Gary Anderson misses Grand Slam of Darts for second time in 20 years

Gary Anderson will miss the Grand Slam of Darts for only the second time in 20 years after sitting out Friday’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Leicester.

The 55-year-old two-time world champion had not secured an automatic place, leaving the qualifier as his final opportunity to reach the Wolverhampton tournament.

Ten players qualified at the Mattioli Arena on 6 November. Anderson was not among the participants, meaning the two-time Grand Slam finalist will be absent when the competition begins on 14 November.

Gary Anderson Grand Slam 2026: why he is not in the field

Ten places in the 48-player field were decided on Friday, when 91 players returned to Leicester after the PDC ProTour season ended on Thursday, the PDC reported. Anderson was not among them, even though he had played Players Championship 33 and 34 at the same venue in the days before.

At PC33 he reached the semi-final, which confirmed his place in the Players Championship Finals. His decision on the qualifier was his own, and Dartsnews.com wrote that his absence “was partly down to his own decision-making”.

His absence means he misses two consecutive majors, having also failed to qualify for the European Championship. Dartsnews.com wrote that Anderson “is not afraid to skip tournaments”, and that he accepts the risk of missing events as a result.

Anderson’s Grand Slam record: debut in 2007, finals in 2011 and 2018

Anderson made his Grand Slam debut in 2007 while still a BDO player and reached the semi-finals in each of the first two editions. He joined the PDC in 2009. Before this year, 2022 was the only edition he had missed.

Grand Slam of Darts 2026 news: who came through in Leicester

Stephen Bunting was the highest-ranked player to qualify, with three averages above 100 in wins over Arno Merk, Callan Rydz and Jimmy van Schie. Joe Cullen beat Stephen Burton after trailing 4-2, then defeated 2022 champion Michael Smith 5-3 in a winner-takes-all match. The ten winners of the last-20 matches took the ten places.

Last 20 match	Score
Stephen Bunting v Jimmy van Schie	5-2
Maik Kuivenhoven v Chris Landman	5-2
Tom Sykes v Adam Leek	5-3
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez v Tom Bissell	5-2
Niko Springer v Stefaan Henderyck	5-1
Ricky Evans v Cristo Reyes	5-3
Carl Sneyd v Andy Boulton	5-2
Bradley Brooks v Dave Chisnall	5-2
Joe Cullen v Michael Smith	5-3
Alan Soutar v Mike De Decker	5-3

Kuivenhoven, Sykes and Sneyd will make their Wolverhampton debuts. Smith, Damon Heta, Danny Noppert, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld all missed out on a place.

What next for Gary Anderson after missing the Grand Slam?

Anderson’s next major is the Players Championship Finals at the end of November, where he is already qualified. The tournament is followed by a return to Alexandra Palace for the World Championship, where he reached the semi-finals last time.

The draw for the Grand Slam of Darts will be made on Monday 9 November, with a £200,000 top prize at stake.

Anderson’s route to the Finals is covered in Gary Anderson back in Players Championship Finals places as qualification reaches final day.

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