Grand Slam of Darts 2026 field taking shape: 29 players confirmed, but no Jonny Clayton or Gary Anderson yet
PDC
The field for the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts is beginning to take clearer shape. So far, 29 players have secured places at the prestigious televised tournament in Wolverhampton, where they will compete for the Eric Bristow Trophy from 14 to 22 November.
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The Grand Slam of Darts is undergoing a major change this year. The field has been expanded to 48 players, who will compete for a prize fund of no less than one million pounds. The tournament will once again be held at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton.
Reigning champion Luke Littler will naturally be there. ‘The Nuke’ qualified through several televised tournaments and is among the leading names aiming to claim the title again in November. Luke Humphries, who won the World Grand Prix last weekend, has also already secured his place.
Leading names already have their places
Alongside Littler and Humphries, Gerwyn Price and James Wade are also guaranteed places. Price has reached three major televised finals this year and qualified partly through his appearance in the World Matchplay final. The Welshman also finished runner-up at the World Grand Prix and the World Series of Darts Finals.
Wade earned his place by reaching the UK Open final. For ‘The Machine’, it will be his nineteenth appearance at the Grand Slam of Darts.
Ross Smith has also secured his place. The Englishman won the World Series of Darts Finals and thereby qualified directly for Wolverhampton. Nathan Aspinall owes his place to reaching last year’s Players Championship Finals.
Josh Rock, Luke Woodhouse and Krzysztof Ratajski no longer need to worry about qualification either. The trio each won a European Tour event this season, doing enough to earn a place.
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Chris Dobey, Cameron Menzies, Ryan Searle, Rob Cross, Andrew Gilding, Gabriel Clemens and Karel Sedlacek have also qualified through the Players Championships. Dobey and Menzies both won two floor tournaments.
At least seven debutants in Wolverhampton
The field will also feature several new faces. At least seven players will make their Grand Slam of Darts debuts in November.
Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt are the latest additions. They reached the World Youth Championship final on Monday, securing not only places in that showpiece match but also qualification for the Grand Slam.
Beau Greaves had already secured her place by reaching last year’s World Youth Championship final. The Englishwoman also qualified by winning the Women’s World Matchplay. Greaves will not be making her debut, having competed in each of the past three years.
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Sebastian Bialecki, however, is preparing for his first Grand Slam. The Pole dominated the Development Tour this season and finished top of the rankings. Joe Hunt qualified through the Challenge Tour, where he won the final standings.
The other debutants are Paolo Nebrida and Adam Sevada. Nebrida qualified as winner of the PDC Asian Championship, while Sevada earned his ticket by winning the North American Championship.
Beau Greaves has competed at the Grand Slam of Darts for the past three years
Plenty of qualification opportunities remain
Although 29 players are already guaranteed a place, the field is still far from complete. Several opportunities to secure a starting place will be available over the coming weeks.
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The winner and runner-up of the European Championship will both qualify automatically for the Grand Slam. One player must also still be selected through the Women's Series.
Starting places are also available to the winner of the PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship and the champion of the ANZ Premier League.
The remaining places, up to a maximum of 40 seeded players, will then be allocated to winners of tournaments on the European Tour and Players Championship circuit. Both the number of titles won and each player's position in the PDC Order of Merit will be taken into account.
Henry Coates is a notable case. The Englishman won a Players Championship event this season despite not holding a Tour Card, but his participation is not yet guaranteed. He is currently the lowest-ranked winner and could still miss out if new winners emerge from the remaining tournaments who are higher in the rankings.
Two European Tour events and four Players Championships remain on the schedule. The results of the European Championship could also affect the allocation of the remaining places.
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Final tickets allocated on 6 November
The final composition of the field will be confirmed on Friday 6 November. The Tour Card Holder Qualifier will be held in Leicester that day.
At least eight starting places will be available through the tournament. If fewer than 40 players have qualified directly by then, the number of qualification places will be increased until the field of 48 darters is complete.
For players who have not yet qualified through a televised tournament, the European Tour or the Players Championships, this qualifying day will therefore be the final opportunity to secure a ticket to Wolverhampton.
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Players guaranteed a place at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts
| 1 | Luke Littler | Winner of 2026 World Darts Championship |
| 2 | Luke Humphries | Winner of 2026 World Grand Prix |
| 3 | Ross Smith | Winner of 2026 World Series of Darts Finals |
| 4 | Gian van Veen | Runner-up at 2026 World Darts Championship |
| 5 | Gerwyn Price | Runner-up at 2026 World Matchplay |
| 6 | James Wade | Runner-up at 2026 UK Open |
| 7 | Nathan Aspinall | Runner-up at 2025 Players Championship Finals |
| 8 | Michael van Gerwen | Runner-up at 2026 World Cup of Darts |
| 9 | Beau Greaves | Runner-up at 2025 World Youth Championship |
| 10 | Cam Crabtree | Finalist at 2026 World Youth Championship |
| 11 | Jan Schmidt | Finalist at 2026 World Youth Championship |
| 12 | Sebastian Bialecki | Winner of 2026 Development Tour Order of Merit |
| 13 | Joe Hunt | Winner of 2026 Challenge Tour Order of Merit |
| 14 | Paolo Nebrida | Winner of 2026 PDC Asian Championship |
| 15 | Adam Sevada | Winner of 2026 North American Championship |
| 16 | Wessel Nijman | Two-time winner on the 2026 European Tour |
| 17 | Josh Rock | Winner on the 2026 European Tour |
| 18 | Luke Woodhouse | Winner on the 2026 European Tour |
| 19 | Krzysztof Ratajski | Winner on the 2026 European Tour |
| 20 | Chris Dobey | Two-time winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 21 | Cameron Menzies | Two-time winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 22 | Ryan Searle | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 23 | Jermaine Wattimena | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 24 | Rob Cross | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 25 | Kevin Doets | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 26 | Andrew Gilding | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 27 | Jeffrey de Graaf | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 28 | Gabriel Clemens | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
| 29 | Karel Sedlacek | Winner of a 2026 Players Championship event |
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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- Assuming you qualify as one of the "muppets" in question. Classist too. And since you're so clearly interested in academia, look up "linguistic descriptivism" while you're at it. Oh, and better stay away from the working class sport of darts and maybe offer your insightful analysis to, let's say, croquet instead?Deduce635806-10-2026
- The consequences of being uneducated and grammatically challenged. "To all THOSE muppets not THEM " Everytime I see Arsepinall, I have an image of him wearing a cap, standing behind the counter of a fast food establishment.richieburnettrocks05-10-2026
- I don't understand Littler's reason for playing this tournament.rick6705-10-2026
- James Wade has become James Wide. He has piled on the tonnage considerably, he barely fits in his shirt.richieburnettrocks03-10-2026
- Littler will play whatever tournaments he decides. But does every headline have to start with him? Bristow bought Taylor through,and he followed that with Lewis. I can't see littler doing the same. Let him choose,and lose,he's getting good at that lately!rick6702-10-2026
- I believe he has it in him to qualify for the Worlds as he consistently wins matches, even if it is only one or two at a time, although his recent PC quarter-final run was somewhat encouraging in that regard. I think there is a lot of pressure for him to retire, people in the media accusing him of tarnishing his legacy. I think that is a ridiculous line of thinking. How ungrateful it is to attach terms and conditions to the amazing moments he has provided us over the course of his career. What position are we in to dictate to him how he should manage his career when it is he who achieved those successes in the first place? What's more, this is his life and the passion that sustains it, it is not for us to decide when his career is over when it is he who must bear the genuine ramifications of that decision. Since I'm sure money is not a concern, the only question on which the decision should rest is whether he truly continues to enjoy competing. He has retired once before, but the desire to compete is what brought him back. We see a lot of negative body language and he does genuinely look miserable when he is not playing well, but only he will know when he wakes up the next day whether he wants to go and do it all over again. If he wants to compete, he should, it's as simple as that, this is a decision that should not involve anyone else but him and his family. He should not retire to indulge the whims of the media or the public. What satisfaction would he receive by being forced into retirement? What closure would it bring to such a brilliant career? When Phil Taylor decided to retire, his decision was final and resolute. I believe RvB needs to get to this point himself, no matter how many 70 averages it might take. We see the likes of John Part continue to compete on a regular basis well past his prime, I say more power to him, and who knows, further glory could be around the corner, it's darts after all, you just never know. Sometimes I worry that RvB is acutely aware of the clamour for him to retire and that this pressure may even have an impact on his performances as he begins to question whether there is even a place for him in darts anymore, further compounding his poor form and creating a vicious loop. Perhaps to take his future into his own hands would provide him with a levity and freedom that would lend itself to better performances, not to mention an improved wellbeing. In any case, it is under these conditions that one can clear-headedly and definitively settle an issue so profound as retirement, not when you feel you're being rushed out the door. If his performances can no longer sustain his presence on the tour, so be it; as it stands his card seems safe for this year but is in serious jeopardy next year. He could always allow himself to drop off the tour naturally rather than forfeiting his place in the top 64, this could provide a sense of finality while offering a route back through Q-School if he so desired; after all, he's done it before. In conclusion, I just hope that RvB can play - or not play - for his own sake, rather than anyone else's, so that when the time comes he can be in no doubt as to his decision, leaving no lingering questions, so that he can reflect with no regret or uncertainty on the marvelous career he has had.Deduce635826-09-2026
- Luke Littler has been good for the sport of darts, no question. But he is not above it. For his sake and ours, he needs to be put in his place sometimes, rather than having his every whim catered to. That is not how you build a good person nor a good sporting organisation, and it's beginning to have consequences.Deduce635826-09-2026
- Extremely disappointing decision. It used to be that, along with major events and Euro Tours, the Players Championship series constituted one of three standards against which successful darts players could be measured, one of three challenges every successful darts player should be expected to master to consider themself among the elite. Now they are dead weight in the darting calendar, and player turnout and the standard of competitiveness will reflect that. The truth is that Luke Littler and other big names would rather play lucrative exhibitions than put in the hard graft that being a successful dart player requires. It undermines the authority of the PDC and the game in general. So what do they do about it? Give them exactly what they want. Of course, why wouldn't they? They are their star attractions. It is ironic that an organisation formed in protest by the sport's elite should be undermined and disrespected by their contemporary equivalents, but the PDC had a chance to stand up to them with a firm message: play 2 events all year and expect the final to be played without you. Instead, they caved in. These events will be hardly worth playing anymore and this decision may have grave consequences for the future of floor events at the elite level. Some may say the calendar is overstuffed, yet these elite players have more than enough time to play plenty of exhibitions. The Premier League in particular is gruelling, but busy players are not expected to play every event, they are expected to manage their playing schedule carefully in order to apportion their time and energy appropriately. Clayton and Humphries, for instance, both sit in the top 20 of the Players Championship and European orders of merit, in addition to competing in the Premier League; they have proven it is absolutely possible and this change is an insult to their efforts in effectively managing their calendars. I think we are seeing players who simply think they are too good for Pro Tour events, arrogance which should be punished rather than rewarded as we are seeing here. Furthermore, why should success in Euro Tours qualify you for the Players Championship Final? The PDC are blurring the lines between those three disciplines of darting excellence, and in so doing destabilising the very foundations upon which the organisation and its success is built. Some may say I'm overreacting, but this, in addition to the PDC's subservience and snivelling obsequiousness toward their biggest assets, makes me fear for the future of professional darts.Deduce635826-09-2026
- I guess this will mean the top players will turn up even less? Taken all the excitement of qualifying away I think. Wish they made it top 32 to qualify and the finals to last all week.Baphomet26-09-2026
- Great article - but not written by this site. It's taken wholesale from last Sunday's Observer with this interview published online on Saturday.Scoobedybop22-09-2026
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