Six changes to World Grand Prix field for 2025: Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith & Dimitri Van den Bergh all absent

From Monday, October 6 to Sunday, October 12, the World Grand Prix is scheduled. With all participating players now known, compared to last year's edition, there are 6 changes in the lineup, including some very notable names.

Among the players who were present last year at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester are a number of notable absentees who will have to miss out this year. Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith, Dimitri van den Bergh, Ricardo Pietreczko, Ritchie Edhouse and Brendan Dolan all failed to qualify for this year's edition.

Dave Chisnall is the highest ranked player that failed to qualify. Chizzy was seeded No. 6 for the World Grand Prix last year, but the Englishman has dropped severely since to his current position of No. 18 in the Order of Merit. In addition, he did not perform well enough on the Euro Tour and Players Championship tournaments. As a result, he missed out on qualification by £1,000 behind No. 16 Andrew Gilding.

For Michael Smith and Dimitri van den Bergh, it had been clear for some time that they would not be present. Both are struggling with injuries and personal problems, causing results to disappoint this year and they have fallen far down the Order of Merit. Van den Bergh currently occupies 21st place, and Smith is one place below them in 22nd place. Michael Smith managed to reach the semifinals two years ago, defending a lot of prize money. Since 'Bullyboy' is not present this year, he will most likely have to drop a few more spots, slowly jeopardizing his spot in the top 32.

Where six names are absent, it also means that six other players are replacing them. Among those players are three Dutchmen. Wessel Nijman, Jermaine Wattimena and Dirk van Duijvenode may make their appearance in the double-in format this year. Also present are German sensation Niko Springer, the aforementioned Andrew Gilding and Krzysztof Ratajski.

For Nijman and Springer, this marks their respective debuts at the World Grand Prix. The Dutchman is having an excellent year with some good runs on both the European Tour and Players Championship tournaments. This enabled him to qualify convincingly for the major tournament. Springer meanwhile, recently proved his potential by winning a first European Tour title of his career.

For Van Duijvenbode and Wattimena, it means their return to the tournament. Wattimena still managed to reach the quarterfinals in 2019. For Van Duijvenbode, the World Grand Prix has not yet been very successful. In 3/4 previous participations, 'Aubergenius' never made it past the first round. For Gilding, he reached the Grand Prix quarter-finals in 2023, whilst Ratajski reached the last eight back in 2021.