Michael Smith’s World Matchplay push reaches a fresh checkpoint today, with entries for Players Championship 23 and 24 in Leicester closing at 2pm GMT before next week’s decisive ProTour double-header.
The former world champion sits in the danger zone of the Blackpool race, so the Mattioli Arena events on July 6 and July 7 now carry obvious weight. Smith has been dragged into a fight that looked unlikely when he was still operating as one of the sport’s most secure elite names, but the calendar gives him two more ranking days before the July 8 cut-off.
Smith’s Blackpool Margin Is Now Thin
The official PDPA Players Championship calendar lists both Leicester events with a Monday, June 29 entry deadline, placing today as the administrative line before the last serious scramble for Matchplay positions.
That matters because the World Matchplay field is built from the top 16 on the main PDC Order of Merit and 16 ProTour qualifiers. Smith’s recent slide means every Leicester win can change the tone of his summer, particularly with players around the cut line also chasing the same prize money.
For Smith, this is no longer a routine ProTour stop. It is the final chance to turn a nervous ranking picture into a Blackpool route before the Winter Gardens conversation hardens.
