Pro Tour darts returns the the UK as the race to the PDC's World Matchplay begins to warm up

Following a quick turnaround for the next Players Championship double-header, with only a week separating Germany's Hildesheim from the upcoming brace of darts ‘floor events’ in Leicester, UK.

As has become par for the course – not just for Hildesheim either – there has once again been a plethora of withdrawals.

Again, it comes as no great surprise that reigning World Champion Luke Littler will not be in attendance. The Nuke remains absent and is still yet to feature in a floor event this season. One suspects he is probably waiting until at least the conclusion of the Premier League before dipping his toe into that environment.

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Two other members of the Thursday night brigade are also swerving the Mattioli Arena. Neither Luke Humphries nor Gerwyn Price will be making the trip – again, likely with the Premier League very much in mind. That said, the Welshman has now missed the last eight Players Championship events, with preserving a niggling injury seemingly at the forefront of his thinking.

The Flying Scotsman picks and chooses his excursions these days. Oddly enough, he was present for both meetings in Hildesheim this season – it appears to be Wigan that he is not particularly fond of. For the first time during this campaign, Mike De Decker will not be competing. It feels a slightly strange decision considering he is still a fair few quid adrift in the race for the World Matchplay, although perhaps more pressing personal matters have taken priority.

The same could arguably be said for Scott Williams, although he sits much further back in the Blackpool picture than the Belgian. Two others to withdraw are Matthias Ehlers and Pero Ljubic, who between them are still yet to win a single game on the tour this year, making their decision to pull out a touch more questionable.

Newlywed Carl Sneyd then added his name to the absentee list. He either forgot to inform the PDC he would be on honeymoon or simply decided that beginning married life sounded preferable to a few days in Leicester. Swedish representation at the Mattioli Arena will also be limited after Oskar Lukasiak and Viktor Tingstrom both pulled the plug.

As for Chris Dobey, Ricky Evans and Joe Cullen, they will all be in the East Midlands on Tuesday before clocking off early and skipping the second event.

Naturally, all of that is music to the ears of those flying high on the Challenge Tour. A number of the usual suspects receive the call-up, with Joe Hunt, Martin Dragt and Jack Tweddell all maintaining their 100% appearance streaks.

For Derek Coulson, Tommy Lishman, Jack Aldridge and Nathan Potter, it presents another couple of opportunities to impress. Meanwhile, Scott Waites and Steve Lennon are currently scheduled to reappear on the circuit for the second event of the double-header only.

There are also several fresh faces involved. Most notably Harry Ward, who does at least have a Players Championship title to his name, albeit from almost a decade ago. Daniel Ayres and Christopher Wickenden are both set to make their Pro Tour debuts after each claimed Challenge Tour titles in Germany last weekend. Levy Frauenfelder also tasted success in Hildesheim and will get one opportunity on Wednesday to test himself against the big guns.

Naturally, by Monday evening there will almost certainly be more names added to both lists. But for now, this is how things stand ahead of Players Championships 15 and 16, which take place in Leicester on May 12^th and 13^th.

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Tour Card Holders Absent: Gary Anderson, Mike De Decker, Matthias Ehlers, Luke Littler, Pero Ljubic, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Scott Williams, Carl Sneyd, Oskar Lukasiak, Viktor Tingstrom, Joe Cullen (PC16 only), Chris Dobey (PC16 only), Ricky Evans (PC16 only).

Non-Tour Card Holders Competing: Joe Hunt, Derek Coulson, Tommy Lishman, Daniel Ayres, Tommy Morris, Christopher Wickenden, Nathan Potter, Jack Tweddell, Harry Ward, Martijn Dragt, Jack Aldridge, Levy Frauenfelder (PC16 only), Steve Lennon (PC16 only), Scott Waites (PC16 only).

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP DARTS 15 – ENTRY LIST

Mattioli Arena, Leicester (Tue 12^th May)
Jack Aldridge
Nathan Aspinall
Daniel Ayres
Keane Barry
Owen Bates
Stefan Bellmont
Filip Bereza
Sebastian Bialecki
Tom Bissell
Andy Boulton
Bradley Brooks
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Burton
Dave Chisnall
Jonny Clayton
Gabriel Clemens
Derek Coulson
Cam Crabtree
Rob Cross
Joe Cullen
Niall Culleton
Maximilian Czerwinski
Jeffrey de Graaf
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey
Kevin Doets
Brendan Dolan
Martijn Dragt
Tavis Dudeney
Ritchie Edhouse
Ricky Evans
Adam Gawlas
Andrew Gilding
Kai Gotthardt
Beau Greaves
Rhys Griffin
Dominik Gruellich
Daryl Gurney
Stefaan Henderyck
Damon Heta
Yorick Hofkens
Justin Hood
Max Hopp
Joe Hunt
James Hurrell
Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Joyce
Tytus Kanik
Nick Kenny
Mervyn King
Christian Kist
Marvin Kraft
Maik Kuivenhoven
Darius Labanauskas
Chris Landman
Sietse Lap
Adam Leek
Adam Lipscombe
Tommy Lishman
Jim Long
Thomas Lovely
Martin Lukeman
Charlie Manby
Mickey Mansell
Shane McGuirk
Ryan Meikle
Cameron Menzies
Arno Merk
Alexander Merkx
Tommy Morris
Wessel Nijman
Danny Noppert
William O’Connor
Dennie Olde Kalter
Rob Owen
Adam Paxton
Ricardo Pietreczko
Darryl Pilgrim
Wesley Plaisier
Nathan Potter
Benjamin Pratnemer
Samuel Price
Krzysztof Ratajski
Madars Razma
Cristo Reyes
Greg Ritchie
Josh Rock
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Stephen Rosney
Pascal Rupprecht
Callan Rydz
Martin Schindler
Connor Scutt
Ryan Searle
Karel Sedlacek
David Sharp
Michael Smith
Ross Smith
Alan Soutar
Jeffrey Sparidaans
Niko Springer
Mensur Suljovic
Tom Sykes
Tyler Thorpe
Viktor Tingstrom
Thibault Tricole
Jack Tweddelll
Raymond van Barneveld
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jurjen van der Velde
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen
Jimmy van Schie
Gian van Veen
Marvin van Velzen
Mario Vandenbogaerde
Richard Veenstra
James Wade
Harry Ward
Adam Warner
Jermaine Wattimena
Leon Weber
Lukas Wenig
Ian White
Christopher Wickenden
Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright
Niels Zonneveld

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 16 – ENTRY LIST

Mattioli Arena, Leicester (Wed 13^th May)
Jack Aldridge
Nathan Aspinall
Daniel Ayres
Keane Barry
Owen Bates
Stefan Bellmont
Filip Bereza
Sebastian Bialecki
Tom Bissell
Andy Boulton
Bradley Brooks
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Burton
Dave Chisnall
Jonny Clayton
Gabriel Clemens
Derek Coulson
Cam Crabtree
Rob Cross
Niall Culleton
Maximilian Czerwinski
Jeffrey De Graaf
Jeffrey De Zwaan
Cor Dekker
Kevin Doets
Brendan Dolan
Martijn Dragt
Tavis Dudeney
Ritchie Edhouse
Levy Frauenfelder
Adam Gawlas
Andrew Gilding
Kai Gotthardt
Beau Greaves
Rhys Griffin
Dominik Gruellich
Daryl Gurney
Stefaan Henderyck
Damon Heta
Yorick Hofkens
Justin Hood
Max Hopp
Joe Hunt
James Hurrell
Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Joyce
Tytus Kanik
Nick Kenny
Mervyn King
Christian Kist
Marvin Kraft
Maik Kuivenhoven
Darius Labanauskas
Chris Landman
Sietse Lap
Adam Leek
Steve Lennon
Adam Lipscombe
Tommy Lishman
Jim Long
Thomas Lovely
Martin Lukeman
Charlie Manby
Mickey Mansell
Shane McGuirk
Ryan Meikle
Cameron Menzies
Arno Merk
Alexander Merkx
Tommy Morris
Wessel Nijman
Danny Noppert
William O’Connor
Dennie Olde Kalter
Rob Owen
Adam Paxton
Ricardo Pietreczko
Darryl Pilgrim
Wesley Plaisier
Nathan Potter
Benjamin Pratnemer
Samuel Price
Krzysztof Ratajski
Madars Razma
Cristo Reyes
Greg Ritchie
Josh Rock
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Stephen Rosney
Pascal Rupprecht
Callan Rydz
Martin Schindler
Connor Scutt
Ryan Searle
Karel Sedlacek
David Sharp
Michael Smith
Ross Smith
Alan Soutar
Jeffrey Sparidaans
Niko Springer
Mensur Suljovic
Tom Sykes
Tyler Thorpe
Viktor Tingstrom
Thibault Tricole
Jack Tweddell
Raymond van Barneveld
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jurjen van der Velde
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen
Jimmy van Schie
Gian van Veen
Marvin van Velzen
Mario Vandenbogaerde
Richard Veenstra
James Wade
Scott Waites
Harry Ward
Adam Warner
Jermaine Wattimena
Leon Weber
Lukas Wenig
Ian White
Christopher Wickenden
Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright
Niels Zonneveld

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