Players Championship Finals 2026 Preview: Minehead
This players championship finals 2026 preview looks ahead to three days in Minehead that will end the PDC season in style. The 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals take place at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November, with 64 players chasing a share of a newly boosted £750,000 prize fund and £130,000 for the winner. It is the last ranking event before the World Darts Championship, and this year the defending champion is not in the field at all.
On this page
- Players Championship Finals 2026 Preview at a Glance
- The Draw in Full: First-Round Ties to Watch
- Wessel Nijman: Top Seed and the Man to Beat
- Luke Humphries Chases a Third Title
- The Contenders: Van Gerwen, Dobey, Doets and the Rest
- Luke Littler’s Absence Leaves the Door Open
- Format, Schedule and How to Watch
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Luke Littler, who lifted the trophy in 2025, will not be at Minehead. The world number one played almost no Players Championship events in 2026 and finished outside the top 100 on the Players Championship Order of Merit, so a new champion will be crowned. Wessel Nijman arrives as the top seed and the form player of the floor season, Luke Humphries chases a third title, and Michael van Gerwen goes for a record-extending eighth crown.
Players Championship Finals 2026 Preview at a Glance
The tournament is a straight knockout for the top 64 players on the Players Championship Order of Merit, decided across the 34-event season. Every match is played in legs only, with the distance growing as the rounds go on.
| Detail | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| Dates | Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026 |
| Venue | Butlin’s Minehead Resort, Minehead, Somerset |
| Field | 64 players, seeded by the Players Championship Order of Merit |
| Prize fund | £750,000, up from £600,000 last year |
| Winner | £130,000 |
| Runner-up | £70,000 |
| First round | £4,000 |
| TV | ITV4 in the UK, DAZN and Viaplay worldwide, PDCTV elsewhere |
The prize money has jumped sharply, from £600,000 last year to £750,000, with £130,000 for the winner. Even a first-round defeat is worth £4,000, which is why the qualification race went down to the final dart in Leicester.
The Draw in Full: First-Round Ties to Watch
The draw was confirmed on Wednesday 5 November, two days after the 34-event season ended in Leicester, and it is seeded strictly by the Order of Merit: 1 plays 64, 2 plays 63, and so on. The complete first-round line-up is in our Players Championship Finals 2026 draw post.
| Tie | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Wessel Nijman v Henry Coates | Top seed against the last man in, who qualified by £250 |
| Ross Smith v Michael Smith | European champion against the 2022/23 world champion |
| Sebastian Bialecki v Gerwyn Price | 13th seed against a three-time major finalist this season |
| Jeffrey de Graaf v Gian van Veen | World number three in a loaded quarter of the draw |
| Michael van Gerwen v Connor Scutt | Seven-time winner opens his bid for an eighth title |
| Luke Humphries v Darryl Pilgrim | Two-time winner chasing a third title |
| Beau Greaves v Christian Kist | Debut for the eighth seed, one of the stars of the year |
| Tommy Morris v Callan Rydz | PC34 winner against one of the tour’s most dangerous scorers |
| Karel Sedlacek v Gary Anderson | Two-time world champion against Czechia’s trailblazer |
The stand-out tie is Ross Smith against Michael Smith, their first televised meeting since January 2023. The newly crowned European Champion goes head-to-head with the 2022/23 world champion, and a win for Michael Smith would be a statement that he is back. In the same section, Sebastian Bialecki plays Gerwyn Price, and the winner will face the winner of Jeffrey de Graaf against Gian van Veen in round two, so a blockbuster second-round match is already guaranteed.
Wessel Nijman: Top Seed and the Man to Beat
Wessel Nijman earned the top seeding the hard way. He won six Players Championship titles in 2026, more than any other player, and finished the season at the top of the Players Championship Order of Merit with £160,500 from floor events alone. He also topped the full ProTour Order of Merit with £284,500, after adding two European Tour titles to his six floor crowns. Our full breakdown of his season is in our Wessel Nijman ProTour Order of Merit 2026 post.
The numbers behind his year are remarkable. He won around 82 percent of his matches, the highest win rate of any PDC professional, while averaging close to 97.70, and he produced more than 20 matches averaging over 100. His six floor titles in a season made him only the third Dutch player to lead the floor in a year, after Raymond van Barneveld in 2007 and Michael van Gerwen in 2012, 2013 and 2016.
His reward is a first-round tie against Henry Coates, the 20-year-old who won Players Championship 25 in July and then claimed the final place in the field by a mere £250. There is one honest caveat: all eight of Nijman’s titles came before the end of June, and he has never gone beyond the last 16 at a televised major. Minehead is his best chance yet to tick that box.
Luke Humphries Chases a Third 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.
His form at the end of the season was extraordinary. Humphries won Players Championship 33 on Wednesday 4 November, beating Niels Zonneveld 8-4 in the final, 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, and he did it while recovering from a bout of food poisoning that cost him over a stone in weight. Our report on his PC33 win is in our Luke Humphries Players Championship 33 win post.
The Contenders: Van Gerwen, Dobey, Doets and the Rest
Michael van Gerwen begins his bid for a record-extending eighth title against Connor Scutt. Nobody has won this tournament more often, and with Littler absent, the path to another final looks more open than it has in years. Minehead is a venue where he has always thrived, and the longer formats suit his scoring power.
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.
Then there is the fairytale: Tommy Morris, the 21st seed, stunned Humphries 8-5 to win Players Championship 34 in Leicester and faces Callan Rydz in the first round. Our full report on his breakthrough is in our Tommy Morris Players Championship 34 win post. Beau Greaves, one of the real stars of the year, makes her Players Championship Finals debut as the eighth seed against Dutchman Christian Kist, after finishing inside the top ten on the Players Championship Order of Merit in her debut year as a Tour Card holder.
Luke Littler’s Absence Leaves the Door Open
The biggest story of this players championship finals 2026 preview is the empty space where the defending champion should be. Littler won the 2025 edition, beating Nathan Aspinall 11-8 in the final, but he played just two Players Championship events all season and finished 130th on the Players Championship Order of Merit. He played only five ProTour events in total, yet still won two European Tour titles. His 2026 schedule was built around the televised majors.
He is not alone in missing out. 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, and Raymond van Barneveld lost 6-3 to Chris Dobey in round two.
Format, Schedule and How to Watch
All matches are played in legs, with the distance increasing as the rounds go on. The first and second rounds are best of 11 legs, the third round and quarter-finals are best of 19 legs, and the semi-finals and final are best of 21 legs. The short early format is what makes Minehead so dangerous for the seeds: six legs is all it takes to send a favourite home.
The schedule follows the tournament’s tradition. Round one is played on Friday 27 November. Rounds two and three take place across Saturday’s double session, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are all on Sunday 29 November. The exact session times will be announced by the PDC nearer the event.
There is an extra showpiece on Sunday: the Winmau World Youth Championship final between Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt takes place during the evening session.
In the UK, the event will be broadcast live on ITV4, and through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay. Coverage will also be broadcast live on PDCTV, excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Minehead is the last big event before the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on 11 December. Our guide to the 128-player field is in our World Darts Championship 2027 field post, and the darts schedule hub has the full calendar through to the final on 3 January.
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 on Saturday, 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, after winning six Players Championship titles in 2026 and finishing first on the Players Championship Order of Merit with £160,500. 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. A new champion will be crowned at Minehead.
How much prize money is at the Players Championship Finals 2026?
The prize fund is £750,000, up from £600,000 last year, with £130,000 for the winner and £70,000 for the runner-up. Even a first-round defeat is worth £4,000.
What is the format at the Players Championship Finals?
All matches are played in legs. The first and second rounds are best of 11 legs, the third round and quarter-finals are best of 19 legs, and the semi-finals and final are best of 21 legs.
How can I watch the Players Championship Finals 2026?
In the UK the event is live on ITV4. It is also on DAZN and Viaplay worldwide, and on PDCTV outside the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Conclusion
This players championship finals 2026 preview points to 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 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.
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.
