Entries Players Championship 23 & 24: Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Jonny Clayton headline absentees at final pre-Matchplay Pro Tour block
PDCThursday, 02 July 2026 at 12:26
The entry list for the final two Players Championship events before the World Matchplay has been officially confirmed. On Monday, 07/06/2026 and Tuesday, 07/07/2026, the decisive double-header is scheduled at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, where the battle for the last tickets to the prestigious TV tournament in Blackpool reaches its climax.
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With Players Championships 23 and 24, the PDC ProTour season continues in England’s East Midlands. On both matchdays a full field of 128 players will take to the oche, comprising PDC Tour Card holders and PDPA Associate Members.
Not all big names have entered. Jonny Clayton, Matthias Ehlers, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Niko Springer, Oskar Lukasiak, and Dimitri Van den Bergh are absent in Leicester, while Richard Veenstra is skipping only Players Championship 23. Joe Hunt, Derek Coulson, Tommy Lishman, Daniel Ayres, Tommy Morris, Aden Kirk, Christopher Wickenden, and Nathan Potter (PC23 only) come in as alternates.
Although a number of global stars are missing, several other leading names have signed up. Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Stephne Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock, and James Wade are among those also aiming for the title.
From a Dutch perspective, attention is on World Cup finalists Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen. Both Dutchmen are in the field and hope to boost confidence for the World Matchplay with a strong showing.
Wessel Nijman is also back in action. The 26-year-old Dutchman is enjoying an exceptional season and has already captured eight PDC ranking titles in 2026. That puts him among the most successful players on the ProTour at the moment, and he will look to extend his impressive form in Leicester.
Wessel Nijman has now firmly established himself inside the world’s top 16
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There is more at stake at these two floor events than just prize money. After Players Championship 24, the final list of 32 qualifiers for the World Matchplay will be confirmed. That tournament, staged later this month at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool, ranks among the most prestigious ranking events on the PDC calendar.
Entrants Players Championship 23 & 24
| Gary Anderson |
| Nathan Aspinall |
| Daniel Ayres |
| Keane Barry |
| Owen Bates |
| Stefan Bellmont |
| Filip Bereza |
| Sebastian Bialecki |
| Tom Bissell |
| Andy Boulton |
| Bradley Brooks |
| Stephen Bunting |
| Stephen Burton |
| Dave Chisnall |
| Gabriel Clemens |
| Derek Coulson |
| Cam Crabtree |
| Rob Cross |
| Joe Cullen |
| Niall Culleton |
| Maximilian Czerwinski |
| Mike De Decker |
| Jeffrey de Graaf |
| Jeffrey de Zwaan |
| Cor Dekker |
| Chris Dobey |
| Kevin Doets |
| Brendan Dolan |
| Tavis Dudeney |
| Ritchie Edhouse |
| Ricky Evans |
| Adam Gawlas |
| Andrew Gilding |
| Kai Gotthardt |
| Beau Greaves |
| Rhys Griffin |
| Dominik Gruellich |
| Daryl Gurney |
| Stefaan Henderyck |
| Damon Heta |
| Yorick Hofkens |
| Justin Hood |
| Max Hopp |
| Joe Hunt |
| James Hurrell |
| Kim Huybrechts |
| Ryan Joyce |
| Tytus Kanik |
| Nick Kenny |
| Mervyn King |
| Aden Kirk |
| Christian Kist |
| Marvin Kraft |
| Maik Kuivenhoven |
| Darius Labanauskas |
| Chris Landman |
| Sietse Lap |
| Adam Leek |
| Adam Lipscombe |
| Tommy Lishman |
| Pero Ljubic |
| Jim Long |
| Thomas Lovely |
| Martin Lukeman |
| Charlie Manby |
| Mickey Mansell |
| Shane McGuirk |
| Ryan Meikle |
| Cameron Menzies |
| Arno Merk |
| Alexander Merkx |
| Tommy Morris |
| Wessel Nijman |
| Danny Noppert |
| William O'Connor |
| Dennie Olde Kalter |
| Rob Owen |
| Adam Paxton |
| Ricardo Pietreczko |
| Darryl Pilgrim |
| Wesley Plaisier |
| Nathan Potter |
| Benjamin Pratnemer |
| Gerwyn Price |
| Samuel Price |
| Krzysztof Ratajski |
| Madars Razma |
| Cristo Reyes |
| Greg Ritchie |
| Josh Rock |
| Rusty-Jake Rodriguez |
| Stephen Rosney |
| Pascal Rupprecht |
| Callan Rydz |
| Martin Schindler |
| Connor Scutt |
| Ryan Searle |
| Karel Sedlacek |
| David Sharp |
| Michael Smith |
| Ross Smith |
| Carl Sneyd |
| Alan Soutar |
| Jeffrey Sparidaans |
| Mensur Suljovic |
| Tom Sykes |
| Tyler Thorpe |
| Viktor Tingstrom |
| Thibault Tricole |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
| Jurjen van der Velde |
| Dirk van Duijvenbode |
| Michael van Gerwen |
| Jimmy van Schie |
| Gian van Veen |
| Marvin van Velzen |
| Mario Vandenbogaerde |
| James Wade |
| Adam Warner |
| Jermaine Wattimena |
| Leon Weber |
| Lukas Wenig |
| Ian White |
| Christopher Wickenden |
| Scott Williams |
| Luke Woodhouse |
| Peter Wright |
| Niels Zonneveld |
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
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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- He's admitted his mistakes. He won't be the first or last player to get sent down,or take drugs. I honestly didn't like the lad,but at least he's owning up to his issues. So,good luck. In whatever he decides to dorick6702-07-2026
- Not everyone wants to watch pub players throwing 70 averages for about £500. Premier League is indeed a cash cow, but it does its job of promoting the game. This new suggestion for changes is one of the better ones. Even better if everyone knew what they had to do to qualify and it isn't just a walk-on popularity contest.StraightArrowNoBull01-07-2026
- I have a suggestion,scrap the whole thing. It's a pointless cash cow for anyone in the top 10.rick6730-06-2026
- Well nobody made him bet!! It's his own fault,if wants to lose money,then he shouldn't call Gerwyn out! He averaged 103,I would think the losing betting idiot could average 40! If you don't want to risk losing,keep your money in your pocket!rick6728-06-2026
- A great female line up this year, it would be nice to see Gemma win, but Beau is too good. Although the most important lady is missing....Lorraine Winstanley! You can't have a major tournament with out Lorraine Winstanley!! My dream is to see Lorraine hit a nine darter, run off the stage and out of the building with Dean.richieburnettrocks25-06-2026
- Laura looking fantastic and obviously has a hidden talent as a dart player. It was so nice to see her shock and joy of hitting that triple 20 I miss Laura, she was excellent and very knowledgeable regarding darts. Can you imagine that dozy wooden air head Emma Paton from SKY being able to do that, she'd hold the dart the wrong way round.richieburnettrocks25-06-2026
- Otherwise known as The Fishmedinabello24-06-2026
- No disrespect... but when folks are as good as Littler, they only play in the events that mean something... not the small events. MVG and Humpheries do the same.MrYnyslas197123-06-2026
- Read this Mr littler,and I hope you don't suffer as smith has. Still,now you pick when you want to play. I think the ££££s have kicked inrick6722-06-2026
- I understand that the darts diary is packed, but people do actually pay to watch. I suppose that the prize money,or title,is enough anymore. I actually feel sorry for the players who get called up as replacements,call me stupid,but if you're not considered good enough initially,then why compete?rick6720-06-2026
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