a special situation, especially because Littler is determined to compete in the Players Championship Finals in order to achieve his goal of winning all the majors this year.

"There were several other conclusions to draw from these two days. From a Dutch perspective, Jermaine Wattimena put in a strong performance by winning one of the tournaments, while Kevin Doets reached another final. Luke Humphries also looks ready for a strong second half of the year. Cool Hand Luke has also climbed back up to second place in the world rankings, which is certainly not unimportant for the ambitious Englishman.

"For Belgian darts, Players Championship 28 was a boost, as Mike De Decker and Kim Huybrechts both reached the quarter-finals. De Decker eventually won the all-Belgian clash before losing to Humphries in the next round, but his semi-final appearance still saw him make good progress towards qualification for the Players Championship Finals. Huybrechts will also be satisfied, as he currently occupies the final qualifying spot for the World Grand Prix."

Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com doesn't see Luke Littler returning to play in Den Bosch if he fails to win the tournament at the AFAS Live while he also lauded Humphries and the Dutch leading lights.

"The eyes were, of course, firmly on Luke Littler during the double-header in Leicester this midweek. And although he managed to reach both a quarter-final and a semi-final, that was actually not good enough. As a result, he earned just £10,500, which leaves him outside the top 100 and still £16,750 behind the current number 64 on the Players Championship Order of Merit.

"Should he win the World Series of Darts Finals in September, he will therefore have to return to Den Bosch and genuinely pick up a daily title if he wants to keep his hopes of qualifying for the Players Championship Finals alive and maintain his clean sweep. If he fails to win the tournament at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, I don’t think we’ll see him again at the final floor tournaments of the year.

"Luke Humphries, meanwhile, marked his return to the floor by immediately claiming a title, meaning he can afford to sit out the final few Players Championship events if he wants to. The other title went to Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena, who claimed his first floor title of the year and the third of his career.

"The Dutch players continue to perform well on the floor in general. On Tuesday, Kevin Doets and Wessel Nijman also reached the quarter-finals, and it is no coincidence that they occupy first and second place respectively in the Players Championship Order of Merit. Wednesday was somewhat disappointing by comparison, although Mike De Decker managed to reach a semi-final once again. He certainly needed the result, as it immediately moved him up to 59th in the standings."