Michael van Gerwen set to give up huge payday after making unusual decision

Michael van Gerwen decided to pull out of Wednesday's Players Championship 27 in Germany after losing to Callan Rydz in the first round of the Players Championship 26 on Tuesday. And the Dutchman may be giving up on his hopes of landing the £120,000 top prize available for the overall winner of the competition.

The Players Championship Finals are due to be held at the Butlins Resort in Minehead in November, with a prize pot of £600,000 up for grabs. The top 64 players on the order of merit qualify for the event, with the likes of Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price likely to be involved. But Van Gerwen may be a noticeable absentee.

Van Gerwen is in danger of slipping out of the top 100 on the Players Championship order of merit following his defeat to Rydz on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old, who labelled darts rival Pero Lbujic as a "pub player" in the summer, has only landed £10,500 in prize money from Players Championship events this year, with Gian van Veen leading the way with £73,500.

He could still bank enough money to feature in Minehead this autumn, but his decision to opt out of Players Championship 27 means he will miss out on another opportunity to build his prize pot ahead of the cut-off point.

There are still another seven Players Championship events ahead of the Finals, and just one event victory would net Van Gerwen £15,000.

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Christopher Wickenden will replace the Green Machine for the latest darts event in Hildesheim.

But Van Gerwen may be hoping to return to the competition later this month, with the Mattioli Arena in Leicester hosting the next three Players Championship events.

The winner of the overall competition will be handed £120,000 this autumn, while the runner-up will be able to bank half that figure.

There will be £30,000 on offer for semi-finalists, while players who reach the quarter-finals will receive £20,000.

Van Gerwen made his first appearance at the Players Championship Finals in 2009 and has been an ever-present ever since.

The veteran has won the competition seven times throughout his career but suffered a shock defeat to Ian White in the first round of the Finals last season.

Humphries went on to lift the trophy in 2024 after securing an 11-7 victory over arch-rival Littler in the showpiece match.

Humphries also overcame Dirk van Duijvenbode, Ryan Joyce, Damon Heta, Raymond van Barneveld and Gabriel Clemens on his way to the title last time around but faces a battle to qualify this year as he is currently ranked at No. 62 in the order of merit.