DRAW PDC Players Championship 23 | Stephen Bunting handed Beau Greaves blockbuster as Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price learn Leicester openers
PDCMonday, 06 July 2026 at 12:40
Players Championship 23 takes place in Leicester today, and the opening round has thrown up one of the standout ProTour ties of the season as Stephen Bunting faces Beau Greaves.
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Greaves has again landed a major name early, with Bunting waiting in round one on Board 15. Michael van Gerwen is also in action against Daniel Ayres, while Gerwyn Price begins his latest ProTour push against Harry Ward.
The full first round draw can be found below, with Wessel Nijman, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, James Wade, Peter Wright, Josh Rock, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael Smith and Ross Smith also among the headline names involved.
Bunting faces Greaves as Van Gerwen returns
Bunting against Greaves is the tie that jumps off the draw, pairing one of the most consistent big-stage names in the sport with the player who continues to command attention whenever she appears on the ProTour.
Van Gerwen starts against Ayres, while Price faces Ward as he looks to build fresh rhythm on the floor after his recent return to Players Championship action. Nijman, still the dominant name on the Players Championship Order of Merit, has been drawn against Ricky Evans.
There is also a heavyweight opener on Board 2, where James Wade meets Gary Anderson. William O'Connor faces Peter Wright on the same board, while Michael Smith starts against Tommy Lishman. Rob Cross, fresh from winning Players Championship 22, opens against Keane Barry in another notable first round tie.
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More major names across the Leicester draw
Josh Rock begins against Aden Kirk, while Raymond van Barneveld faces Stefaan Henderyck and Joe Cullen takes on Connor Scutt. Chris Dobey meets Mervyn King, Ross Smith plays Viktor Tingstrom, and Gian van Veen faces Jim Long as he continues to chase stronger Players Championship form. Ryan Searle starts against Darius Labanauskas, Damon Heta plays Adam Paxton, and Dave Chisnall faces Tom Bissell.
Elsewhere, Jermaine Wattimena takes on Henry Coates, Dirk van Duijvenbode faces Adam Leek, Martin Schindler meets Rhys Griffin, and Mike De Decker opens against Chris Landman.
See below for the full Players Championship 23 first round draw.
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DRAW PDC Players Championship 23
| Player | vs | Player |
| Wessel Nijman | vs | Ricky Evans |
| Jeffrey De Zwaan | vs | Jeffrey Sparidaans |
| Cristo Reyes | vs | Filip Bereza |
| Rusty-Jake Rodriguez | vs | Callan Rydz |
| James Wade | vs | Gary Anderson |
| Marvin van Velzen | vs | Dennie Olde Kalter |
| William O'Connor | vs | Peter Wright |
| Michael Smith | vs | Tommy Lishman |
| Jermaine Wattimena | vs | Henry Coates |
| Madars Razma | vs | Maximilian Czerwinski |
| Michael van Gerwen | vs | Daniel Ayres |
| Tavis Dudeney | vs | Thibault Tricole |
| Kevin Doets | vs | Thomas Lovely |
| Mickey Mansell | vs | Andy Boulton |
| Daryl Gurney | vs | Kai Gotthardt |
| Yorick Hofkens | vs | Ian White |
| Luke Woodhouse | vs | Lukas Wenig |
| David Sharp | vs | Joe Hunt |
| Karel Sedlacek | vs | Darryl Pilgrim |
| Greg Ritchie | vs | Derek Coulson |
| Rob Cross | vs | Keane Barry |
| Max Hopp | vs | Nick Kenny |
| Dirk van Duijvenbode | vs | Adam Leek |
| Wesley Plaisier | vs | Sietse Lap |
| Chris Dobey | vs | Mervyn King |
| Cam Crabtree | vs | Justin Hood |
| Kim Huybrechts | vs | Tytus Kanik |
| Stefan Bellmont | vs | Owen Bates |
| Andrew Gilding | vs | Tom Sykes |
| Jimmy van Schie | vs | Adam Lipscombe |
| Ryan Joyce | vs | Tyler Thorpe |
| Mario Vandenbogaerde | vs | Ricardo Pietreczko |
| Ross Smith | vs | Viktor Tingstrom |
| Alexander Merkx | vs | James Hurrell |
| Jeffrey De Graaf | vs | Adam Warner |
| Rob Owen | vs | Stephen Rosney |
| Gian van Veen | vs | Jim Long |
| Dominik Gruellich | vs | Pero Ljubic |
| Niels Zonneveld | vs | Charlie Manby |
| Gabriel Clemens | vs | Leon Weber |
| Danny Noppert | vs | Ryan Meikle |
| Scott Williams | vs | Cor Dekker |
| Cameron Menzies | vs | Carl Sneyd |
| Nathan Potter | vs | Alan Soutar |
| Josh Rock | vs | Aden Kirk |
| Stefaan Henderyck | vs | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Joe Cullen | vs | Connor Scutt |
| Jack Tweddell | vs | Tommy Morris |
| Gerwyn Price | vs | Harry Ward |
| Brendan Dolan | vs | Stephen Burton |
| Sebastian Bialecki | vs | Maik Kuivenhoven |
| Christopher Wickenden | vs | Christian Kist |
| Krzysztof Ratajski | vs | Jurjen van der Velde |
| Arno Merk | vs | Samuel Price |
| Martin Schindler | vs | Rhys Griffin |
| Chris Landman | vs | Mike De Decker |
| Stephen Bunting | vs | Beau Greaves |
| Ritchie Edhouse | vs | Shane McGuirk |
| Dave Chisnall | vs | Tom Bissell |
| Niall Culleton | vs | Adam Gawlas |
| Ryan Searle | vs | Darius Labanauskas |
| Marvin Kraft | vs | Benjamin Pratnemer |
| Damon Heta | vs | Adam Paxton |
| Martin Lukeman | vs | Bradley Brooks |
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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