These players will drop in the world rankings due to their absence from the World Grand Prix
PDCFriday, 29 September 2023 at 14:00
The World Grand Prix will begin on October 2 in Leicester. The full field of participants is already known, including a number of debutants. However, there will also be some established names missing from the Morningside Arena, which has major implications for their position in the world rankings.
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One of the most famous names that will be missing from the World Grand Prix is Mervyn King. From 2007 to 2021, he participated in all editions of the World Grand Prix. The King failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix in 2022 and will also be missing this year at the Morningside Arena. By missing several TV tournaments, King will drop to the 37th spot in the world rankings. This could mean that we won't see King at the World Darts Championship either, given his Pro-Tour season has been awful so far.
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Another darts veteran who failed to qualify this year is Vincent van der Voort. In the period from 2007 to 2021 he made 10 appearances in the World Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the career of the 47-year-old Dutchman is now going somewhat less well and he has already fallen outside the top 32 and is not yet sure of a place at the World Darts Championship. Van der Voort has been suffering from motivation problems for some time and recently indicated that he will decide in the coming period whether or not to continue playing on the PDC Tour.
Mensur Suljovic and Ian White have 7 and 10 World Grand Prix appearances to their name, respectively, but were absent last year and have also failed to qualify this year. So White cannot defend his quarterfinal place from two years ago and will drop at least nine spots to 55 in the world rankings.
Martijn Kleermaker and Darius Labanauskas debuted at the 2021 World Grand Prix but failed to qualify for the double-in double-out tournament again after that. Labanauskas will sink to the edge of the top 64, meaning he is at risk of losing his Tour Card at the end of the year.
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.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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