The PDC has informed the WDF that players who qualified for the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace will not be allowed to compete in the WDF World Championship at Lakeside.
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For players without a PDC Tour Card, it is possible to qualify for both World Championships through a variety of routes. However, the PDC wants to retain their players qualified exclusively for their tournament. The measure applies to men's, women's, and youth players. In the past, an exception was still made for women, but this has now been scrapped.
This measure currently affects Beau Greaves, Luke Littler, and Berry van Peer. Greaves has led the WDF women's rankings for many years and is also the current reigning WDF Women's World Champion who is most affected by this news. However, she also qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship by winning the Women's World Matchplay in July.
Van Peer is on the verge of qualifying for the PDC World Darts Championship via the PDC Challenge Tour. However, the Dutchman is also currently claiming entry to Lakeside in Frimley Green via the reserve list so also needs to make a decision in the event of winning the Challenge Tour.
Luke Littler has secured qualification for Ally Pally via the PDC Development Tour and is also virtually qualified for the WDF World Championship via the WDF Ranking.
So the trio must start choosing which world championship they want to participate in. Littler has already indicated that he wants to play at Alexandra Palace with a Tour Card also secured for the 16-year-old, while Van Peer is likely to make that choice as well. Greaves in particular will be the main topic of debate surrounding her choice.
This is mainly due to Greaves' initial resistance to play PDC Women's Series and also recently declining an invite to play World Youth Championship and instead compete in Sweden on the WDF Tour. A side to the game that she has put a lot of time into in recent years.
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Players such as Ben Robb could also add to the dilemma if he qualifies for the PDC World Darts Championship. He leads the DPNZ, with a play-off needed for the showpiece tournament which he will be the favorite to win.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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Following extensive consultation with the PDC, the WDF can convey a player eligibility update for the 2023 WDF Lakeside World Championships.
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