Martin Schindler and Henry Coates have become the latest players to secure places at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts. The German earned his spot by reaching the final of the European Championship in Dortmund, while 20-year-old Englishman Coates benefited from Ross Smith’s result.

This year’s Grand Slam of Darts will take place at WV Active Aldersley from 14 to 22 November. The field has been expanded to 48 players, who will compete for a £1 million prize fund and the Eric Bristow Trophy.

Schindler rewarded for historic European Championship final

Schindler secured his seventh appearance at the Grand Slam of Darts last Sunday. The 30-year-old German reached the European Championship final in front of his home crowd, eventually losing 11–8 to Ross Smith.

Few would have expected Schindler to go so far. The German number one only qualified for the European Championship at the season’s final European Tour event in Maastricht. He then began the tournament in Dortmund as the 31st seed.

Schindler beat Wessel Nijman, Jermaine Wattimena, Jonny Clayton and Krzysztof Ratajski in succession. He became the first German to reach the final of an individual PDC televised event.

Although Smith ultimately claimed the European title, Schindler’s run earned him a valuable place at the Grand Slam of Darts. The German will return to the tournament for the seventh time.

Martin Schindler reached the European Championship final to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts

Coates benefits from Ross Smith’s success

Henry Coates has also secured his place. The 20-year-old Englishman will make his Grand Slam of Darts debut next month after an impressive achievement earlier this season.

Coates won Players Championship 25 in July, becoming only the fifth player in PDC history to win a ProTour event without a Tour Card.

His victory was not initially enough to secure a place at the Grand Slam. As the lowest-ranked ProTour event winner of 2026, Coates had to wait for the other qualifying results.

Ross Smith’s run to the European Championship final ultimately opened the door. Smith had already qualified by winning the World Series of Darts Finals, so his latest final appearance did not claim an additional place in the field. Coates was therefore assured of his spot.

Littler and Humphries lead the field

Defending champion Luke Littler is among the headline names set to take to the oche in Wolverhampton. The two-time world champion will face competition from Luke Humphries, who qualified by winning the World Grand Prix. As well as Michael van Gerwen who is also involved.

James Wade, runner-up at the UK Open, and Gerwyn Price, finalist at the World Matchplay, have also secured places. Nathan Aspinall earned his spot by reaching last year’s Players Championship Finals final.

Josh Rock, Luke Woodhouse, Krzysztof Ratajski, Jonny Clayton, Chris Dobey, Cameron Menzies, Ryan Searle and Rob Cross have also qualified.

Andrew Gilding, Gabriel Clemens and Karel Sedlacek are also among the players who earned places through their performances on the Players Championship circuit. Kevin Doets also gets a spot through this route. Niels Zonneveld also as a Euro Tour winner.

Luke Littler is the defending champion at the Grand Slam of Darts

Several places still up for grabs

Alongside established names from the PDC circuit, players from several other competitions will also have the chance to shine at the Grand Slam. Cameron Crabtree and Schmidt have secured places through their performances at the World Youth Championship. Beau Greaves will also compete after winning the Women’s World Matchplay. Sebastian Bialecki qualified as the Development Tour winner, while Joe Hunt will make his Wolverhampton debut through the Challenge Tour.

Paolo Nebrida, Adam Sevada and Lisa Ashton have also qualified. Nebrida secured his place as Asian champion, Sevada as the North American championship winner and Ashton through the Women’s Series rankings.

The field is not yet complete. The ANZ Premier League winner will be decided on 31 October, while the PDC Nordic & Baltic circuit champion will also earn a place on 8 November. Four more Players Championship events are also scheduled. Any new winners who have not yet qualified will secure a place at the Grand Slam.

Up to 40 players will qualify directly by 6 November. The remaining places will be decided at the Tour Card-holder qualifier. If players who have already qualified win any of the upcoming Players Championship events, additional places will become available at that qualifier.