Players Championship 33 34: Final Race for Minehead
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The players championship 33 34 double-header in Leicester is the last chance saloon for the 2026 PDC Pro Tour. When the final dart lands at the Mattioli Arena on Thursday 5 November, the 64-player field for the Players Championship Finals will be locked in — and some of darts’ biggest names could be watching Minehead from home. With the reigning world champion already out, a late withdrawal ending another star’s season, and a qualification cut-off that could move by thousands of pounds across two days of floor action, this is the most dramatic conclusion to a Players Championship season in years.
Thirty-two events are done. Two remain. The Players Championship Order of Merit — the ranking list that counts only prize money won on the floor this season — will send its top 64 to Butlin’s Minehead from 27 to 29 November for the 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals. For everyone ranked between roughly 55th and 80th, Leicester is everything: two final shots at £15,000 winner’s cheques, and two last chances to bank the money that decides their November.
Players Championship 33 34: The Last Chance Saloon
Players Championship 33 takes place on Wednesday 4 November and Players Championship 34 follows on Thursday 5 November, both at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, with the opening matches scheduled to begin at 1pm GMT each day. They are the final two events of a 34-tournament series that has wound through Hildesheim, Wigan, Milton Keynes, Den Bosch and Leicester — and the last ranking darts anyone will play before the Minehead field is decided.
The drama is built into the numbers. After Players Championship 32, the provisional qualification cut-off stands at £31,750 — the total held by Wesley Plaisier in 64th place. Every player below that line has two tournaments left to climb above it, and every player just above it must defend their position against a chasing pack armed with £300,000 of combined prize money across the two days. A run to the last 16 pays £3,000 and a semi-final £6,500 — enough to vault a player twenty places up the Order of Merit in a single afternoon. Keep track of every confirmed name and session on our darts schedule hub at World Darts Guide.
The Bubble Battle: Who Needs What in Leicester
The standout storyline of the players championship 33 34 week is the queue of household names fighting for their Minehead lives. Here is where the big names stand after 32 events, and what each needs in Leicester.
Gary Anderson — 68th, £29,750. The two-time world champion is the most prominent player outside the top 64, sitting £2,000 behind the cut-off. A last-32 run (£2,000) would only tie the current line — and the line will move — so Anderson realistically needs a last-16 run (£3,000) or better. He skipped the Den Bosch double-header, so Leicester is his first floor action in weeks.
Josh Rock — 80th, £26,000. The world number eight is £5,750 adrift, which means only a deep run will do. Rock needs at least a semi-final (£6,500) — and probably more, because the players around him will also be winning money. For a player of his talent, missing Minehead would be a genuine shock.
Raymond van Barneveld — 81st, £25,750. The Dutch legend trails the cut-off by £6,000, so like Rock he needs a semi-final (£6,500) as the bare minimum. Van Barneveld has rolled back the years before when his back was against the wall, and Leicester gives him two final chances to do it again.
Gerwyn Price — 58th, £34,000. The Welshman is inside the top 64 but only just, holding a cushion of £2,250 over the cut-off. A winless double-header — while the chasing pack banks money — could drag him below the line. A couple of wins across the two days would make him safe.
Nathan Aspinall — 77th, £26,500. The cruellest story of the week. Aspinall reached the final of the season’s first Players Championship event but played only 13 of the 32 events, and needed a big Leicester to close a £5,250 gap. Instead he withdrew from both tournaments at the last minute — the reason was not disclosed — and his Minehead dream is over.
Luke Littler — 128th, £10,500. The world champion and defending Minehead champion played just two floor events all season and confirmed his absence from Leicester, so he will surrender the trophy he won by beating Aspinall 11-8 in last year’s final without attempting to defend it. Neither of last year’s finalists will feature in 2026.
Beyond the headline names, the bubble is crowded. Michael Smith and Scott Williams boosted their chances with deep runs in Den Bosch, Peter Wright remains in danger, and Tommy Morris — the Challenge Tour graduate who reached the Players Championship 32 final — climbed to 45th and has his Minehead spot all but confirmed. Gian van Veen also withdrew from the final two events.
Format and Schedule: The Leicester Double-Header
The players championship 33 34 events follow the standard floor-tournament blueprint. Each day features a 128-player straight-knockout draw, played without a television audience. Matches are best of 11 legs from the first round through the quarter-finals, increasing to best of 13 for the semi-finals and best of 15 for the final.
There is no television coverage of floor events in the UK, but every match is streamed live on PDCTV, the PDC’s official streaming platform, with play scheduled to begin at 1pm GMT on both days. For the players on the bubble, it is the purest and most pressurised form of the sport: no walk-ons, no crowd noise, nowhere to hide.
Every Players Championship event in 2026 carries a £150,000 prize fund, distributed as follows:
| Stage | Prize money |
|---|---|
| Winner | £15,000 |
| Runner-up | £10,000 |
| Semi-finalists | £6,500 |
| Quarter-finalists | £4,000 |
| Last 16 | £3,000 |
| Last 32 | £2,000 |
| Last 64 | £1,250 |
That structure is what makes the bubble so explosive: the difference between the last 64 (£1,250) and the last 16 (£3,000) is the difference between safety and elimination for half a dozen players.
What’s at Stake: Minehead, Money and the Worlds
The reward for surviving Leicester is a place at the 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals, staged at Butlin’s Minehead from 27 to 29 November — the last PDC event before the World Darts Championship. This year’s edition carries an increased prize fund of £750,000, up from £600,000, with £130,000 going to the winner. Sixty-four players will contest the title over three days, with the World Youth Championship final also staged at Minehead on Sunday 29 November.
For the players, the Finals matter far beyond the trophy. A deep run in Minehead can transform a winter: £130,000 for the champion, ranking money that echoes into the new year, and the confidence of winning a televised major weeks before Alexandra Palace. That is why the absences hurt so much — Littler will not defend the title he won against Aspinall twelve months ago, and Aspinall has withdrawn himself out of contention. The 2026 champion will be a new name.
Follow the seedings battle on the Players Championship Finals 2026 page, and see how the season-long race developed in our Players Championship Order of Merit 2026 guide.
Players to Watch in Leicester
Gary Anderson tops every watchlist. The Scot is close enough to qualify and good enough to win either event outright — a title would add £15,000 and end the argument in a single afternoon. But he arrives cold after skipping Den Bosch, and a £2,000 deficit with two days left is a new kind of pressure even for a two-time world champion.
Josh Rock and Raymond van Barneveld are the desperation picks. Both need semi-finals or better — five wins in a day against a full-strength 128-player field. Rock has the scoring power; Van Barneveld has the experience of a thousand pressure matches. One inspired day is all it takes.
Gerwyn Price is the danger man from inside the line. If the Welshman finds his range early, he could bury the bubble beneath him with a deep run of his own. If he stumbles, he becomes the biggest scalp of the week.
Tommy Morris is the form horse. The Challenge Tour graduate’s run to the Players Championship 32 final announced him as a serious player, and at 45th his Minehead place is all but secure. Freed from bubble pressure, he is exactly the kind of dangerous floater who ruins draws.
Wessel Nijman and Chris Dobey lead the Order of Merit on £154,500 and £118,750 respectively, with Dobey closing the gap after beating Morris 7-4 to win Players Championship 32. Neither has anything to prove in Leicester, but both will want to arrive in Minehead as the top seed.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are Players Championship 33 and 34?
Players Championship 33 takes place on Wednesday 4 November 2026 and Players Championship 34 on Thursday 5 November 2026, both at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. Play is scheduled to begin at 1pm GMT each day, with every match streamed live on PDCTV.
How do players qualify for the Players Championship Finals?
The top 64 on the final Players Championship Order of Merit — counting only prize money won in the 34 floor events — qualify for the Finals at Butlin’s Minehead from 27 to 29 November. The field is confirmed after Players Championship 34 finishes on 5 November.
Why is Luke Littler not playing in Leicester?
Littler played only two Players Championship events all season, leaving him 128th on the Order of Merit with £10,500 — far below the qualification line. He confirmed his absence from Leicester, so the world champion will not defend the Minehead title he won by beating Nathan Aspinall 11-8 in the 2025 final.
Why did Nathan Aspinall withdraw from Players Championship 33 and 34?
Aspinall withdrew from both Leicester events at the last minute, and the reason was not disclosed. Ranked 77th on £26,500, he needed a big double-header to break into the top 64 — his withdrawal ends his hopes, and he will miss the Players Championship Finals.
How much prize money is on offer at Players Championship 33 and 34?
Each event carries a £150,000 prize fund: £15,000 to the winner, £10,000 to the runner-up, £6,500 to semi-finalists, £4,000 to quarter-finalists, £3,000 for the last 16, £2,000 for the last 32 and £1,250 for the last 64.
What is the prize fund for the 2026 Players Championship Finals?
The Finals at Minehead carry a £750,000 prize fund — up from £600,000 — with £130,000 going to the winner. The event runs from 27 to 29 November 2026 at Butlin’s Minehead, sponsored by Ladbrokes, and is the last PDC tournament before the World Darts Championship.
Conclusion
The players championship 33 34 double-header is where the 2026 floor season is decided. Across two days at the Mattioli Arena, £300,000 of prize money will redraw the Order of Merit, settle the last qualifying places for Minehead, and end the seasons of some very famous players. Anderson, Rock, Van Barneveld and Price carry the hopes and fears of the bubble; Nijman and Dobey carry the form of the season; and Littler and Aspinall — last year’s finalists — will watch it all from home.
By Thursday evening, 64 names will be bound for Butlin’s and the £750,000 Finals. For everyone else, the wait for 2027 begins. That is what makes Leicester the most compelling two days of the Pro Tour year — and why every leg matters.
