Martin Schindler and Henry Coates are the latest players to qualify for the 2026 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts following last weekend’s European Championship. The newly-expanded 48-player tournament returns to the WV Active Aldersley from November 14-22, as the sport’s biggest names battle it out for the iconic Eric Bristow Trophy and a share […]
Martin Schindler and Henry Coates are the latest players to qualify for the 2026 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts following last weekend’s European Championship.
The newly-expanded 48-player tournament returns to the WV Active Aldersley from November 14-22, as the sport’s biggest names battle it out for the iconic Eric Bristow Trophy and a share of £1 million in prize money.
Schindler confirmed his spot at a seventh Grand Slam with an incredible run to the final in Dortmund last weekend, finishing runner-up to Ross Smith on Sunday.
The German number one had only qualified for this year’s European Championship in the 15th and final European Tour event of the year in Maastricht, but surpassed expectations as the 31st seed to reach the final.
The 30-year-old accounted for Wessel Nijman, Jermaine Wattimena, Jonny Clayton and Krzysztof Ratajski in a fabulous run on home soil, becoming the first German to reach a televised final in PDC history in the process.
Elsewhere, Coates will make his debut at the Grand Slam after the European Championship finally confirmed his spot in Wolverhampton next month.
The 20-year-old claimed Players Championship 25 in July to become just the fifth player in PDC history to win a ProTour event without a Tour Card, although he was not assured of his Wolverhampton spot as the lowest-ranked ProTour winner of 2026 so far.
However, after Smith reached the European Championship final – having already qualified as the World Series of Darts Finals champion – Coates’ Grand Slam qualification was confirmed.
Defending Grand Slam champion and World Champion Luke Littler headlines this year’s confirmed field so far, alongside World Grand Prix champion Luke Humphries.
The finalists from PDC televised events over a 12-month period automatically qualify, with World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen, UK Open runner-up James Wade and World Matchplay finalist Gerwyn Price all set to star.
Last year’s Players Championship Finals runner-up Nathan Aspinall has earned a spot, as well as three-time champion Michael van Gerwen, who was a runner-up for Netherlands at the World Cup of Darts this year.
Additional qualification spots are given to secondary and affiliate tours, including last year’s World Youth Championship runner-up Beau Greaves as well as this year’s finalists Crabtree and Schmidt.
Sebastian Bialecki’s domination of the Development Tour earns the Polish number two a first Grand Slam outing, while Joe Hunt will also make his Wolverhampton debut after topping the Challenge Tour.
Paolo Nebrida and Adam Sevada will also make maiden Grand Slam appearances, qualifying as PDC Asian Champion and North American Championship winner respectively, while Lisa Ashton features as the Women’s Series Rankings Qualifier.
Two-time European Tour winner Wessel Nijman qualifiers after scooping two European Tour titles, with Josh Rock, Luke Woodhouse, Krzysztof Ratajski, Jonny Clayton and Niels Zonneveld assured of their places.
Chris Dobey and Cameron Menzies will star after winning a brace of Players Championship titles each, with Ryan Searle, Jermaine Wattimena and Rob Cross also earning Grand Slam call-ups.
Kevin Doets will add a Grand Slam debut to his stellar year in the sport, while Andrew Gilding, Jeffrey de Graaf, Gabriel Clemens and Karel Sedlacek have all qualified as Players Championship winners.
The ANZ Premier League winner and PDC Nordic & Baltic Champion will seal spots at the Grand Slam on October 31 and November 8 respectively.
There will now a maximum of 40 pre-qualified players by November 6, meaning that any winners of the four remaining Players Championship events yet to have qualified will be certain of a spot in Wolverhampton.
If any winners of the upcoming Players Championship events are pre-qualified, the number of places available in the Tour Card Holder Qualifier will be increased appropriately to fill the field to 48 players.
2026 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts Qualification
November 14-22 2026
Automatic Qualifiers (potential 24 players)
2025/26 World Championship Winner – LUKE LITTLER (1)
2025 Grand Slam Winner – (Luke Littler)
2026 Premier League Winner – (Luke Littler)
2026 World Matchplay Winner – (Luke Littler)
2026 World Grand Prix Winner – LUKE HUMPHRIES (2)
2026 World Masters Winner – (Luke Littler)
2026 UK Open Winner – (Luke Littler)
2026 European Championship Winner – ROSS SMITH (3)
2025 Players Championship Finals Winner – (Luke Littler)
2026 World Series of Darts Finals Winner – (Ross Smith)
2026 World Cup Winners x2 – (Luke Littler & Luke Humphries)
2025/26 PDC World Championship Runner-Up – GIAN VAN VEEN (4)
2025 Grand Slam Runner-Up – (Luke Humphries)
2026 Premier League Runner-Up (Luke Humphries)
2026 World Matchplay Runner-Up – GERWYN PRICE (5)
2026 World Grand Prix Runner-Up – (Gerwyn Price)
2026 World Masters Runner-Up – (Luke Humphries)
2026 UK Open Runner-Up – JAMES WADE (6)
2026 European Championship Runner-Up – MARTIN SCHINDLER (7)
2025 Players Championship Finals Runner-Up – NATHAN ASPINALL (8)
2026 World Series of Darts Finals Runner-Up – (Gerwyn Price)
2026 World Cup Runners-Up x2 – MICHAEL VAN GERWEN (Gian van Veen) (9)
Additional Qualifiers (invited in the following order up to a maximum of 12 players)
2025 World Youth Championship Winner – (Gian van Veen)
2025 World Youth Championship Runner-Up – BEAU GREAVES (10)
2026 World Youth Championship Finalist 1 – CAM CRABTREE (11)
2026 World Youth Championship Finalist 2 – JAN SCHMIDT (12)
2026 Development Tour Rankings Winner – SEBASTIAN BIALECKI (13)
2026 Challenge Tour Rankings Winner – JOE HUNT (14)
2026 Women’s World Matchplay Winner – (Beau Greaves)
2026 Women’s Series Rankings Qualifier – LISA ASHTON (15)
2026 PDC Asian Championship Winner – PAOLO NEBRIDA (16)
2026 North American Championship Winner – ADAM SEVADA (17)
2026 PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship Winner – Nov 8
2026 ANZ Premier League Winner – Oct 31
Any remaining places to fill up to 40 players invited in the following order
2026 European Tour Event Winners
In order of number of event wins and then PDC Ranking Order;
WESSEL NIJMAN x2 (18), JOSH ROCK (19), LUKE WOODHOUSE (20), KRZYSZTOF RATAJSKI (21), JONNY CLAYTON (22), NIELS ZONNEVELD (23).
Pre-Qualified: (Luke Littler x2), (Ross Smith x2) (Luke Humphries), (James Wade) (Nathan Aspinall), (Gerwyn Price).
2026 Players Championship Event Winners
In order of number of event wins and then PDC Ranking Order;
CHRIS DOBEY x2 (24), CAMERON MENZIES x2 (25), RYAN SEARLE (26), JERMAINE WATTIMENA (27), ROB CROSS (28), KEVIN DOETS (29), ANDREW GILDING (30), JEFFREY DE GRAAF (31), GABRIEL CLEMENS (32), KAREL SEDLACEK (33), HENRY COATES (34).
Pre-Qualified: Wessel Nijman x6, Luke Humphries x3, Ross Smith x2, James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Beau Greaves, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Woodhouse, Sebastian Bialecki.
Tour Card Holder Qualifiers
8x Players (Friday November 6, Leicester).
Should there be less than 40 pre-qualified players, the number of places available in the Tour Card Holder Qualifier will be increased appropriately to fill the field to 48 players. Should the winner of any Secondary Tour have qualified, the next-ranked non-qualified player from that Secondary Tour’s rankings will then be invited.