Michael van Gerwen withdraws from Players Championship 30, leaving Dutchman outside Minehead qualification spots with time running out

The draw has recently been confirmed for Players Championship 30 this afternoon, and curiously, the name of Michael van Gerwen is absent. The Dutchman is involved in a big fight to even qualify for the Players Championship Finals and this withdrawal leaves him still some way off.

With only five events remaining before the Players Championship Finals (Nov. 21–23, Butlin’s Minehead), the battle for the top 64 is heating up. Mighty Mike, a seven-time winner of the Players Championship Finals, is languishing in 90th place despite a run to the last 16 in Leicester, where he was whitewashed 6–0 by Smith. The 36-year-old Dutchman sits £6,500 adrift of the cut and now has just four events left to do catch up, if he is to avoid missing one of his traditional strongholds.

Van Gerwen is by no means the only big name withdrawal from Players Championship 30 however. Also stepping back are Gerwyn Price, Stephen Bunting and Rob Cross, a trio of proven major winners. With these stars absent, comes opportunity for others however, and stepping up from the Challenge Tour for this afternoon are the quartet of Carl Sneyd, Graham Hall, Lee Cocks and Joe Hunt.

For Van Gerwen, the question now is whether or not the Dutch darting icon had raised the white flag, or is merely risking it and waiting for the final four events?