Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall and Josh Rock in serious danger of missing Minehead as ProTour season reaches crunch point

The 29th and 30th Players Championship tournaments took place this past Tuesday and Wednesday with a certain Cameron Menzies and Karel Sedlacek finding their way through.

But perhaps the big discussion point was players skipping the tournaments and also those who are not in Minehead contention not finding their way into the field as of yet. Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall and Josh Rock chief amongst them. Our discussion looks at the leading talking points from this week.

Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com, sees the main story of this week being the big names likely to not reach Minehead.

Big props to Cameron Menzies on winning yet another title and showing that his work off the pitch is very much worth something. Same goes for Karel Sedlacek in finally winning one. But my big talking point this week is the big names unlikely to make it to Minehead.

Gary Anderson and Michael Smith sit on the cusp of falling out of the top 64 entirely. More of a shock for Anderson, given he has used the ProTours as his bread and butter during his return to his best. But others such as Nathan Aspinall and Josh Rock are unlikely to make it currently. Aspinall had some good runs this week, but he will likely have to play most of the Pro Tours to come to stand a chance. After not bothering for most of the year, it seems some of them will need to actually play some Pro Tour in the weeks to come.

Peter Wright and Dimitri van den Bergh being nowhere near is semi-symptomatic of their demise. Van den Bergh went home after his daughter broke her arm, and it semi-sums up his year. Scott Williams is the anti Van den Bergh and Wright, as he looked similar, but he reached a final and showed the power of a good run.

Lucas Michael, editor for DartsNews.com, has lauded the unpredictability as he looks ahead to the Minehead race being a leading talking point.

"The Race to Minehead will soon be drawing to a close, meaning that Players Championship 29 and 30 were two crucial events, with wins counting more than ever.

"That can definitely be said for Scott Williams. ‘Shaggy’ may not be having the best of years, but this final run in PC 30 is a huge step in the right direction. It was unforgivable to give himself a match-winning opportunity from the 112 right at the end of his clash against Karel Sedlacek, but now in the provisional qualifying spots for the Players Championship Finals and PDC World Darts Championship, it was a brilliant day at the office. Not just for Williams, but for darts, who desperately need characters like him.

"As it feels like with the trend of these tournaments, it is incredibly hard to predict who will come out on top, and that goes for these two events. Very few people would have hedged their bets with Cameron Menzies and Sedlacek to prevail, but here we are. This comes with the mix of the big names not constantly turning up and the depth in the quality of darts in this certain moment in time.

"One of the big boys to have gone deep was Gian van Veen. On home turf, he lost in PC29 against Menzies. Surprisingly, the world number three has won just two PDC ranking titles. He is coming back into form, but his accolades do not represent someone who is that high in the Order of Merit.

"However, that final run has all-but sealed his spot for Minehead in November. As for other big names, it is not so simple. Luke Littler stayed true to his world following his failure to win the World Series of Darts Finals and did not bother showing up. It is seeming more and more inevitable that he will not be defending his title. A huge opportunity for the rest of the tour, but how many of the top players will be there?

"Four more events remain. Gary Anderson and Mike DeDecker are clinging on inside the top 64. Nathan Aspinall and Josh Rock have work to do in 74th and 76th. Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright are way off the pace, while surprisingly Ryan Joyce is far off it. There is still time for this to change, lending to what will be a fascinating end to the Pro Tour in 2026."

Pieter Verbeek, editor for DartsNieuws.com, was pleased to say Raymond van Barneveld got back into contention.

I was particularly pleased to see Raymond van Barneveld perform well in Den Bosch. He reached the quarter-finals on Wednesday and, as a result, has put himself firmly back in contention for a World Championship spot. It would be great to see this true legend of the sport back on the World Championship stage once again.

There is also a strong chance that Scott Williams will be there. ‘Shaggy’ had been facing a real battle to retain his Tour Card at the end of the season, but his run to the final of Players Championship 30 has done his prospects a world of good. Williams ultimately missed out on the title to Karel Sedlacek, who became the first Czech player to win a PDC ranking event. It was a fantastic achievement for Sedlacek and another significant moment for darts in Eastern Europe.

With just four Players Championship events remaining, the battle to qualify for the Players Championship Finals is becoming increasingly tense. Big names such as Michael Smith and Gary Anderson are only narrowly on the right side of the cut-off, while Josh Rock and Nathan Aspinall are currently outside the provisional qualification places for the final major tournament before the World Championship.

That will make the remaining Players Championship events particularly interesting to follow, with several established names still having work to do if they are to secure their places in Minehead.

Mats Leering, editor for DartsNieuws.com, also saw Van Barneveld as a story to savour.

"As expected, with several of the sport’s biggest names absent, the Players Championship events in Den Bosch provided an opportunity for some other players to step into the spotlight. Gian van Veen still managed to reach Tuesday’s final, but it was Cameron Menzies who ultimately walked away with the title.

"Wednesday, however, produced an even better story. Karel Sedlacek, arguably one of the nicest and most highly regarded players on the Pro Tour, became the first Czech player ever to win a PDC ranking title after defeating Scott Williams in the final.

"I have always considered Sedlacek to be a true gentleman on the Oche, and, as I mentioned earlier, I don’t think there will be a single player on the circuit who begrudges him this success. After years of competing on the ProTour, it was great to see him finally get his hands on a PDC title and make a little piece of Czech darts history in the process.

"What I enjoyed most, though – and what perhaps surprised me a little as well – was Raymond van Barneveld’s run on Wednesday. He finally managed to reach another quarter-final, a result that has provisionally moved him back into a qualifying spot for the World Darts Championship.

"Of course, there are still several tournaments to come, and plenty can change before the qualification race is decided. Nevertheless, it was encouraging to see that Van Barneveld still has a run like this in him. For us Dutch fans, it would obviously be fantastic if ‘Barney’ could find a way to qualify for the World Championship after all. Perhaps it would give us the opportunity to enjoy that famous walk-on and the Barney Army at Alexandra Palace one more time – regardless of how far he ultimately manages to go."

Oliver Ried, Editor for DartsNews. DE saw crumbs of comfort for German darts despite defeats and also looked at the views of the top names about missing out on Minehead.

"With two more Players Championship events completed, the 2026 ProTour season is slowly drawing to a close. Cameron Menzies claimed his second title of the year on Tuesday. I would not have backed him to achieve that at the start of the season.

"Wednesday brought a breakthrough for Karel Sedlacek, who finally won his first PDC title. The Czech has been playing excellent darts since losing his Tour Card at the end of 2024. His success has been building for some time.

"Scott Williams’ run to the final, on the other hand, caught me by surprise. We know he can produce brilliant darts on his day, but I did not expect this run. It was hugely important for his World Championship hopes and may help him regain some of the confidence he has been missing.

"Gian van Veen also reached a final, securing his place at the Players Championship Finals. His 2026 Players Championship campaign is now over. I still find it hard to believe that a player of his calibre has won only two senior PDC titles.

"From a German perspective, there were few positives amid a lot of defeats. Max Hopp played two excellent matches on Tuesday and even hit a nine-darter, but his game fell away afterwards. Kai Gotthardt stood out for me: he won once on Tuesday and twice more on Wednesday. Against Wessel Nijman, he took the deciding leg with a 100-plus average.

"Consistency remains a problem for many of the German players. Martin Schindler at least gave himself some breathing room by reaching the last 16. With four events remaining, Peter Wright, Raymond van Barneveld, Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Joyce are currently outside the qualifying places for the Players Championship Finals. Several other big names are close to the cut-off and need points from the remaining events."

"Chris Dobey impressed me most over the two days. His performance at PC29 was particularly strong, even though it did not bring him another floor title. Michael Smith had a very different experience: his highest average across three matches was in the 80.29. Peter Wright and Dimitri van den Bergh also struggled to impress again.