Qualifying Pressures Increase

FIVE Players Championship events remain before the fields for the StanJames.com World Matchplay and PartyPoker.net European Championship are finalised.

The World Matchplay and European Championship will be the televised highlights of the summer on the darts' circuit when they occupy 13 days in July and at the start of August.

The £400,000 World Matchplay will be held from July 17-25 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, featuring a 32-player field.

The PDC's top 16 players at the end of the New Tropicana World Series of Darts Festival will qualify for the World Matchplay, alongside the 16 leading non-qualified players from the Players Championship Order of Merit.

The top 16 at the same date will also qualify for the European Championship, with eight further players coming from the European Order of Merit.

The remaining eight players will be the best eight non-qualified players from the Players Championship Order of Merit.

This weekend's Players Championships in Haarlem, Holland will be the final two to count towards the European Order of Merit for qualification for the European Championship.

However, a further three Players Championships will be held in Las Vegas during the New Tropicana World Series of Darts Festival on June 27, 28 and 29 which will count towards the PDC Order of Merit and Players Championship Order of Merit.

The World Matchplay qualifiers would currently include Blackpool debutants Simon Whitlock, Mark Webster and Steve Brown.

The European qualifiers for the European Championship would currently include Spanish newcomer Antonio Alcinas, plus the German trio of Tomas Seyler, Marko Puls and Andree Welge ahead of the event in their home country.

The European Championship will be held from July 29-August 1 in Dinslaken, and shown live in the UK on Bravo.

Provisional Qualifiers
StanJames.com World Matchplay (July 17-25)

PDC Top 16
Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Mervyn King, Terry Jenkins, Ronnie Baxter, Adrian Lewis, Mark Walsh, Andy Hamilton, Colin Lloyd, Colin Osborne, Simon Whitlock, Robert Thornton, Dennis Priestley, Alan Tabern, Paul Nicholson.
Players Championship Order of Merit Qualifiers
Gary Anderson, Denis Ovens, Wayne Jones, Wes Newton, Vincent van der Voort, Mark Dudbridge, Barrie Bates, Jamie Caven, Andy Smith, Kevin Painter, Mark Webster, Steve Brown, Steve Beaton, Tony Eccles, Peter Wright, Co Stompe.

PartyPoker.net European Championship (July 29-August 1)
PDC Top 16
Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Mervyn King, Terry Jenkins, Ronnie Baxter, Adrian Lewis, Mark Walsh, Andy Hamilton, Colin Lloyd, Colin Osborne, Simon Whitlock, Robert Thornton, Dennis Priestley, Alan Tabern, Paul Nicholson.
European Order of Merit Qualifiers
Vincent van der Voort, Co Stompe, Jelle Klaasen, Michael van Gerwen, Antonio Alcinas, Tomas Seyler, Marko Puls, Andree Welge.
Players Championship Order of Merit Qualifiers
Gary Anderson, Denis Ovens, Wayne Jones, Wes Newton, Mark Dudbridge, Barrie Bates, Jamie Caven, Andy Smith.