The line-up for the 2027 PDC World Championship is taking shape a little more each week. On Monday 2 November, three players officially secured their places at Alexandra Palace: Andras Borbely from Hungary, Rudie van Staden from South Africa and Lihao Wen from China. For all three men, this will be their first appearance on the London stage.
The three places were secured via completely different routes, which sums up the logic behind the World Championship’s international contingent: regional circuits, short formats and a single evening to change everything.
Borbely, 21, has yet to drop a set
András Borbély arrives in England as the underdog, not the favourite. The 21-year-old Hungarian finished fourth in the regular season of the Hungarian Super League, well ahead of his country’s top players. But the format of the final turned everything on its head: in this final round, he did not lose a single set.
This flawless run has earned him his first-ever qualification for the World Championship. At 21, he joins the wave of young European players who are making a name for themselves by securing international places, without having to go through Q-School. For Hungary, the stakes are also symbolic: the country had not had a regular representative at Ally Pally for some time.
Van Staden beats Carolissen in the final
In southern Africa, Rudie van Staden had to put in a solid performance to secure his place. The qualifier organised by the African Darts Group featured a packed draw, with several regulars at major events. Van Staden first knocked out the number one seed, Johan Geldenhuys, before defeating Cameron Carolissen 8-3 in the final.
It was a harsh result for Carolissen, a two-time World Championship participant, who will therefore not be returning to Ally Pally this year. Van Staden, meanwhile, will be making his debut at the event, with the underdog status that a regional qualifier always brings.
Wen paves the way for China
In Asia, the China Championship has delivered its verdict: Lihao Wen won 3-0 in sets against Xiaochen Zong, a swift final that left no room for doubt. At 43, Wen becomes only the second player to win this tournament, after Zong himself.
China remains a developing market for the PDC, but the results are coming in: Chinese players are now consistently qualifying for international events, and Wen will have the chance to show that the standard of play at home is improving faster than expected.
What this means for the field
The PDC World Championship brings together 96 players at Alexandra Palace, comprising the merit-based seeds, ProTour qualifiers and the international contingent. Each new qualification therefore brings the countdown closer: the final qualifying tournaments take place in November, and the organisers will announce the final line-up before the draw.
For the three newcomers, the next phase now takes place off the stage: preparation, navigating London’s traffic and getting to know a 3,000-seat venue where even the slightest missed double can prove costly. The draw will then determine whether they face a seeded player or another qualifier, resulting in a very different first round to navigate.
