Preview Players Championship Finals 2023: Who will go into the World Darts Championship on a high?

We get to get ready for another weekend of top darts. From Friday, Nov. 24 to Sunday, Nov. 26, the Players Championship Finals is scheduled to take place in Minehead.

This event is traditionally the last tournament before the World Darts Championship in December. So one last chance for the contenders to gain some stage experience or play themselves into shape before they have to travel to Alexandra Palace.

We are now up to the sixteenth edition of Players Championship Finals. The first edition was in 2009 and was then won by Phil Taylor. 'The Power' was later also the best at this tournament in 2011 and 2012.

Paul Nicholson grabbed the overall victory in 2010. In 2011, the Players Championship Finals were played twice; in February and December. Until the first edition of 2011, the tournament featuring the year's best floor players was played at the beginning of the following year. The PDC decided to change that in 2011, so nowadays the best floor players of the year compete for the title at the Players Championship Finals at the end of the year. Taylor won the first version of the 2011 edition, while Kevin Painter got to lift the cup at the end of 2011.

Michael van Gerwen captured the title at the Players Championship Finals for the first time in 2013. Since then, the tally already stands at seven. 'Mighty Mike' was also the best at this tournament in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022. Gary Anderson (2014), Daryl Gurney (2018) and Peter Wright (2021) were the other tournament winners.

Only two players have managed to throw a nine-darter at the Players Championship Finals. Alan Norris threw the first in the history of this tournament in 2016. Michael van Gerwen threw a perfect leg at the Players Championship Finals in 2019 and 2022.

The top-64 of the Players Championship Order of Merit qualifies for the Players Championship Finals. These rankings are based on players' performances at the 30 Players Championship tournaments.

These (relatively small) tournaments are regularly skipped by the absolute top players, who sometimes opt for extra rest days because they also have commitments in the Premier League, at World Series tournaments and other lucrative demonstrations.

Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall skipped too many Players Championship tournaments and took too little prize money in the ones they did play. They did not finish in the top-64 of the Players Championship Order of Merit and are thus missing Minehead. Madars Razma, Alan Soutar, Mervyn King, Vincent van der Voort and Mensur Suljovic also failed to qualify.

Top players such as Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, James Wade and Jonny Clayton will be present. As is Michael van Gerwen.

Luke Humphries is the big favourite in advance for overall victory at the Players Championship Finals. With titles at the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts plus a quarterfinal place at the European Darts Championship, Humphries is the man of the fall season for now.

Following Humphries is Gerwyn Price, the number one seed in Minehead. Of course, Michael van Gerwen is also among the favorites. With seven titles in 15 editions, Van Gerwen has won almost half of all previous editions. Other odds-on contenders include Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Rob Cross and James Wade.

It will mostly be shown on ITV4 in the UK, with only Saturday night which as ever sees the Football League Highlights Show preferred meaning it shifts to ITV3. There will be start times every session of 1pm and 7pm all the way until Sunday as the title is crowned. Also the World Youth Championship is in the final session on the Sunday. Elsewhere it is shown as ever on DAZN (Germany), Viaplay (Netherlands) and PDCTV (Rest of the World) with the multi board feature also available worldwide on the latter for the early rounds.

The PDC has made £600,000 in prize money available for the Players Championship Finals. That amount is 100,000 more than at the 2022 edition.

All 64 participants in the Players Championship Finals are guaranteed a starting premium of 3,000 pounds. This could eventually rise to £120,000 for the winner of the tournament.