Phil Taylor will not be in the Players Championship Finals in Minehead next month after opting to not enter the last two Players Championship events.
The 16-time world champion, who has won the tournament three times since its inception in 2009, has won £3,500 from the three Players Championship events he has played in this season.
And with the field for the televised finals based on the top 64 players on the Players Championship Order of Merit, Taylor is currently in 108th position and can no longer add to his prize money to climb into the qualifying places.
The 19th and 20th Players Championship events of 2016 take place on Friday and Saturday next week in Barnsley, with the cut off for the finals taking place after.
Taylor, ranked fourth on the PDC Order of Merit, is currently the only big name set to miss out, with world number one Michael van Gerwen guaranteed to be the top seed at Minehead.
Van Gerwen’s fellow Premier League stars Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall are also set to qualify, but Raymond van Barneveld still has work to do.
The five-time world champion is currently joint 63rd on the Players Championship Order of Merit heading into next week’s double header, and still needs to pick up more prize money to ensure he is at Minehead next month.
Van Gerwen is also sitting out next week’s Players Championship events, while Anderson has only entered the tournament being held on Saturday.
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