These players will drop in the world rankings due to their absence from the World Matchplay

The World Matchplay will begin on July 15 in Blackpool. The full field of participants is already known, including a number of debutants. However, there will also be some established names missing from the Winter Gardens, which will have major implications for their position in the world rankings.

The highest ranked player on the world rankings the failed to qualify for the World Matchplay is Callan Rydz. The 25-year-old Englishman made his debut at the 2021 World Matchplay and immediately made it to the quarterfinals then, with victories over Glen Durrant and Rob Cross. Last year he also qualified for the World Matchplay, but lost immediately in the first round to Dimitri van den Bergh.

Rydz is currently 26th in the world rankings, but cannot defend his quarterfinal from two years ago. As a result, he drops to spot 29, with the risk of even falling out of the top 32 later in the year.

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However, there are also positive signs for the man from Newcastle, given that he is probably already assured of participating in the World Championship and is also still in the race for the World Grand Prix.

Another player teetering on the edge of the top 32 is Mervyn King. From 2006 to 2019, he participated in all editions of the World Matchplay. In 2021, he returned to Blackpool, but was immediately eliminated by Nathan Aspinall.

The King failed to qualify for the World Matchplay in 2022 and will also be missing from The Winter Gardens this year. This means he will drop from spot 32 to spot 36 in the world rankings. This could mean we won't see King at the World Championship either, given his Pro-Tour season has been very mediocre so far.

Another darts veteran who failed to qualify this year is Vincent van der Voort. In the period from 2008 to 2021, he only missed the World Matchplay twice.

Unfortunately, the 47-year-old Dutchman's career is not going so well now and he has already fallen outside the top 32 and is not yet sure of a spot at the World Championship. Van der Voort has been suffering from motivation problems for some time and recently indicated that he will decide in the coming months whether or not to continue playing on the PDC Tour.

Devon Petersen participated in the 2021 World Matchplay edition, in which he lost to Dimitri van den Bergh in the first round. Since then, things have gone downhill for the South African, who is now outside the top 64, which could mean losing his Tour Card after this season.

Two other players at risk of losing their Tour Card at the end of the year are Ian White and Jermaine Wattimena. Both players, since their last Matchplay appearances in 2021, have dropped to the top 40. However, both, especially White, are showing good things on the Pro Tour this year and could just keep their Tour Card with World Championship participation.