By Ryan Segal
It's time for the second Minehead voyage of the season, as Team Unicorn undertake the long winding road to Butlins for the Players Championship Finals.
After a season of toil in the Players Championships, seven members of Team Unicorn have the privilege of taking to one of the two stages.
In order of seeding, here's how the Team Unicorn procession looks ahead of the weekends action:
Leading the team into battle is Ross Smith, who finishes the year in 4th position on the Players Championship Order of Merit.
It's safe to say that Smudger shone on the floor this season, winning two titles - including that jaw dropping day that saw him hit 2 x 9 darters, and win 24 straight legs en route to glory.
Smudger needs a lone win to defend his money from two years ago, when he was unfortunate to run into a 118 average from Michael van Gerwen in R2.
He plays in the final game of Friday's afternoon session on the main stage, facing Ryan Meikle, who enters the field as a late replacement for the unwell Niko Springer.
Cameron Menzies is the second highest ranked member of Team Unicorn from the Players Championship OoM coming into the tournament in 9th position.
He made three finals this season, winning one, along with a Semi-Final appearance, to book his spot in the event.
Qualification was enough for Cammy to defend his money from two years ago, when he went out in the opening round to Rob Cross.
His campaign this time round begins against Adam Lipscombe, playing in the sixth game of the afternoon session on Stage Two.
Coming in behind Cammy is James Wade. He's slightly ahead of another Team Unicorn legend - finishing in 19th on the PC OoM.
The highlight of the year was undoubtedly at PC19, when he won his first ranking title since November 2022 - averaging 101.52 and hitting 88% of his doubles in a scintillating final.
He also made a plethora of Quarter-Finals over the course of the season, showing off the staggering consistency that's seen him become one of the game's greats.
With that consistency comes money to defend - which is exactly what The Machine has, having reached the Quarter-Final two years ago, losing to eventual champion Luke Humphries.
James will get his campaign underway on the main stage, facing Mickey Mansell in the fifth game of the afternoon session.
The touted legend that follows just behind him in the rankings is, the one and only, Gary Anderson.
The Flying Scotsman occupies 20th in the rankings, just one spot and £1k back from The Machine.
He picked up a lone crown in 2025, collecting it at PC7, beating Cammy's opening round opponent, Adam Lipscombe, in the final.
He also reached three Semi-Finals in the season, meaning his place in his "local" event was long since secured.
Like Ross, he needs just one win to defend his money from 2023 - having reached the second round despite a rather evident case of flu.
He's on Stage Two for his opener, facing Mario Vandenbogaerde in game six of the evening.
Our next two players in the rankings are also in consecutive spots - starting with Ian White.
Diamond has been a constant danger in Players Championships for many moons, and proved that again in 2025, reaching a Final and a Semi-final, as he safely qualified in 42nd position.
He's already defended his money from 2023, as he was defeated by Radek Szaganski in his opener in that iteration.
He features in game three of the afternoon session on Stage Two, facing Scott Williams.
Following Diamond in the rankings is Callan Rydz.
A run to the Semi-Final at PC3 was the furthest that The Riot reached in a single event - but his consistency in picking up at least one win in a large number of events has seen him power into Somerset.
Like the gentleman sat directly above him, qualifying was enough to defend 2023's money, as he went out at the hands of Michael van Gerwen in R1.
He faces Kevin Doets on Stage Two in game five of the afternoon session.
And the final Team Unicorn Titan travelling to Butlins is our only debutant at the event, in the form of Darren Beveridge.
Ice Cold has had a superb second year on the Pro Tour, earning nearly double the prize money from his first year, with his best run on the floor coming at PC28, when he reached the Quarter-Finals for the first time at professional level.
His efforts see him seeded 54th for his debut campaign - and he'll feature in the evening session, facing Ryan Searle in game two on Stage Two.
All Main Stage games will be available for UK viewers across ITV - but Stage Two will only be available for streaming via PDCTV.