Players Championship Finals 2026 Draw: Full First-Round Ties
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The players championship finals 2026 draw is confirmed, and it has set up a Minehead weekend full of heavyweight clashes and one enormous absence. Top seed Wessel Nijman will open his campaign against Henry Coates, the last man into the field, when the 64-player tournament begins at Butlin’s Minehead Resort on Friday 27 November. The draw was confirmed on Wednesday 5 November, two days after the 34-event Players Championship season ended in Leicester.
The headline is who is not there. Defending champion Luke Littler will not be at Minehead: the world number one played almost no Players Championship events in 2026 and finished 130th on the Order of Merit, so a new name will be added to the trophy. Nathan Aspinall, Josh Rock, Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld are also missing, which leaves the field wide open. For the 64 players who did qualify, the draw is the moment the season finale became real.
Players Championship Finals 2026 Draw in Full
Here is the complete first-round draw. Round one is on Friday 27 November, rounds two and three across Saturday’s double session, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday 29 November.
| First-Round Tie |
|---|
| Wessel Nijman v Henry Coates |
| Gabriel Clemens v Dave Chisnall |
| Charlie Manby v Martin Schindler |
| Cameron Menzies v Mensur Suljovic |
| Beau Greaves v Christian Kist |
| Tom Bissell v Rob Owen |
| Ross Smith v Michael Smith |
| Niels Zonneveld v Niko Springer |
| Luke Woodhouse v Alexander Merkx |
| Stephen Bunting v Max Hopp |
| Sebastian Bialecki v Gerwyn Price |
| Jeffrey de Graaf v Gian van Veen |
| Jermaine Wattimena v Keane Barry |
| Ryan Searle v Brendan Dolan |
| William O’Connor v James Hurrell |
| Tommy Morris v Callan Rydz |
| Chris Dobey v Mike De Decker |
| Richard Veenstra v Joe Cullen |
| Cristo Reyes v Darius Labanauskas |
| Michael van Gerwen v Connor Scutt |
| Luke Humphries v Darryl Pilgrim |
| Krzysztof Ratajski v Damon Heta |
| Danny Noppert v Scott Williams |
| Jonny Clayton v Tom Sykes |
| Kevin Doets v Ritchie Edhouse |
| James Wade v Justin Hood |
| Dirk van Duijvenbode v Alan Soutar |
| Maik Kuivenhoven v Daryl Gurney |
| Andrew Gilding v Bradley Brooks |
| Kim Huybrechts v Joe Hunt |
| Karel Sedlacek v Gary Anderson |
| Rob Cross v Mickey Mansell |
Nijman, Dobey and Doets Lead the Seeds
Wessel Nijman earned the top seeding the hard way, winning six Players Championship titles in 2026 — more than any other player — and finishing the season at the top of the Order of Merit. His reward is a first-round tie against Henry Coates, the 20-year-old who won Players Championship 25 in July and then survived the most nerve-shredding finish to a qualification race in years. Coates claimed the final place in the field by a mere £250, and he will have nothing to lose against the top seed.
Chris Dobey is the second seed after a superb season on the floor, and he faces Mike De Decker, the former World Grand Prix winner who snatched the penultimate spot in the field. De Decker is far too good to be a 63rd seed in any honest assessment. Kevin Doets completes the top three seeds and takes on Ritchie Edhouse, the 2024 European Champion, in another tie far harder than the seedings suggest. Only three players won three or more Players Championship titles across the season — Nijman, Dobey and Luke Humphries — and that tells its own story about how open this year’s field is. There is no dominant favourite, and the draw has done nothing to change that.
The Ties That Jump Off the Page
The stand-out tie of the first round is Ross Smith against Michael Smith. The newly crowned European Champion goes head-to-head with the 2022/23 world champion in their first televised meeting since January 2023. Ross Smith has added two major triumphs to his name this season and arrives at Minehead in the form of his life — read how he won the European title in our Ross Smith European Championship 2026 report. Michael Smith, meanwhile, has had to fight for every place he has earned this year, and a win here would be a statement that he is back.
The second tie that leaps off the page is in the same section of the draw. Sebastian Bialecki, the 13th seed, plays Gerwyn Price, who scraped into the field in 52nd place despite withdrawing from the final event of the season. Price is a three-time major finalist this season. The winner of that tie will face the winner of Jeffrey de Graaf against Gian van Veen in round two, which means a blockbuster second-round match is already guaranteed: Price or Bialecki against van Veen, the world number three, or de Graaf, the Swedish number one who finished the year in 20th place. That quarter of the draw is loaded.
Michael van Gerwen begins his bid for a record-extending eighth Players Championship Finals title against Connor Scutt. Elsewhere, 2018 champion Daryl Gurney faces Maik Kuivenhoven, a two-time runner-up on the Players Championship circuit this year, and Scottish icon Gary Anderson, who forced his way into the qualification places during the final double-header in Leicester, meets Czechia’s trailblazer Karel Sedlacek in a tough opening assignment.
Beau Greaves, one of the real stars of the year, makes her Players Championship Finals debut as the eighth seed against Dutchman Christian Kist. Greaves finished the season inside the top ten on the Order of Merit. Tommy Morris, the fairytale winner of Players Championship 34, faces Callan Rydz as the 21st seed — read how Morris stunned Humphries in our Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 win report.
Humphries Chases a Third Straight Title
Luke Humphries is the seventh seed, but he may be the most dangerous player in the field. The world number two won back-to-back Players Championship Finals titles in 2023 and 2024, and he arrives at Minehead after winning four Players Championship titles in 2026 despite playing just 11 floor events all season. His first-round opponent is Darryl Pilgrim, but the path to a third straight title runs through the toughest section of the bracket.
Humphries won Players Championship 33 on Wednesday 4 November, beating Niels Zonneveld 8-4 — read our Luke Humphries Players Championship 33 win report — and reached the final of Players Championship 34 the following day, losing 8-5 to Tommy Morris. Four titles from 11 events is a strike rate no other player can match.
Littler and the Big Names Who Missed Out
The draw also confirms the absences that will shape the whole weekend. Luke Littler, the defending champion and the world number one, is not in the field: he played just two Players Championship events all season and finished 130th on the Order of Merit. His 2026 schedule was built around the televised majors. The full story of the race is in our Players Championship Finals race 2026 report.
He is not alone. Nathan Aspinall, ranked 11th in the world, misses out, as does Josh Rock, the world number eight. Peter Wright, the two-time world champion and 2021 Finals winner, lost 6-4 to Carl Sneyd in the first round of Players Championship 34. Raymond van Barneveld beat Jimmy van Schie in his opener but lost 6-3 to Chris Dobey in round two. Between them, the absentees own multiple world titles — the clearest sign of how deep the field has become.
The qualification race itself went down to the final dart. Coates and De Decker went into Players Championship 34 level on £33,250, in 64th and 63rd place, with Wesley Plaisier just £250 behind them. Both men lost their openers and earned nothing on the day, but Plaisier lost his first match too, so Coates holds the final place, De Decker is 63rd, and Plaisier is the unlucky man who missed out by £250. The final standings are on our Players Championship Order of Merit 2026 page, and the full results from the final event are in our Players Championship 34 results report.
Format, Schedule and How to Watch
The tournament takes place at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November, with a newly boosted £750,000 prize fund and £130,000 for the winner. Round one is played on Friday, rounds two and three across Saturday’s bumper double session, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday 29 November. The Winmau World Youth Championship final between Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt will also take place during Sunday’s evening session.
The event will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK and through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay. PDCTV will also carry the event live, excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with Stage Two action worldwide across Friday and Saturday. The full schedule of play will be announced in due course. For the dates, format and prize money in full, see our Players Championship Finals 2026 page.
The timing matters. Minehead is the last big event before the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on 11 December — see our World Darts Championship 2026-27 schedule — and the Grand Slam of Darts comes first, from 14 to 22 November in Wolverhampton — see our Grand Slam of Darts 2026 schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Players Championship Finals 2026?
The Players Championship Finals take place at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026. Round one is on Friday, rounds two and three across Saturday’s double session, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday 29 November.
Who is the top seed at the Players Championship Finals 2026?
Wessel Nijman is the top seed after winning six Players Championship titles in 2026 and finishing first on the final Order of Merit. He faces Henry Coates, the 64th seed, in the first round. Chris Dobey is second seed and Kevin Doets is third.
Why is Luke Littler not playing at the Players Championship Finals?
Luke Littler did not qualify. Only the top 64 players on the Players Championship Order of Merit are eligible, and Littler played just two Players Championship events in 2026, finishing 130th. He will not defend the title he won last year, and a new champion will be crowned at Minehead.
Who plays whom in the first round of the Players Championship Finals 2026 draw?
The pick is Ross Smith against Michael Smith, their first televised meeting since January 2023. Gerwyn Price faces Sebastian Bialecki, with the winner meeting Jeffrey de Graaf or Gian van Veen in round two. Michael van Gerwen plays Connor Scutt, Luke Humphries plays Darryl Pilgrim, and Beau Greaves debuts against Christian Kist.
How much prize money is at the Players Championship Finals 2026?
The prize fund is £750,000, newly boosted for 2026, with £130,000 for the winner. The field is the top 64 players on the Players Championship Order of Merit after the 34-event season.
Conclusion
The players championship finals 2026 draw has set up a Minehead weekend that nobody can call in advance. Wessel Nijman is the top seed and the form player of the floor season, but his first-round opponent qualified by £250 and has nothing to lose. Luke Humphries is chasing a third straight title, Michael van Gerwen is chasing a record-extending eighth, and Beau Greaves is making a debut that could announce her as a force on the biggest stages. Ross Smith against Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price against Sebastian Bialecki, Gary Anderson against Karel Sedlacek: the first round alone is worth the ticket.
The biggest story, though, is the empty space where the defending champion should be. Littler’s absence, alongside Aspinall, Rock, Wright and van Barneveld, is a reminder that in 2026 the Players Championship is the deepest field in darts: 64 players earned their place, and any one of them can win it. For the full dates, format and prize money, visit our Players Championship Finals 2026 page. Minehead starts on 27 November, and it cannot come soon enough.
