Schedule and Preview Players Championship Finals 2024 Sunday afternoon as Luke Littler and Luke Humphries lead Quarter-Finals

Eight more players have a chance to win the title at the 2024 Players Championship Finals in Minehead. Sunday afternoon they will be in action during the quarter-finals. Fully in line with previous majors, there are again a lot of surprises at this tournament, but the two biggest title favorites managed to get through the first three shifts.

This event is taking place for the sixteenth year. Michael van Gerwen is the record winner with seven titles. Phil Taylor, with three titles, is the only other player to have won the Players Championship Finals more than once. Gary Anderson, Kevin Painter, Paul Nicholson, Daryl Gurney, Peter Wright and Luke Humphries are the other former winners. In 2023, the title went to Humphries, who was too strong for Van Gerwen in the final, 11-9.

For now, this edition of the Players Championship Finals is once again a true battleground for the absolute world's top players. Only two players from the world's top-19 managed to qualify for the quarter-finals. Big names like Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Dimitri van den Bergh, Nathan Aspinall, Gary Anderson, Chris Dobey, James Wade, Peter Wright and Danny Noppert were all eliminated earlier.

The absolute top favorite Luke Littler is living up to his favorite role for now. 'The Nuke' is playing with his opponents and only conceded five legs in three matches. He started his tournament with a 6-0 victory over Rob Cross thanks to an average of over 112. After that, Ritchie Edhouse (6-2) and Danny Noppert (10-3) also had to bow to the English prodigy.

Mike de Decker also conceded just five legs during this tournament. The Belgian swept Richard Veenstra (6-1) and Ian White (6-0) off the stage, before De Decker also scored a fairly easy victory against Niels Zonneveld (10-4).

It is the second time in a short time that Littler and De Decker will meet on the big stage. Earlier this month, they also played each other in the second round of the Grand Slam of Darts. Decker was then leading 8-4 and 9-7, but was taken off his game by some unsportsmanlike fans in the crowd. As a result, Littler then prevailed 10-9.

The second quarter of the bracket was one full of surprises. Ryan Searle, Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen, Joe Cullen and Dimitri van den Bergh were all eliminated in the first round. Van Veen's elimination (6-5) was accounted for by Scott Williams. 'Shaggy' then also dealt with Kim Huybrechts (6-4) and Jeffrey de Graaf (10-8) to reach the quarter-finals at the Players Championship Finals after his semi-final place at the World Darts Championship.

Ross Smith is also in the quarterfinals of a major for the second time this season. Smudger' only had to concede three legs so far. He started his tournament with a resounding 6-1 victory over Van den Bergh, and then also beat Wesley Plaisier (6-1) and Andrew Gilding (10-1).

It will be the third time Smith and Williams have met in a PDC match. The first was in 2022, when Smith prevailed 6-5. In 2023, Smith also won the second match, this time 6-2.

Dirk van Duijvenbode's resurgence continues as he advances to the last eight in Minehead. He dealt with Callan Rydz (6-1), Florian Hempel (6-3) and Jermaine Wattimena (10-5). Another huge boost for Van Duijvenbode, who has been struggling with a shoulder injury for months. A few weeks ago 'Aubergenius' showed he is on his way back by reaching the quarter finals of the European Darts Championship.

With Connor Scutt as an opponent, more may be possible at the Players Championship Finals, although 'The Sniper' is not to be underestimated. Scutt was the best player this season on the PDC Challenge Tour, the second level of the PDC, and is now in a major quarterfinal for the first time. Scutt has already won over Martin Lukeman (6-4), Mario Vandenbogaerde (6-3) and Daryl Gurney (10-3).

In the past, Van Duijvenbode and Scutt already played four matches. Only in the second confrontation the win went to the Englishman. Van Duijvenbode won the other three duels between them, although the two players never played against each other on a stage.

Defending champion Luke Humphries is up in the last quarterfinal of the afternoon. 'Cool Hand Luke' certainly did not have any easy opponents yet this tournament, but withstood his tests against Gabriel Clemens (6-2), Raymond van Barneveld (6-3) and Damon Heta (10-6) with verve.

Now awaits the always tough Ryan Joyce, who is often praised for his precision on the doubles. 'Relentless' made it to the last eight after wins over Karel Sedlacek (6-4), Cameron Menzies (6-5) and Martin Schindler (10-6).

The two Englishmen faced each other nine times before. Only the first two encounters were won by Joyce. However, Joyce's last win over his compatriot dates back to 2020. The seven subsequent matches were all victories for the current world number one.

The Players Championship Finals will be broadcast on ITV4 in the UK. All matches during both the afternoon and evening sessions can be seen via this channel.

A second stage will be used during the first two days of play. The matches on this stage can be seen on PDC TV. The afternoon sessions will start at 12:50 p.m., while the evening sessions over the weekend will begin at 7 p.m.

During the Players Championship Finals, 600,000 pounds of prize money will be distributed. This event is taking place for the sixteenth time. The first edition was in 2009, when a total of 200,000 pounds was made available. Then the winner went home with the top prize of 50,000.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Players Championship Finals gets more than double. All 64 participants in the Players Championship Finals are guaranteed a starting premium of 3,000 pounds. This amount eventually rises to a £120,000 reward for the winner of the tournament.

First round: Best of 11 legs

Second round: Best of 11 legs

Third round: Best of 19 legs

Quarterfinals: Best of 19 legs

Semifinals: Best of 21 legs

Final: Best of 21 legs

Mike De Decker v Luke Littler

Scott Williams v Ross Smith

Connor Scutt v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Luke Humphries v Ryan Joyce