Once again, the road to Leicester is paved as much by absence as it is by opportunity, with several of darts’ most illustrious names electing to forgo the latest Players Championship double-header at the Mattioli Arena.
Most notably, World Champion Luke Littler headlines the list of high-profile omissions. The Nuke, triumphant at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead last November, continues his curious abstinence from the floor circuit in 2026, extending his tally of non-appearances in these events to a rather conspicuous total.
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He is joined on the sidelines by Luke Humphries, whose sporadic ProTour involvement this season has thus far been limited to Wigan – albeit with silverware secured – while Gerwyn Price completes the Premier League triumvirate opting to swerve proceedings, though The Iceman’s absence is confined to the opening instalment.
Naturally, such vacancies precipitate a cascade of opportunity. A cohort of ambitious Challenge Tour aspirants will once again be summoned to fill the void, eager to capitalise on the serendipitous convergence of circumstance and availability, much as they have done intermittently throughout the early stages of the season.
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Despite these notable withdrawals, the competitive landscape remains richly populated. Entries have been confirmed for Players Championships 7 and 8, scheduled for March 30-31, with 128 competitors set to contest each event.
The field, an intricate amalgamation of PDC Tour Card holders and PDPA Associate Members, ensures both depth and unpredictability across the two-day spectacle.
Among those in attendance are Premier League pace-setter Jonny Clayton and Dutch titan Michael van Gerwen, while Gerwyn Price currently presides over the Players Championship Order of Merit, narrowly ahead of the in-form Wessel Nijman – both of whom will feature prominently in the East Midlands.
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Play commences at 13:00 BST on each day, with comprehensive multi-board coverage streamed via PDCTV and bookmaker platforms worldwide, ensuring that, absent stars or not, the ProTour’s relentless cadence continues unabated.
PDC PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP DARTS 2026
EVENT SEVEN
Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Monday 30th March
Gary Anderson
Nathan Aspinall
Keane Barry
Owen Bates
Stefan Bellmont
Filip Bereza
Sebastian Bialecki
Tom Bissell
Andy Boulton
Bradley Brooks
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Burton
Dave Chisnall
Jonny Clayton
Gabriel Clemens
Cam Crabtree
Rob Cross
Joe Cullen
Niall Culleton
Mike De Decker
Jeffrey de Graaf
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey
Kevin Doets
Brendan Dolan
Martijn Dragt
Tavis Dudeney
Ritchie Edhouse
Matthias Ehlers
Ricky Evans
Adam Gawlas
Andrew Gilding
Kai Gotthardt
Beau Greaves
Rhys Griffin
Dominik Gruellich
Daryl Gurney
Stefaan Henderyck
Damon Heta
Yorick Hofkens
Justin Hood
Max Hopp
Joe Hunt
James Hurrell
Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Joyce
Tytus Kanik
Nick Kenny
Mervyn King
Christian Kist
Marvin Kraft
Maik Kuivenhoven
Darius Labanauskas
Chris Landman
Sietse Lap
Adam Leek
Steve Lennon
Adam Lipscombe
Jim Long
Thomas Lovely
Oskar Lukasiak
Martin Lukeman
Charlie Manby
Mickey Mansell
Shane McGuirk
Ryan Meikle
Cameron Menzies
Arno Merk
Alexander Merkx
Tommy Morris
Wessel Nijman
Danny Noppert
William O’Connor
Dennie Olde Kalter
Rob Owen
Adam Paxton
Ricardo Pietreczko
Darryl Pilgrim
Wesley Plaisier
Benjamin Pratnemer
Samuel Price
Krzysztof Ratajski
Madars Razma
Cristo Reyes
Greg Ritchie
Josh Rock
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Stephen Rosney
Pascal Rupprecht
Callan Rydz
Martin Schindler
Connor Scutt
Ryan Searle
Karel Sedlacek
David Sharp
Michael Smith
Ross Smith
Carl Sneyd
Alan Soutar
Jeffrey Sparidaans
Niko Springer
Mensur Suljovic
Tom Sykes
Tyler Thorpe
Viktor Tingstrom
Thibault Tricole
Jack Tweddell
Raymond van Barneveld
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jurjen van der Velde
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen
Jimmy van Schie
Gian van Veen
Marvin van Velzen
Mario Vandenbogaerde
Richard Veenstra
James Wade
Adam Warner
Jermaine Wattimena
Leon Weber
Lukas Wenig
Ian White
Scott Williams
Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright
Niels Zonneveld
EVENT EIGHT
Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Tuesday 31st March
Gary Anderson
Nathan Aspinall
Keane Barry
Owen Bates
Stefan Bellmont
Filip Bereza
Sebastian Bialecki
Tom Bissell
Andy Boulton
Bradley Brooks
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Burton
Dave Chisnall
Jonny Clayton
Gabriel Clemens
Cam Crabtree
Rob Cross
Joe Cullen
Niall Culleton
Mike De Decker
Jeffrey de Graaf
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey
Kevin Doets
Brendan Dolan
Martijn Dragt
Tavis Dudeney
Ritchie Edhouse
Matthias Ehlers
Ricky Evans
Adam Gawlas
Andrew Gilding
Kai Gotthardt
Beau Greaves
Rhys Griffin
Dominik Gruellich
Daryl Gurney
Stefaan Henderyck
Damon Heta
Yorick Hofkens
Justin Hood
Max Hopp
Joe Hunt
James Hurrell
Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Joyce
Tytus Kanik
Nick Kenny
Mervyn King
Christian Kist
Marvin Kraft
Maik Kuivenhoven
Darius Labanauskas
Chris Landman
Sietse Lap
Adam Leek
Steve Lennon
Adam Lipscombe
Jim Long
Thomas Lovely
Oskar Lukasiak
Martin Lukeman
Charlie Manby
Mickey Mansell
Shane McGuirk
Ryan Meikle
Cameron Menzies
Arno Merk
Alexander Merkx
Wessel Nijman
Danny Noppert
William O’Connor
Dennie Olde Kalter
Rob Owen
Adam Paxton
Ricardo Pietreczko
Darryl Pilgrim
Wesley Plaisier
Benjamin Pratnemer
Gerwyn Price
Samuel Price
Krzysztof Ratajski
Madars Razma
Cristo Reyes
Greg Ritchie
Josh Rock
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Stephen Rosney
Pascal Rupprecht
Callan Rydz
Martin Schindler
Connor Scutt
Ryan Searle
Karel Sedlacek
David Sharp
Michael Smith
Ross Smith
Carl Sneyd
Alan Soutar
Jeffrey Sparidaans
Niko Springer
Mensur Suljovic
Tom Sykes
Tyler Thorpe
Viktor Tingstrom
Thibault Tricole
Jack Tweddell
Raymond van Barneveld
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jurjen van der Velde
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen
Jimmy van Schie
Gian van Veen
Marvin van Velzen
Mario Vandenbogaerde
Richard Veenstra
James Wade
Adam Warner
Jermaine Wattimena
Leon Weber
Lukas Wenig
Ian White
Scott Williams
Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright
Niels Zonneveld
Tour Card Holders Absent: Maximilian Czerwinski, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Pero Ljubic, Gerwyn Price (PC7 only).
Non-Tour Card Holders Competing: Joe Hunt, Martijn Dragt, Jack Tweddell, Steve Lennon, Tommy Morris (PC7 only).
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC
