PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS DRAW

• Top seed Wessel Nijman pitted against Henry Coates.
• Ross Smith and Michael Smith poised to lock horns at Minehead.
• Gerwyn Price and Gian van Veen set for potential round two tussle.
• Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall & Josh Rock amongst high-profile absentees.

Top seed Wessel Nijman will open his bid for Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals glory against rising star Henry Coates, with the 64-player field and draw for this month’s event now confirmed.

The newly-boosted £750,000 tournament - featuring the top 64 players on the Players Championship rankings following the conclusion of the 34-event Players Championship season - will take place at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from November 27-29.

Nijman, a winner of six Players Championship titles in 2026, will kick off his campaign against 20-year-old Coates, who stormed to a memorable Event 25 victory on the ProTour circuit back in July.

Coates faced a nervous wait to discover his fate following an opening round exit at Players Championship 34, eventually claiming the final qualification place by a mere £250.

Second seed Chris Dobey will face Belgian number one Mike De Decker in another intriguing clash, after former World Grand Prix winner De Decker snatched the penultimate spot in this year’s field.

Nijman, Dobey and Luke Humphries were the only players to claim three or more Players Championship titles across the season, with Humphries winning four titles despite featuring in just 11 events.

The world number two celebrated back-to-back Players Championship Finals wins in 2023 and 2024, and has been pitted against Darryl Pilgrim in his round one tie.

Humphries will be one of four former champions starring in this year’s showpiece, with last year’s winner Luke Littler amongst the high-profile absentees.

Michael van Gerwen begins his bid for a record-extending eighth title against Connor Scutt, while 2018 champion Daryl Gurney faces Maik Kuivenhoven - a two-time runner-up on the Players Championship circuit this year.

Scottish icon Gary Anderson forced his way into the qualification places during this week’s double-header, although the 2014 champion will meet Czechia’s trailblazer Karel Sedlacek in a tough opening round assignment.

One of the stand-out ties will see newly crowned European Champion Ross Smith go head-to-head with 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith in their first televised meeting since January 2023.

Swedish number one Jeffrey de Graaf finished the year in 20th spot on the Players Championship rankings, and his reward is a showdown against world number three Gian van Veen.

Poland’s number two Sebastian Bialecki will play number 52 seed Gerwyn Price in his opener, with De Graaf or Van Veen awaiting the winner in round two.

Eighth seed Beau Greaves will make her Players Championship Finals debut against Dutchman Christian Kist, as third seed Kevin Doets goes up against 2024 European Champion Ritchie Edhouse.

Round One will take place on Friday November 27, with Round Two and Round Three set to be held across Saturday’s bumper double session.

This will be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday November 29, while the Winmau World Youth Championship final between Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt will take place during Sunday’s evening session.

The 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, 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), while action from Stage Two will be broadcast worldwide on PDCTV across Friday and Saturday.

The schedule of play for the 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will be announced in due course.

2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals
Draw Bracket
(1) Wessel Nijman v (64) Henry Coates
(32) Gabriel Clemens v (33) Dave Chisnall
(16) Charlie Manby v (49) Martin Schindler
(17) Cameron Menzies v (48) Mensur Suljovic
(8) Beau Greaves v (57) Christian Kist
(25) Tom Bissell v (40) Rob Owen
(9) Ross Smith v (56) Michael Smith
(24) Niels Zonneveld v (41) Niko Springer
(4) Luke Woodhouse v (61) Alexander Merkx
(29) Stephen Bunting v (36) Max Hopp
(13) Sebastian Bialecki v (52) Gerwyn Price
(20) Jeffrey de Graaf v (45) Gian van Veen
(5) Jermaine Wattimena v (60) Keane Barry
(28) Ryan Searle v (37) Brendan Dolan
(12) William O’Connor v (53) James Hurrell
(21) Tommy Morris v (44) Callan Rydz
(2) Chris Dobey v (63) Mike De Decker
(31) Richard Veenstra v (34) Joe Cullen
(15) Cristo Reyes v (50) Darius Labanauskas
(18) Michael van Gerwen v (47) Connor Scutt
(7) Luke Humphries v (58) Darryl Pilgrim
(26) Krzysztof Ratajski v (39) Damon Heta
(10) Danny Noppert v (55) Scott Williams
(23) Jonny Clayton v (42) Tom Sykes
(3) Kevin Doets v (62) Ritchie Edhouse
(30) James Wade v (35) Justin Hood
(14) Dirk van Duijvenbode v (51) Alan Soutar
(19) Maik Kuivenhoven v (46) Daryl Gurney
(6) Andrew Gilding v (59) Bradley Brooks
(27) Kim Huybrechts v (38) Joe Hunt
(11) Karel Sedlacek v (54) Gary Anderson
(22) Rob Cross v (43) Mickey Mansell