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Topics: Darts
Ryan Smart
A PDC tour card holder has issued a statement following his decision not to play in the World Masters preliminary event.
The World Masters takes place from January 29, and is the first major tournament on the 2026 PDC calendar.
A sum of £100,000 is on offer to the winner of the event, out of a total prize pot of £500,000.
The top 24 players on the two-year Order of Merit qualified for the event automatically, with 122 other players - a mixture of current tour card holders and the top-ranked players from other PDC tours - competing in the preliminary rounds in Milton Keynes on Tuesday to decide the other eight entrants.
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A group stage involving the lower-ranked players - including the likes of Beau Greaves, Charlie Manby, Max Hopp and Andreas Harrysson - was held to determine the round of 64 competitors, with the higher-ranked players earning byes through to the first knockout stage.
Michael Smith, Peter Wright and Joe Cullen were among those who received byes - but another player who would also have been eligible chose not to enter the preliminary tournament.
Northern Ireland's Mickey Mansell, who is ranked at world number 46 and is a one-time Players Championship event winner, was not on the entry list published by the PDC.
He was not the only high-profile absentee from the tournament, with Raymond van Barneveld and Ryan Meikle also choosing not to enter.
Australia's newest PDC tour card holder, Adam Leek, was also not present, with the Adelaide-based dartist telling the PDC earlier this month that he was flying back home on January 24 ahead of the ProTour season getting underway.
Mansell's absence became peculiar when he announced on Twitter that he would be 'taking a break', and confirmed that he was splitting from his management team.
The 'Clonoe Cyclone' wrote: "I'd like to thank GMDartsManagement for their help and support over the last few years some great memories created.
"I've decided to take a break and wish them well."
The Sun report that Mansell's tweet was solely related to his management team situation, and that he is not taking a break from darts itself despite his absence from the World Masters.
From the preliminary competitors, new tour card holders Jimmy van Schie and Shane McGuirk - who are the previous two winners of the WDF World Championship - both secured their place in the World Masters by winning their last 16 ties in Milton Keynes.
They will be joined by Niels Zonneveld, Jeffrey de Graaf, Madars Razma, Wessel Nijman, Connor Scutt and James Hurrell.