Luke Littler's decision to skip early Players Championship events has backfired spectacularly, with the teenage sensation languishing in 141st place on the Players Championship Order of Merit after Event 27. Despite adding £4,000 to his tally, Littler remains well short of the £26,250 needed to secure a top-64 spot and qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead. Even a win in the next event would not be enough to break into the qualification places, meaning the 'Mission Impossible' of reaching Minehead will require further weekends on the ProTour.
The latest update came after Jermaine Wattimena claimed his third ProTour title of the season, defeating Kevin Doets 8-6 in the final. Wattimena's victory saw him surge to sixth in the standings, while Doets climbed to second, usurping Chris Dobey. Luke Woodhouse also impressed, reaching the semi-finals and moving up to fourth. Ross Smith and Beau Greaves both slipped to seventh and eighth respectively.
Elsewhere, Joe Cullen rose three places to 17th, while Dirk van Duijvenbode jumped five spots to 19th. Kim Huybrechts and Cameron Menzies made significant moves, climbing to 33rd and 34th respectively. However, it was a bad day for several big names: Michael van Gerwen fell to 36th after another early exit, Luke Humphries dropped to 38th, and Gerwyn Price, who didn't play, slipped to 45th. Gian van Veen also dropped four places to 52nd, putting his qualification hopes in jeopardy.
Gary Anderson fell to 55th, while Josh Rock, Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall, and Raymond van Barneveld all remain outside the top 64, despite modest gains. Littler's haul saw him climb nine spots, but at 141st with just £4,000, he faces an uphill battle to feature in Minehead. The Players Championship series, which spans 34 tournaments across Hildesheim, Wigan, Leicester, Milton Keynes, and new for 2026, Den Bosch, determines the 64 qualifiers for the prestigious finals.
