Luke Littler's aspirations for the Players Championship finals have encountered another hurdle following his semi-final exit at PC28 in Leicester. The world champion progressed further than his quarter-final finish at Tuesday's PC27 but was ultimately denied the title.
Littler, who has largely skipped floor events this year to manage his schedule, is currently 125th in the order of merit. He is £16,750 adrift of Shane McGuirk, who holds the 64th qualifying spot for November's finals in Minehead.
The 19-year-old defeated Benjamin Pratnemer, Martin Schindler, and Krzysztof Ratajski on Wednesday before being stopped by Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan. With only seven events remaining and the projected cutoff expected to exceed £30,000, Littler may need to travel to Den Bosch next month to bolster his qualification chances, despite previously stating an intention to only feature in UK events.