MICHAEL VAN GERWEN is set to pass up on a crack at £120,000 in prize money after seemingly giving up on his hopes of qualifying for the Players Championship Finals.
Van Gerwen, 36, has withdrawn from Wednesday afternoon’s Players Championship 27 in Hildesheim, Germany.
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MVG took himself out of contention for the event after crashing out in the first round of the Players Championship 26 on Tuesday.
The Dutchman was beaten by Callan Rydz, seeing him fall down to 100th in the Players Championship Order of Merit.
It means he is now £9,000 shy of a place in the top 64, which would see him qualify for the Players Championship Finals.
Although he is yet to be mathematically out of contention, Van Gerwen’s withdrawal from PC27 this afternoon could suggest he has given up on making the finals.
While that gap could extend depending on who is successful in Germany.
In missing out, he would forfeit a chance to land the top prize of £120,000 from the tournament’s hefty £600,000 prize pot.
There is still another seven Players Championship tournaments left ahead of the finals, and just one event victory would land the Green Machine £15,000 and send him shooting up the Order of Merit.
However, the more events he chooses to withdraw from, the less opportunity he gives himself to qualify.
Players Championship prize money
Here’s a breakdown of how much cash is on offer at the Players Championship…
EVENT PRIZE MONEY
- Winner – £15,000
- Runner-Up – £10,00
- Semi-finalists – £5,000
- Quarter-finalists – £3,500
- Last 16 – £2,500
- Last 32 – £1,500
- Last 64 – £1,000
- TOTAL: £125,000
FINALS PRIZE MONEY
- Winner – £120,000
- Runner-Up – £60,000
- Semi-finalists – £30,000
- Quarter-finalists – £20,000
- Last 16 – £10,000
- Last 32 – £6,500
- Last 64 – £3,000
- TOTAL: £600,000
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
Van Gerwen has been ever-present in the Minehead finals since his first appearance in 2009, as well as lifting the trophy SEVEN times.
For this afternoon’s event, MVG has been replaced by Challenge Tour thrower Christopher Wickenden.
Van Gerwen’s withdrawal comes after yesterday’s PC26 winner, Gerwyn Price, claimed he didn’t even want to be at the event but didn’t want to risk not qualifying for the finals.
Speaking after his dramatic 8-6 victory over Gian van Veen, he said: “Well, I didn’t want to be here today and tomorrow.
“I missed last weekend’s European event with the infection in my hand, and I missed the Pro Tours before that.”
So yeah, I was kind of forced to come to these because I don’t want to miss too many – it can catch up with you at the back end of the year, as Nathan [Aspinall] is finding out now.
“I don’t think he’s in the Players Championship Finals yet. If you miss too many, it can catch up with you, and it’ll do the same next year as well.
“I won a couple early on, but then I’ll be defending quite a bit, so it’s hard.”
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He continued: “You’ve got to try and win as much as you can, as early as you can. Then at the back end of the year – which is now – you can miss a couple.
“But obviously, I’ve missed the last two weeks, so yeah, this one was frustrating. I’m glad I won it, I’m glad I’m here – but I didn’t want to be here.”
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