THE eyes of the darting world will be locked on the Barnsley Metrodome this coming weekend for one of the most important Players Championship double-headers of the year.
The pair of £75,000 tournaments being held on July 8 & 9 will be the final events before the cut-off for qualification for the BetVictor World Matchplay.
Following this weekend's event, the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit will qualify by right, along with the top 16 non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit.
Simon Whitlock currently occupies the 16th spot on the PDC Order of Merit, but with two £10,000 first prizes up for grabs in Barnsley the trio of Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price and Alan Norris could still jump into the top 16.
Gurney, Price and Norris - as well as Whitlock - would also be amongst the ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers alongside the fast-emerging Rob Cross, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since joining the circuit in January.
Cristo Reyes, James Wilson, Steve West, Christian Kist and Chris Dobey are also all in line to make their World Matchplay debuts from the current standings.
However, Justin Pipe, Jonny Clayton, Ronny Huybrechts and Vincent van der Voort all sit just outside the provisional qualifying places, while Dimitri Van den Bergh, Robbie Green, Mark Webster and Jermaine Wattimena may need to win a Players Championship to secure a Blackpool place.
Steve Beaton's Players Championship victory last month cemented his spot in the World Matchplay, where he reached the quarter-finals last year, while John Henderson's run to the last eight in the HappyBet European Darts Open last weekend strengthened his position in the qualification spots.
With no prize money to be removed from the respective Order of Merit tables, prize money won in Barnsley will be added to the totals below.
The draw for the BetVictor World Matchplay will be made in w/c July 10. Further details will be confirmed at www.pdc.tv in due course.
Current Provisional PDC Order of Merit Standings
| Position | Name | £ Total |
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen | £1,748,250 |
| 2 | Gary Anderson | £759,000 |
| 3 | Peter Wright | £688,750 |
| 4 | Adrian Lewis | £388,000 |
| 5 | Dave Chisnall | £364,500 |
| 6 | James Wade | £360,500 |
| 7 | Mensur Suljovic | £347,500 |
| 8 | Phil Taylor | £321,250 |
| 9 | Raymond van Barneveld | £319,500 |
| 10 | Jelle Klaasen | £314,750 |
| 11 | Michael Smith | £312,750 |
| 12 | Kim Huybrechts | £286,750 |
| 13 | Ian White | £281,750 |
| 14 | Robert Thornton | £276,750 |
| 15 | Benito van de Pas | £264,750 |
| 16 | Simon Whitlock | £250,500 |
| Could Still Qualify | ||
| 17 | Daryl Gurney | £241,500 |
| 18 | Gerwyn Price | £238,000 |
| 19 | Alan Norris | £235,000 |
Current Provisional ProTour Order of Merit Standings (Top 40)
Provisional Qualifiers marked with a *
| Position | Name | £ Total |
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen | £262,000 |
| 2 | Peter Wright | £223,250 |
| 3 | Mensur Suljovic | £125,500 |
| 4 | Simon Whitlock | £95,000 |
| 5 | Michael Smith | £93,000 |
| 6 * | Daryl Gurney | £78,250 |
| 7 * | Alan Norris | £76,500 |
| 8 | Jelle Klaasen | £75,750 |
| 9 | Kim Huybrechts | £75,250 |
| 10 | Benito van de Pas | £74,000 |
| 11 | Ian White | £72,500 |
| 12 | Dave Chisnall | £70,750 |
| 13 | Gary Anderson | £70,500 |
| 14 * | Rob Cross | £60,750 |
| 14 * | Gerwyn Price | £60,750 |
| 16 * | Joe Cullen | £60,250 |
| 17 * | Mervyn King | £59,500 |
| 18 * | Cristo Reyes | £57,500 |
| 19 * | Stephen Bunting | £51,000 |
| 20 | James Wade | £49,000 |
| 21 * | James Wilson | £41,750 |
| 22 * | Steve West | £41,250 |
| 23 * | Steve Beaton | £39,500 |
| 24 | Adrian Lewis | £39,000 |
| 25 * | Kyle Anderson | £36,000 |
| 26 * | John Henderson | £35,750 |
| 26 | Robert Thornton | £35,750 |
| 28 * | Christian Kist | £35,500 |
| 29 * | Darren Webster | £33,250 |
| 30 * | Chris Dobey | £32,750 |
| 30 | Raymond van Barneveld | £32,750 |
| Not Yet Qualified | ||
| 32 | Justin Pipe | £31,500 |
| 32 | Jonny Clayton | £31,500 |
| 34 | Ronny Huybrechts | £31,250 |
| 35 | Vincent van der Voort | £30,250 |
| 36 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | £28,000 |
| 37 | Robbie Green | £27,750 |
| 38 | Mark Webster | £25,750 |
| 39 | Jermaine Wattimena | £24,250 |
| 40 | Jan Dekker | £22,750 |
* Prize money won in Barnsley to be added to totals above.