Luke Humphries to open Players Championship Finals defence against Gian Van Veen with Luke Littler up against Jeffrey de Graaf

Repeat or revenge? Luke Humphries will open his defence of the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals against Gian van Veen, with the field and draw for next month’s showpiece now confirmed.

The £600,000 tournament – featuring the top 64 players on the Players Championship rankings following the conclusion of the 34-event 2025 Players Championship season – will take place at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from November 21-23.

Humphries retained the title with victory over Luke Littler 12 months ago, and the reigning champion will begin his bid for a third consecutive crown against Van Veen, in a repeat of last weekend’s European Championship final.

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Humphries celebrates his victory in Minehead last year

World No 1 Humphries finished the season in 58th position on the Players Championship rankings, and his reward is a showdown with seventh seed Van Veen, who has won each of the pair’s three meetings in 2025.

Littler, meanwhile, returns to Minehead as the No 36 seed and will take on Sweden’s No 1 Jeffrey de Graaf, with Ross Smith or Niko Springer awaiting the winner in round two.

Gerwyn Price will be the top seed following his quartet of Players Championship wins across the year, and he will play Germany’s Max Hopp, who snatched the final qualification place in the 64-player field.

Wessel Nijman ended the year in second spot courtesy of his Players Championship 34 success on Thursday, and the emerging Dutchman will play his compatriot Richard Veenstra in round one.

Third seed Damon Heta has been pitted against debutant Justin Hood while former European Champion Smith takes on rising star Springer in another eye-catching tussle.

Chris Dobey – a winner of three Players Championship titles throughout the season – opens his title challenge against Keane Barry, while sixth seed Jermaine Wattimena and Wesley Plaisier lock horns in another all-Dutch encounter.

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Highlights of the World Grand Prix final match between Luke Littler and Humphries

Stephen Bunting and Ritchie Edhouse go head-to-head in a battle of the televised title winners, with Cameron Menzies and Josh Rock also among the top ten seeds.

Menzies will face newcomer Adam Lipscombe for a place in round two while Northern Ireland’s World Cup champion Rock meets former World Championship semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens.

Following a brace of Players Championship successes across the season, Joe Cullen will begin his campaign against two-time world champion Peter Wright, who lifted this title back in 2021.

Germany’s No 1 Martin Schindler goes up against 2023 world champion Michael Smith, as 2014 Players Championship Finals winner Gary Anderson tackles Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde.

Elsewhere, Poland’s No 1 Krzysztof Ratajski will play Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld, while 2017 champion Daryl Gurney takes on his former World Cup partner Brendan Dolan.

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Grand Slam semi-finalist Mickey Mansell awaits world No 5 James Wade, with Czech trailblazer Karel Sedlacek and former World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall also poised to do battle.

Former finalists Jonny Clayton and Dave Chisnall face James Hurrell and Ryan Joyce respectively, while 2022 runner-up Rob Cross will meet Sebastian Bialecki, who celebrated his maiden ProTour title back in July.

Round one will take place across a bumper opening day on Friday November 21, with Saturday’s double session featuring round two in the afternoon, followed by round three in the evening.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will then be held on Sunday November 23, with the Winmau World Youth Championship final between Van Veen and Beau Greaves taking place during a blockbuster evening session.

2025 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals
Draw Bracket
(1) Gerwyn Price vs (64) Max Hopp
(32) Rob Cross vs (33) Sebastian Bialecki
(16) Martin Schindler vs (49) Michael Smith
(17) Niels Zonneveld vs (48) Nick Kenny
(8) Stephen Bunting vs (57) Ritchie Edhouse
(25) Brendan Dolan vs (40) Daryl Gurney
(9) Cameron Menzies vs (56) Adam Lipscombe
(24) Bradley Brooks vs (41) Martin Lukeman
(4) Ross Smith vs (61) Niko Springer
(29) Jeffrey de Graaf vs (36) Luke Littler
(13) William O’Connor vs (52) Ricardo Pietreczko
(20) Gary Anderson vs (45) Mario Vandenbogaerde
(5) Chris Dobey vs (60) Keane Barry
(28) Mike De Decker vs (37) Cam Crabtree
(12) Jonny Clayton vs (53) James Hurrell
(21) Luke Woodhouse vs (44) Alan Soutar
(2) Wessel Nijman vs (63) Richard Veenstra
(31) Karel Sedlacek vs (34) Nathan Aspinall
(15) Danny Noppert vs (50) Ricky Evans
(18) Dirk van Duijvenbode vs (47) Madars Razma
(7) Gian van Veen vs (58) Luke Humphries
(26) Krzysztof Ratajski vs (39) Raymond van Barneveld
(10) Josh Rock vs (55) Gabriel Clemens
(23) Scott Williams vs (42) Ian White
(3) Damon Heta vs (62) Justin Hood
(30) Andrew Gilding vs (35) Dom Taylor
(14) Joe Cullen vs (51) Peter Wright
(19) James Wade vs (46) Mickey Mansell
(6) Jermaine Wattimena vs (59) Wesley Plaisier
(27) Dave Chisnall vs (38) Ryan Joyce
(11) Ryan Searle vs (54) Darren Beveridge
(22) Kevin Doets vs (43) Callan Rydz

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