Race to World Grand Prix 2026: Beau Greaves likely to fall short in qualification efforts as big names including Michael Smith and Peter Wright certain to miss out
PDC
The race for a place at the World Grand Prix 2026 is entering its decisive phase. With two European Tour events left before the qualification window closes, several players are not yet safe. Especially around the final berths, plenty can still shift over the next week and a half.
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The World Grand Prix runs from 28.09.2026 to 04.10.2026 and, thanks to its unique format, is one of the most distinctive tournaments on the PDC calendar. It is the only major where every leg must not only finish on a double, but also start on a double.
A total of 32 players will line up. The top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit receive invitations, supplemented by the 16 highest-ranked non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit.
The cut-off falls on 14.09.2026. Before then, two Euro Tour events remain with significant prize money on offer. The Czech Darts Open takes place in Prague from 04-09-2026 to 06-09-2026. A week later, from 11-09-2026 to 13-09-2026, the Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp offers a last chance to alter the picture.
Van Veen chasing Humphries for the second seed
The field is headed by defending champion Luke Littler. The Englishman took the title last year by beating Luke Humphries 6-1 in sets in the final.
Who starts the tournament as the second seed is still open. Humphries currently holds that spot, but Gian van Veen is right on his heels. The next two Euro Tours could therefore decide who sits behind Littler as the No. 2 seed.
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In the main Order of Merit, Gerwyn Price then follows as Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Josh Rock, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Danny Noppert are completing the top 10.
Reyes defending the final spot, Greaves likely too much too soon
The tightest battle sits around the very last qualifying place. That berth is currently held by Cristo Reyes. The Spaniard would return to the World Grand Prix for the first time since 2017.
His cushion is slim, though. Sebastian Bialecki is the first chaser, only £1,500 behind Reyes. The young Pole also has a potential debut at stake. Bialecki faces one key disadvantage in the run-in: he will play only one of the two remaining Euro Tours, while Reyes can collect prize money in both Prague and Antwerp.
Kim Huybrechts is not out of it either. The Belgian sits 18th on the relevant ProTour ranking, £2,500 adrift of Reyes, but likewise has only one Euro Tour left to bridge the gap. For Karel Sedlacek, currently 19th, the task is far bigger. The Czech trails Reyes by £7,750 and also has just one remaining Euro Tour start. Beau Greaves too is unlikely to make her debut. She sits 21st.
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Beau Greaves too soon?
But others are perhaps more surprising that they won't make it as Martin Schindler's drop off is there for all to see when it comes to him not qualifying. He is sat in 23rd in the main Order of Merit and in 20th in the ProTour. Mike de Decker, former champion is also likely to miss out. While Daryl Gurney, RItchie Edhouse, Ricardo Pietreczko are also set to miss out.
The same can be said for Michael Smith and Peter Wright who are well clear and so neither will be there. The same for Raymond van Barneveld showing the true changing of the guard.
That makes the Czech Darts Open and Flanders Darts Trophy pivotal not only in the title races. For several players, much more is on the line. The final decision falls on 13-09-2026, when we will know which 32 players can begin the hunt for the World Grand Prix title later that month.
PDC Order of Merit
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| Rank | Name | Prize money (in units of £1,000) |
| 1 | Luke Littler | 3100 |
| 2 | Luke Humphries | 993.5 |
| 3 | Gian van Veen | 980.75 |
| 4 | Gerwyn Price | 713 |
| 5 | Jonny Clayton | 669 |
| 6 | James Wade | 626.25 |
| 7 | Josh Rock | 607.5 |
| 8 | Michael van Gerwen | 594.5 |
| 9 | Gary Anderson | 594.25 |
| 10 | Danny Noppert | 589.75 |
| 11 | Stephen Bunting | 583.25 |
| 12 | Wessel Nijman | 560.25 |
| 13 | Ryan Searle | 554.75 |
| 14 | Chris Dobey | 537.25 |
| 15 | Ross Smith | 536.75 |
| 16 | Nathan Aspinall | 536 |
| 17 | Jermaine Wattimena | 516.75 |
| 18 | Luke Woodhouse | 490.5 |
PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit
| Rank | Name | Prize money (in units of £1,000) |
| 1 | Luke Woodhouse | 167.5 |
| 2 | Kevin Doets | 163.75 |
| 3 | Jermaine Wattimena | 154.75 |
| 4 | Krzysztof Ratajski | 144.5 |
| 5 | Andrew Gilding | 119.5 |
| 6 | Rob Cross | 104 |
| 7 | Dirk van Duijvenbode | 102.75 |
| 8 | William O'Connor | 102.25 |
| 9 | Damon Heta | 99.75 |
| 10 | Niels Zonneveld | 99 |
| 11 | Ryan Joyce | 93.5 |
| 12 | Dave Chisnall | 87.5 |
| 13 | Cameron Menzies | 87.25 |
| 14 | Niko Springer | 83.5 |
| 15 | Joe Cullen | 82.75 |
| 16 | Cristo Reyes | 82 |
| 17 | Sebastian Bialecki | 80.5 |
| 18 | Kim Huybrechts | 79.5 |
| 19 | Karel Sedlacek | 74.25 |
| 20 | Martin Schindler | 72 |
| 21 | Beau Greaves | 66.25 |
| 22 | Jeffrey de Graaf | 65 |
| 23 | Daryl Gurney | 63 |
| 24 | Richard Veenstra | 62.5 |
| 25 | Mickey Mansell | 60 |
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
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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- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026