Luke Humphries and Luke Littler both drop out of Players Championship 17

Luke Humphries and Luke Littler will not start Friday's seventeenth Players Championship tournament of the season. The two English darting superstars have dropped out.

Littler had an extremely successful day in Milton Keynes on Wednesday by winning Players Championship 15. On Thursday, he lost 6-5 to Cameron Menzies at the last 32.

Humphries went down 6-4 against Chris Dobey at the last sixteen on Wednesday. At Players Championship 16, "Cool Hand Luke" made it to the semifinals, but then Ricky Evans proved too strong 7-4.

When Tour Card holders withdraw, players from the PDC Challenge Tour are invited to compete in tournaments on the Pro Tour. Justin Hood and Cam Crabtree may replace Humphries and Littler Friday at Players Championship 17.

The 2024 Players Championship circuit has 30 tournaments. The field of participants in a Players Championship tournament consists of 128 players. These are usually the 128 PDC Tour Card holders. If a Tour Card holder does not register or later withdraws, the highest ranked players on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit are invited to fill the vacant spots.

The thirty Players Championship tournaments are played throughout the year at Wigan, Leicester, Hildesheim and Milton Keynes. Usually Barnsley was also one of the Pro Tour venues, but this partnership has come to a temporary end after 2023. The first Players Championship tournaments will be in Wigan on Feb. 12 and 13, while the final two tournaments will take place in Leicester on Oct. 30 and 31.

Through the floor tournaments, players can force qualification for the major televised tournaments. The Players Championship tournaments count toward qualification races for the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and World Darts Championship. Moreover, playing Players Championship tournaments is the only way to secure placement for the Players Championship Finals.