Simon Whitlock has held a tour card continuously since 2011 but dropped out of the top 64 after the 2025 World Darts Championship and lost his automatic extension.
The Australian won the 2012 European Darts Championship in Mülheim an der Ruhr and the 2022 World Cup of Darts alongside Damon Heta.
In 2010, the "Wizard" made it to the World Championship final but clearly lost 7-3 to Phil Taylor.
Mervyn King is also a darts veteran and has had a tour card without a break since 2011. He suffered the same fate as Whitlock and was no longer in the top 64 of the Order of Merit after the PDC World Darts Championship.
His greatest successes include the 2009 World Championship semi-final (6-2 against Phil Taylor) and winning the BDO World Masters in 2004.
John Part has not held a tour card since 2018, but the Canadian has repeatedly tried in vain to get it back.
Part was BDO World Champion in 1994 and PDC World Champion in 2003 and 2008. He has already participated in the last three editions of the Senior World Championship, reaching the last 16 twice.
Fitton completes invitations
Together with Whitlock, King and Part, Darryl Fitton was also invited. The Englishman, who has played exactly one match at the PDC in his entire career, celebrated his greatest successes at the BDO, where he won the 2016 World Trophy in addition to three World Championship semi-finals.
The World Seniors Darts Championship is a world championship for players aged 50 and over. It is the first of its kind and has been held since 2022.
You can either qualify via your own WSDT World Rankings, be invited or win one of three starting places via a qualifying tournament. The defending champion is John Henderson, after Robert Thornton previously won both events.
In addition to the newly nominated quartet and the two title-winning Scots, well-known names such as Leonard Gates, Lisa Ashton, Steve Beaton, Trina Gulliver, and Vincent van der Voort will also compete this year.