PREVIEW: 2024 Players Championship Finals: who claims the title in Minehead?

Straight off the back of an epic nine days of darts action at the Grand Slam of Darts, we’ve got the Players Championship Finals coming up for you this weekend. Luke Littler is coming in fresh off winning his first ranking major title on Sunday after he demolished Martin Lukeman and had an all-time great match with Gary Anderson in Wolverhampton. Incredibly, the Nuke has moved up to fifth in the world rankings within the first year of his professional career, and he’ll be looking to claim another title this weekend.

The Players Championship Finals will see the top 64 ranked players in the Players Championship Order of Merit face off for the conclusion of the Players Championships season. The event will kick off on Friday November 22nd, and will conclude on Sunday November 24th. Yep, it’s going to be another action packed weekend of darts, as we build up towards the World Championships next month.

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All the action is coming from Butlin’s Minehead, and there’s a total prize fund of £600,000 up for grabs, with £120,000 going to the winner. Fans will be delighted that the can catch all the action on free TV, with ITV4 having the rights to the Players Championship Finals.

Let’s take a look at who the big favourites are, and how the tournament works.

Who’s in the draw?

The number 1 seed is Chris Dobey, as he’s earnt the most prize money throughout the Players Championships events in 2024, and he’ll face off with the number 64 ranking Nathan Aspinall in the round of 64. Dobey’s best win so far was the Masters in 2023, when he beat Rob Cross in the final. “Hollywood” will be hoping to make a strong run this weekend, but he does not have a good record against Aspinall. Aspinall hasn’t quite been at the form that saw him win the World Matchplay last year, but he’s beaten Dobey on 4 of the last five occasions they’ve faced off. The man from Stockport will be hoping to keep that run going this weekend.

But the best match of the first round is surely when newly crowned Grand Slam champion Luke Littler takes on Rob Cross, in the match up between number 8 and number 57 seeds. Littler was simply stunning in Wolverhampton, and winning 15 legs in a row in the final showed just how much talent he has. But, Rob Cross has caused him some problems recently, most notably at last months World Grand Prix where Cross knocked out Littler in the first round, with a bullseye to finish. Cross, who was PC Finals runner up in 2022, might be one of the most underrated players out there, even if he has a world title to his name, and he is more than capable of beating Littler if he’s on his game.

Michael van Gerwen has the most PC Finals wins to his name with 7, a massive 4 ahead of Phil Taylor who is the only other person to have won this competition multiple times. Whilst Van Gerwen has definitely had a difficult season, you cannot count him out. He’s the number 17 seed, and he’ll take Ian White in the round of 64. White beat Van Gerwen the last time the duo met back in April, and MvG was not near his best at the Grand Slam of Darts, but the Dutchman has proved time and time again how good he is, and he’ll be looking to recapture the title he last won in 2022 when he beat Rob Cross.

Last year’s winner Luke Humphries had a difficult time in Wolverhampton, but he’s the world number 1 for a reason. Whilst Littler is the player that gets all the attention, and rightfully so given his age and incredible scoring, Humphries is still the man to beat in 2024. His German rival Gabriel Clemens made it to the semi finals this time last year, and should provide a tough opener for Cool Hand. Clemens beat Humphries when they last met in September, but Humphries will certainly be the favourite heading in to this won. He’ll be hoping to use the Players Championship Finals to get back to his best, before heading to London for the World Championships next month.

Newly crowned European champion, Ritchie Edhouse faces Luke Woodhouse in a repeat of Dortmund, Josh Rock takes on Ricky Evans, while Ross Smith faces Dimitri van den Bergh. Daryl Gurney also will pit his wits against Peter Wright. As Dave Chisnall faces Joe Cullen also.

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What happened last year?

This time last year, Humphries won his third major title in the space of seven weeks, as he defeated Michael van Gerwen in a brilliant battle. Michael van Gerwen, aiming for his eighth title, looked set for victory after he raced into a 9-5 lead. But Luke Humphries refused to quit, and mounted an incredible comeback as he stamped his authority on the final.

Starting with a crucial 130 on the bull, Humphries steadily chipped away at MVG’s advantage, holding his nerve as MVG began to realise just how good his new rival was. Van Gerwen’s missed chances, including a bullseye for a 170 checkout, allowed Humphries to stay in contention, and an eight title began to slip away. Humphries broke back with a double 10 to narrow the gap and then capitalised on MVG’s errors to level the match and take the lead. In a fantastic final, after multiple missed darts from both players, Humphries clinched the victory 11-9 with a double one.

The win completed a remarkable period for Humphries, including hat-trick of wins as he added to the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts titles that he’d already won. Humphries, of course, then went on to claim the World Championship in London, and he’ll be hoping he can use the PC Finals as a springboard once again.

How does the tournament work?

Winners from the first round on Friday will move forward to Saturday's double session, which features the second round in the afternoon and the third round in the evening. The tournament will then come to an end on Sunday, November 24, starting with the quarter-finals in the afternoon. This will be followed by the semi-finals and the final in an action-packed evening session.

Between the semi-finals and the final on Sunday night, the Winmau World Youth Championship final will take place, with an all-Dutch clash between Van Veen and Jurjen van der Velde.

As we begin the run in to the World Championships over Christmas, the Players Championship Finals is the last chance for the world’s best to fine tune their form before going for the big one. So will Humphries retain his title, or will Littler prove unstoppable again? Or will we have a different winner? We don’t have to wait too long, as another action packed weekend of darts begins on Friday.

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