The race to qualify for the 2026 Betfred World Matchplay reaches its climax this week, as the PDC ProTour season resumes in Leicester.
The Mattioli Arena will play host to Players Championships 23-24 on July 6-7, and the 32-player field for this month’s showpiece in Blackpool will be confirmed following the conclusion of Tuesday’s Players Championship 24.
The top 16 players from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder will be seeded at the Winter Gardens, as they go head-to-head with 16 qualifiers from the 12-month ProTour rankings.
Reigning champion Luke Littler will headline on his return to Blackpool, with 2024 winner Luke Humphries and three-time champion Michael van Gerwen also set to star.
Former champions James Wade, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall will also feature as seeded representatives, alongside Welsh duo Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price – finalists in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
Dutch number one Gian van Veen will mark his third World Matchplay appearance as the number three seed, while his fellow countryman Wessel Nijman is poised to be seeded for the first time in his career.
Luke Woodhouse heads up the 16 qualifiers from the one-year ProTour rankings, as 2019 champion Rob Cross aims to repeat former glories following his resurgence over recent months.
Kevin Doets will make his World Matchplay debut courtesy of his rise over the last 12 months, with William O’Connor, Niko Springer and Niels Zonneveld also preparing to make their Blackpool bows.
Damon Heta occupies the final provisional place in this year’s field, with five-time quarter-finalist Dave Chisnall currently £5,250 adrift of the Australian number one.
Nevertheless, with £30,000 in prize money available in this week’s double-header, Chisnall will still harbour hopes of maintaining his run of consecutive World Matchplay appearances, which currently stands at 15.
Elsewhere, Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts is £6,000 away from the qualification cut-off, with Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki and Karel Sedlacek among the names still in contention for a place at the Winter Gardens.
Former champions Peter Wright and Dimitri Van den Bergh will be two high-profile absentees from this year’s field, while 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith and Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld have also failed to qualify.
The table below displays the latest standings in the race to the Betfred World Matchplay, which will take place at Blackpool's Winter Gardens from July 18-26, televised live on Sky Sports and through the PDC's global broadcast partners.
