Leonard Gates will not compete in this year's World Seniors Darts Masters, the tournament "The Soulger" managed to win in 2023. Instead of attempting title prolongation, Gates will compete in the Grand Slam of Darts.
The American did initially belong to the field of participants for the World Seniors Masters. This tournament is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9, in Sunderland.
Last weekend, however, Gates forced qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts by winning the CDC Continental Cup. The Grand Slam of Darts will be played in Wolverhampton from Saturday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Nov. 17. It proved impossible to combine the two tournaments, so Gates decided to withdraw from the World Seniors Masters.
The vacant spot will be filled by Tony O'Shea, who also recently got to fill in for Phil Taylor at the World Seniors Matchplay in early October. There O'Shea lost in the first round 8-5 to eventual winner John Henderson. Earlier it was announced that Phil Taylor and Kevin Painter were also unable to compete at the World Seniors Masters.
Henderson leads the field of participants at the World Seniors Masters. A total of 16 senior darters are competing in Sunderland. In the draw, eight players have protected status. They are then paired with eight players with unseeded status.
In addition to Henderson, Richie Howson, Robert Thornton, Paul Hogan, Martin Adams, Neil Duff, Richard Rowlands and Lisa Ashton are also among the top eight on the placement list. They will then meet O'Shea, Glen Durrant, Scott Mitchell, Trina Gulliver, Chris Mason, Matt Clark, Darryl Fitton or Andrew Kateleys in the first round.
John Henderson
Richie Howson
Robert Thornton
Paul Hogan
Martin Adams
Neil Duff
Richard Rowlands
Lisa Ashton
Tony O'Shea
Glen Durrant
Scott Mitchell
Trina Gulliver
Chris Mason
Matt Clark
Darryl Fitton
Andrew Kateleys
⚠️SEED CHANGE⚠️ We have a late change to the seedings for the @betgoodwinuk WSDT Seniors World Masters. Defending Champion Leonard Gates has accepted an invite to play at the PDC Grand Slam of Darts, and his place will be taken by Tony O'Shea, who will be unseeded. Lisa Ashton…
