World Grand Prix race with five events remaining: Beau Greaves within touching distance of joining Luke Littler and Luke Humphries in Leicester

The World Grand Prix is, after the World Matchplay, the next major ranking tournament. From Monday, September 28 through Sunday, October 4, the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit and the top 16 on the ProTour Order of Merit will face off at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester in this unique double-in, double-out format. With only three European Tour events and two Players Championship tournaments to go in the meantime, the field is already taking serious shape.

As always, the top 16 of the regular PDC Order of Merit are guaranteed a spot at the World Grand Prix. That means all the big names will be present. Luke Littler, still chasing records to win every PDC major in a single calendar year, again heads the field. Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, and Jonny Clayton are all in as well.

Michael van Gerwen will of course be there too. Despite his disappointing World Matchplay, where he exited in the second round and consequently slipped to seventh in the world rankings, he still sits high enough to be certain of participation. A strong result would be desirable. Two years ago the Dutchman lost in the first round, so a deep run in Leicester this year could help him climb a few places in the rankings.

Other names currently qualifying via the PDC Order of Merit are the likes of James Wade, Josh Rock, Gary Anderson, Stephen Bunting, Ryan Searle, Chris Dobey, Nathan Aspinall, and Ross Smith. Only Dobey, Aspinall, and Smith still look at risk of dropping out of that top 16, but they would then qualify for the tournament via the ProTour Order of Merit anyway.

So who is currently qualifying via that ProTour Order of Merit? The top 16 players on the ProTour qualify for the World Grand Prix through that route. Luke Woodhouse currently leads with £157,000, closely followed by Kevin Doets in second on £152,500. However, Woodhouse is only £21,750 behind Ross Smith on the PDC Order of Merit and, with a few strong Euro Tour results, could also qualify via that ranking. All told, “Woody” and Doets are already certain to play.

The same goes for Jermaine Wattimena, who sits third on £134,750. He too could still qualify via the regular Order of Merit. With only £5,000 to make up on Smith, the top 16 beckons there as well, which means he is also assured of a World Grand Prix spot. Furthermore, Krzysztof Ratajski, Andrew Gilding, Damon Heta, Rob Cross, Niels Zonneveld, William O’Connor, and Dirk van Duijvenbode also look safe.

Ryan Joyce, in 11th with £86,750, does not appear completely certain yet. Behind him a cluster of names are tightly packed, so plenty of movement is still possible. Cameron Menzies, Cristo Reyes, Niko Springer, Sebastian Bialecki, and Dave Chisnall occupy positions 12 through 16, and the gap between Menzies and Chisnall is only £3,000.

Sebastian Bialecki and Dave Chisnall seem to have the most to worry about. While Menzies, Reyes, and Springer have qualified for all three remaining Euro Tour events, Bialecki and Chisnall will play only one of those three. As a result, they can collect significantly less prize money in the final weeks than the others.

Who could potentially leapfrog Bialecki and Chisnall? Joe Cullen looks the prime candidate to still book his World Grand Prix spot. “The Rockstar” has £77,250, just £1,000 behind Chisnall, and is already confirmed for all three Euro Tour events. That gives him a big advantage over Bialecki and “Chizzy.”

Kim Huybrechts, Karel Sedlacek, and Martin Schindler are also still in the mix. Huybrechts and Sedlacek, however, will only play one more Euro Tour event, so they need a strong result if they want to make a move. Schindler, for his part, will play all three and remains a serious contender.

Another standout name who certainly shouldn’t be written off yet is Beau Greaves. The newly crowned Women’s World Matchplay champion seems to be peaking at the right time and secured her spot at all three upcoming European Tour events via the Tour Card Holder qualifiers. If she can pick up a few wins there, she could sneak into the top 16 at the last minute and make her World Grand Prix debut.

Which names can we already rule out with certainty? Perhaps the most striking is Mike De Decker. The Belgian is far from his best form and can definitively forget about playing the prestigious major this year. That will mean a hefty drop on the world rankings for the ‘Real Deal’, as he surprisingly won the tournament two years ago. That prize money will now fall off his ranking.

Michael Smith will also miss the tournament for the second year running. Last year, the 2023 world champion was already one of the most notable absentees, and this year ‘Bully Boy’ has again failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix. Other well-known names like Peter Wright, Raymond van Barneveld, and Dimitri van den Bergh are nowhere near qualification either.

(via dartsrankings.com)