Luke Humphries (left) and Luke Littler are first and second respectively in the PDC world rankings
World number one Luke Humphries narrowly secured his place at November’s Players Championship Finals, as reigning world champion Luke Littler voiced criticism of tournament officials.
Humphries, 30, began the day ranked 58th in the competition and faced the prospect of missing the finals if defeated in the opening round of Players Championship 34.
However, a 6-2 victory over Martijn Dragt of the Netherlands in round one ensured his qualification, before a 6-4 loss to Rob Owen in the second round at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan.
This event marked the culmination of 34 Players Championship tournaments held throughout the year. The top 64 players in the standings will now proceed to the finals in Minehead, Somerset, from 21-23 November.
Littler, 18, secured his qualification earlier in the month with a victory at Players Championship 32.
He was absent from Wednesday’s Players Championship 33 due to significant traffic delays following a serious incident and subsequently missed the 11:00 GMT registration deadline.
It was later confirmed that a fatality had occurred during an incident on the M6 motorway.
Littler expressed his condolences on Instagram, stating: “Missed registration today for the pro tour, but someone sadly lost their life. Thinking of everyone.”
After reaching the last 32 on Thursday, where he suffered a 6-5 defeat in a deciding leg against Canada’s Matt Campbell, Littler took to social media to criticize officials, alleging that other players had been permitted to participate despite arriving late for events.
In his Instagram post, Littler wrote: “Not the best day today but played some decent stuff.
“But really glad to hear from a few of the other players that people have been let in almost half an hour late for a pro tour but I can’t be two minutes late.
“Says a lot, one rule for one and one for another.”
BBC Sport has reached out to the PDC for comment regarding Littler’s allegations.
Wessel Nijman of the Netherlands secured the Players Championship 34 title with an 8-5 victory over England’s Luke Woodhouse.
Michael van Gerwen, the three-time world champion and current world number three, will be absent from the finals, having finished outside the top 64 in the rankings and not participating in the last two events.