Jonny Clayton and Lisa Ashton have become the latest players to secure their spots at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts, bringing the number of confirmed entrants to 31 for next month's £1 million tournament in Wolverhampton. Clayton punched his ticket in emphatic style at the Swiss Darts Trophy, claiming his first ranking title of the season to book an eighth Grand Slam appearance, while Ashton qualified through the PDC Women's Series rankings.
Clayton arrived in Basel without his Grand Slam place guaranteed but left with both the title and qualification secured, averaging 102.70 across the tournament and defeating Maik Kuivenhoven, Rob Cross, Karel Sedlacek, Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries on his way to victory. He defeated Humphries 8-4 in the final. It was Clayton's first ranking title of 2026 and added his name to the list of European Tour event winners being used to fill the remaining Grand Slam places. Despite his longevity at the top of the PDC, Clayton has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam.
Ashton returns to the field after finishing runner-up to Beau Greaves on the Women's Series rankings. Greaves had already qualified through her runner-up finish at the 2025 World Youth Championship and her Women's World Matchplay victory, meaning the available Women's Series place passed to Ashton. The four-time Lakeside champion will make her sixth Grand Slam appearance.
Defending champion Luke Littler remains the standout name among those already assured of their places, having qualified through several routes after another dominant season, while Luke Humphries secured automatic qualification as the newly crowned World Grand Prix champion. Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Ross Smith, Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen are among the other established names already in the field through performances in televised PDC events during the qualifying period. Wade is set for his 19th Grand Slam appearance after reaching the UK Open final, Price qualified through his World Matchplay runner-up finish, and Smith's victory at the World Series of Darts Finals secured his return.
The secondary tours have added a number of less familiar names to the line-up. Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt qualified by reaching the 2026 World Youth Championship final, while Sebastian Bialecki earned his debut after topping the Development Tour rankings. Joe Hunt will also make his first appearance after winning the Challenge Tour rankings, with PDC Asian champion Paolo Nebrida and North American champion Adam Sevada joining him as Grand Slam debutants.
With 31 names now confirmed, 17 places remain undecided before the expanded 48-player field heads to WV Active Aldersley from 14 to 22 November. Gary Anderson is among the most notable absentees at this stage. The two-time world champion has not yet qualified through one of the automatic routes and will need the remaining events or the Tour Card Holder Qualifier to secure his Wolverhampton return.
There are still several opportunities for the picture to change substantially. The winner and runner-up at the European Championship will both qualify automatically, while places remain available to the PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship winner and the ANZ Premier League champion. The remaining available positions up to a maximum of 40 pre-qualified players are then distributed among European Tour and Players Championship winners, based first on the number of tournament victories and then PDC ranking position.
Wessel Nijman leads that group after winning twice on the European Tour, with Josh Rock, Luke Woodhouse, Krzysztof Ratajski and now Clayton also safely through via European Tour success. Chris Dobey and Cameron Menzies have each won two Players Championship events, while Ryan Searle, Jermaine Wattimena, Rob Cross, Kevin Doets, Andrew Gilding, Jeffrey de Graaf, Gabriel Clemens and Karel Sedlacek currently occupy qualification positions as Players Championship winners.
Henry Coates remains perhaps the most intriguing name on the provisional list. Coates produced one of the biggest surprises of the ProTour season when he won a Players Championship event in July despite not holding a Tour Card. Winning the title, however, does not automatically guarantee his Grand Slam place. He is currently the lowest-ranked eligible ProTour event winner. With one European Tour tournament, four Players Championship events and the European Championship still to be played, Coates can yet be pushed out if enough new winners emerge who sit above him in the PDC rankings. The situation also means every new winner over the closing weeks of the qualifying period could have consequences further down the list.
Whatever remains unresolved will eventually come down to the Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Leicester on Friday 6 November. At least eight places will be awarded there. Should fewer than 40 players have qualified beforehand, additional spots will be made available through the qualifier to complete the 48-player field.
Players currently qualified for the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts:
The Grand Slam field will ultimately contain 48 players, leaving plenty still at stake before qualifying concludes on 6 November.