Tuesday is make-or-break for the players still hoping to qualify for the
World Matchplay. The 24th Players Championship event of the year is the final tournament that counts towards qualification for the televised major.
The tournament field consists of 32 players. Sixteen qualify through the world rankings, while the remaining 16 places are awarded via the ProTour Order of Merit. This gives players outside the world's top 16 the opportunity to secure a place in Blackpool through a strong floor season.
The winner of Players Championship 24 will receive £15,000 in prize money. However, with the gap between 16th and 17th on the world rankings already greater than £15,000, it has been confirmed that the current top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit will all be seeded for the 2026
World Matchplay.
The order of the seeds can still change, though. The seeding positions of Luke Littler (1), Luke Humphries (2), Gian van Veen (3), Michael van Gerwen (4), Wessel Nijman (14), Ross Smith (15) and Nathan Aspinall (16) are already guaranteed.
Battle still raging on the ProTour Order of Merit
As well as the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit, the top 16 on the ProTour Order of Merit also earn invitations to Blackpool. The first 14 players on that list have already secured their places.
However,
Damon Heta and
Daryl Gurney, currently 15th and 16th respectively, still have work to do on Tuesday to book their spots at the World Matchplay.
Dave Chisnall reached the semi-finals of Players Championship 23 on Monday, cutting the gap to the final qualification place to just £500. Heta, meanwhile, holds only a £250 advantage over Gurney. That means a single victory on Tuesday could make the difference between qualifying for the prestigious major or missing out.
Daryl Gurney could miss out on Blackpool.
Chisnall is not the only player who could deny Heta and Gurney a place in Blackpool. Kim Huybrechts, Karel Sedlacek, Sebastian Bialecki and Jeffrey de Graaf also remain in contention.
Huybrechts needs to reach at least the semi-finals, while Sedlacek must make the final. Bialecki and De Graaf both have to win Players Championship 24 outright to claim a World Matchplay berth.
PDC Order of Merit
| Rank | Player | Prize Money (£1,000s) |
| 1 | Luke Littler | 2,928.5 |
| 2 | Luke Humphries | 1,195.5 |
| 3 | Gian van Veen | 932 |
| 4 | Michael van Gerwen | 714.25 |
| 5 | Jonny Clayton | 672 |
| 6 | James Wade | 664.25 |
| 7 | Gerwyn Price | 615 |
| 8 | Josh Rock | 612.5 |
| 9 | Stephen Bunting | 610.75 |
| 10 | Danny Noppert | 597.75 |
| 11 | Ryan Searle | 589.75 |
| 12 | Gary Anderson | 575.5 |
| 13 | Chris Dobey | 569 |
| 14 | Wessel Nijman | 549.75 |
| 15 | Ross Smith | 523.25 |
| 16 | Nathan Aspinall | 516.25 |
PDC ProTour Order of Merit
| Rank | Player | Prize Money (£1,000s) |
| 1 | Luke Woodhouse | 169 |
| 2 | Jermaine Wattimena | 146.75 |
| 3 | Kevin Doets | 146.75 |
| 4 | Andrew Gilding | 117 |
| 5 | Krzysztof Ratajski | 115.5 |
| 6 | Rob Cross | 113 |
| 7 | William O'Connor | 111.75 |
| 8 | Niko Springer | 108.25 |
| 9 | Niels Zonneveld | 101 |
| 10 | Martin Schindler | 101 |
| 11 | Ryan Joyce | 99.5 |
| 12 | Dirk van Duijvenbode | 99 |
| 13 | Cameron Menzies | 96.75 |
| 14 | Joe Cullen | 95.75 |
| 15 | Damon Heta | 83.25 |
| 16 | Daryl Gurney | 83 |
| 17 | Dave Chisnall | 82.5 |
| 18 | Kim Huybrechts | 78.25 |
| 19 | Karel Sedlacek | 73.75 |
| 20 | Sebastian Bialecki | 73.75 |
| 21 | Jeffrey de Graaf | 69.25 |