Darts world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright are on the verge of missing the Players Championship Finals in Minehead - but they could still make it in with a strong run at Players Championship 34 on Thursday.

The final Players Championship event of the season, which takes place in Leicester, will seal the 64 qualifiers for the Finals, which carries a lucrative prize pot.

A total prize fund of £750,000 is on offer for 2026, including £130,000 for the winner, which makes it a crucial tournament for those battling to secure their Tour Card for next year or for those attempting to climb into the top 32 ahead of the World Championship. Here is the state of play ahead of PC34:

Who is out of the Players Championship Finals?

Each Players Championship event carries a £15,000 winners' prize, meaning that any player currently ranked 110th place or below have no mathematical chance of collecting enough prize money to reach the Finals.

Ryan Meikle, Dimitri van den Bergh and Ricky Evans are all out of contention, while Luke Littler is also eliminated after running a restricted Players Championship schedule all season and pulling out of each of the final four events.

Nathan Aspinall, who reached the final in Minehead in 2025, also won't be returning this year after opting not to play in either event at Leicester this week.

Who is missing out on the Players Championship Finals as things stand?

A run to the quarter-finals for 2007 world champion Raymond van Barneveld put him back in position to qualify for this year's World Championship at Alexandra Palace.

But it has also kept the Dutchman's hopes alive of reaching Minehead - though he will likely need at least another quarter-final run in Leicester on Thursday to make it.

Peter Wright is in an even more challenging position. The two-time world champion realistically needs to win the entire PC34 event, though he can make it in with a run to the final and a significant amount of help from results elsewhere. A run to the final would move him up to £33,750, with only four players needing to win their first-round match to push him out of the top 64 in that scenario.

World number eight Josh Rock could also pay the price for withdrawing from a number of PC events during the calendar. The Northern Irishman has entered both events in Leicester, but lost 6-1 to Tom Bissell in the first round on Wednesday. He has to reach the final at a minimum to stand a chance - and even then may need results elsewhere to go his way.

Who is currently in the Players Championship Finals - and what do they need to do?

Gary Anderson made his first Players Championship appearance since July on Wednesday, and promptly reached the final before losing to Luke Humphries.

That run was critical in his hopes of reaching Minehead - should the Scot choose to compete, in any case. He currently sits in 57th place in the ProTour Order of Merit and, should he lose his first-round match, would need eight players below him to reach the fourth round for him to drop out. A win for Anderson in round one should make his qualification a formality.

Michael Smith, meanwhile, sits in 52nd place and needs a first-round win to be sure of his spot in Minehead. Should he lose in the first round, only an unlikely combination of Ritchie Edhouse, Mike De Decker and Henry Coates reaching the quarter-finals, as well as Wesley Plaisier and David Sharp reaching the semi-finals, would stop him from reaching the Finals.

The cut-off for guaranteed qualification sits with Gian van Veen, who sits on £42,250 in prize money. With his spot in Minehead safe, the world number two opted to skip the final two Players Championship events.