THIS week sees the PDC ProTour heading to the Maaspoort in Den Bosch, Netherlands, on Tuesday and Wednesday September 2026 for Players Championships 29 and 30.
These midweek floor events form part of the 34-tournament series and each carry a £150,000 prize fund, with £15,000 going to the winner.
A cursory glance on your favourite social media platform or darts scoring monitor and you’ll note several established stars will be absent from the 128-player fields and a selection of less familiar names will pop up as if out of the blue.
Among those missing are Gary Anderson, Stephen Bunting, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries, Ryan Searle, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, Yorick Hofkens and Niko Springer.
Their places have been filled by a group of Challenge Tour and Associate Member players, including Henry Coates, Joe Hunt, Daniel Klose, Steve Lennon, Tommy Lishman, Tommy Morris, Nathan Potter and Archie Self.
Such withdrawals are now a regular feature of the crowded ProTour calendar, particularly in a period packed with major tournaments and European Tour events.
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of winning these events as the fields remain strong overall, built around Tour Card holders and topped up by the highest-ranked eligible non-card players. But the do give opportunity, change draw dynamic and seeding tables and generally freshen things up.
Matches run as best-of-11 legs through the quarter-finals before extending in the later stages. Prize money earned in these events counts towards the Players Championship Order of Merit as well as the overall version.
The top 64 on that tier ranking at the end of the season will qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead in late November. It is thisnone that is gaining attention as Luke Littler need some big results to keep his potential ‘Nuclear Slam’ of all TV on course.
With several tournaments still to come, including further stops in Den Bosch and a closing double-header in Leicester, Events 29 and 30 offer important opportunities for players fighting for qualification or better seeding.
For the call-up players, strong runs provide valuable ranking points, prize money and exposure that can strengthen their cases at future Q-School events or in the race for Tour Cards.
Henry Coates has taken advatage this year with a em event win while Joe Hunt, Derek Coulson and other have had multiple strong runs.
Earnings also contribute to the one-year ProTour Order of Merit and the main two-year PDC Order of Merit. Consistent performances can therefore influence seedings at televised events, Tour Card retention at the end of the year, and pathways into the World Championship.
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