DARTS chiefs have been forced to move two Players Championship events from the Netherlands to Wigan.
Luke Littler is among the stars who could feature at Players Championship 3 and 4 in early 2026.
And ‘The Nuke’ now faces a much shorter journey if he wants to take part, with the PDC moving it from Den Bosch due to accommodation issues.
The Dutch are hosting their annual Carnival around the time of the scheduled tournaments on February 16 and 17, meaning there aren’t enough hotel rooms available for players and staff.
Organisers have therefore made the call to stage the two events in Wigan and move Players Championship 29 and 30 – which were due to be held in the Greater Manchester town – to Den Bosch in September.
The Players Championship is a series of one-day tournaments open to all 128 PDC Tour Card holders.
Competitors can earn prize money at each event while trying to improve their standing in the Players Championship Order of Merit.
Those who finish in the top 64 at the end of the campaign qualify for the Players Championship Finals, which comes with a £120,000 top prize.
Players can still finish in the top 64 even if they don’t appear at every event before the finals, and Littler has been known to pick and choose his appearances.
World No.1 Luke Humphries punched his ticket to the Finals in the 34th and last Players Championship event at the end of October.
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And Littler’s spot was only mathematically secured with a win at Players Championship 32.
Humphries has won the last two Players Championship titles and he beat Littler in last year’s final.
That has left ‘Cool Hand’ with the maximum prize money to defend in Minehead between November 21-23 as he bids to retain his spot at the top of the world rankings.
Littler is just £72,000 behind him and a positive result for ‘The Nuke’, if combined with frustration for Humphries, will see him hit the summit for the first time.
