By Alex Moss
8 JUNE 2017 • 8:17PM
Terry Jenkins is set to miss out on a place in the Bet Victor World Matchplay for the first time since 2004.
The 53-year-old, twice a runner-up in the popular major tournament in Blackpool, has scaled back on his playing schedule on the PDC tour this year, and has subsequently seen his ranking drop.
Jenkins is currently joint-21st on the PDC Order of Merit with Stephen Bunting, while on the Pro Tour Order of Merit he sits in 37th place.
Since losing out to Benito van de Pas in the second round of the William Hill World Darts Championship in December, Jenkins’ appearances on the PDC circuit have been limited to a weekend of Coral UK Open qualifiers as well as the main tournament itself in Minehead.
The entries for the next Players Championship double-header, to be held on June 17-18 in Wigan, were released earlier this week and once again Jenkins has elected not to enter.
It means that his hopes of qualifying for Blackpool now rests on entering Players Championship 15 and 16 in Barnsley next month, with the cut-off for the World Matchplay falling immediately after those two events.
While Jenkins can mathematically no longer move back into the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit before the cut-off, a good weekend in Barnsley next month could see him qualify for the World Matchplay through the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
As it stands, Darren Webster occupies the 16th and final place up for grabs on the Pro Tour Order of Merit, with Jenkins only six places below, but he would currently need to reach at least a final in Barnsley to have any hope of making up ground.
With two Players Championship and three European Tour events to take place before the Barnsley double-header, Jenkins’ task is likely to become even harder by then, but darts fans will be hoping that “The Raging Bull” does make a last-ditch attempt to try and qualify for Blackpool next month.
Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
lovethedartsmag.com 