The race to qualify for the 2025 Betfred World Matchplay concludes this week, as the PDC ProTour resumes with a double-header in Leicester.
The next instalment of ProTour action will take place at the Mattioli Arena from July 8-9, as 128 players compete for the £15,000 top prize in Players Championships 20-21.
There are just two events remaining before the Betfred World Matchplay qualification cut-off, and the 32-player field for this month’s showpiece will be confirmed following the conclusion of Players Championship 21 on July 9.
The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit will be seeded at the Winter Gardens, and they will be joined by 16 qualifiers from the 12-month ProTour Order of Merit.
Reigning champion and world number one Luke Humphries will be chasing back-to-back titles in Blackpool, with World Champion Luke Littler and three-time World Matchplay winner Michael van Gerwen also set to star.
Former champions Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall, James Wade, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright are also poised to be in the seeded positions, alongside Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton - finalists in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
German number one Martin Schindler will head up the 16 qualifiers from the one-year ProTour Order of Merit, alongside newly crowned World Cup of Darts champions Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney.
World Youth Champion Gian van Veen will make his Blackpool return alongside World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, as Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman prepare for their debuts.
2023 semi-finalist Joe Cullen and 2010 runner-up Raymond van Barneveld are also in the provisional qualification places, but both players face a fight to confirm their spots at the Empress Ballroom over the coming days.
Former World Champion Michael Smith is currently £4,250 adrift of the qualification places, with Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski and European Champion Ritchie Edhouse also amongst the chasing pack.
The table below displays the latest standings in the race to the Betfred World Matchplay, which will take place at Blackpool's Winter Gardens from July 19-27, televised live on Sky Sports and through the PDC's global broadcast partners.
