Ricky Evans among four big names in danger of missing World Darts Championship as it stands

Ricky Evans is among the high-profile darts stars who are currently set to miss the 2027 World Darts Championship as it stands.

The 36-year-old, who is always one of the most popular players among the Alexandra Palace crowd, has lost in the first round of each of the last eight PDC tournaments he has entered.

After losing 6-4 to Dirk van Duijvenbode at Players Championship 32 on Wednesday, 'Rapid' posted to Twitter (X) that he was hoping to soon play 'properly... stress and pain free' - though he still holds a chance of reaching the World Championship.

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The four players in danger of missing World Darts Championship

The top 40 ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit automatically earn qualification for the World Championship, as well as the top 40 ranked players on the ProTour that haven't already qualified via the other metric.

Players who aren't ranked as highly on the Order of Merit get a second chance via the ProTour - meaning that performances from the 2026 season are rewarded. Czechia star Adam Gawlas, for instance, is ranked 99th on the Order of Merit but currently occupies 36th place among the ProTour OoM for non-automatic qualifiers, which would earn him his place at Ally Pally.

Evans, however, is down in 48th in both the main Order of Merit and the corresponding ProTour rankings. He has not done enough to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead, though still has two more standard PC events to overhaul a £2,250 prize money gap to Raymond van Barneveld, who occupies 40th place on the ProTour OoM for non-automatic qualifiers.

One-time World Matchplay and UK Open winner Dimitri van den Bergh, meanwhile, is also on course to miss the World Championship. He reached the semi-finals at Ally Pally back in 2023 but has been plagued by inconsistent form in recent seasons.

Dimitri van den Bergh has had a difficult 2026 (Image: Getty)

And Martin Lukeman reached the Grand Slam final in 2024, losing to Luke Littler. He is guaranteed to miss out through the ProTour metric but, at 43rd in the Order of Merit, can still make it to London with a strong set of results in the final two Players Championship events.

Andreas Harrysson, who reached the fourth round of the World Championship last year before losing to Jonny Clayton, failed to secure his spot at Ally Pally via the PDC Nordic & Baltic Order of Merit but can still earn his place as an international qualifier.

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Ricky Evans on loss of form in 2026

Evans reached the third round of the World Championship last year after defeating James Wade 3-2, and looked in good shape to secure a career-best last 16 berth when he went 2-1 up in a race to four against Charlie Manby.

But 'Rapid' lost the last three sets, bowing out of the tournament at the same stage for the third consecutive year.

Since then, Evans has spoken openly about his battles with arthritis - a condition Michael Smith has also struggled with - and said earlier this year that he would drink a pint of gravy if he managed to qualify for the World Championship.

Van den Bergh, meanwhile, missed two months of action last year after taking a break from darts, and his 2024 UK Open win - netting him £110,000 - has been wiped from the two-year Order of Merit.

Should the Belgian fail to qualify for the worlds, he is in serious danger of losing his tour card: he is only £19,750 in prize money ahead of 65th-placed Meikle. Winning a match at Ally Pally guarantees a player £25,000.