World Matchplay 2024 qualifying race: Luke Littler almost certain of debut after five tournaments already

Prior to the start of the Pro Tour season, it was really not a question of if but when Luke Littler would secure his debut at the World Matchplay. However, with half a year behind in qualifying, 'The Nuke' had to play some serious catch-up.

By winning a Players Championship title right away in February, the 17-year-old Englishman was already able to add 15,000 pounds right away. In the three subsequent floor tournaments, he earned another 4,500 pounds, making up more than half of his deficit in the qualifying spots within a month.

The big blow, however, came last weekend at the Belgian Darts Open. Littler managed to win this Euro Tour tournament, earning 30,000 pounds. As a result, Littler is at once fifth on the sanctioned Pro Tour ranking for the World Matchplay. With a lead of 21,750 pounds in seventeenth place, Littler is extremely unlikely to miss out.

The Pro Tour rankings are currently led by Gary Anderson, while Ricardo Pietreczko and Gian van Veen are all but certain to make their debut in Blackpool. Raymond van Barneveld, Cameron Menzies, Scott Williams among others sit just outside, while Richard Veenstra for instance could yet make his debut with a few months ahead.

PDC Order of Merit

Rank - Name - Prize money (in units of £1000)

1 Luke Humphries 1394.75

2 Michael van Gerwen 1008.5

3 Michael Smith 984.75

4 Gerwyn Price 579.25

5 Nathan Aspinall 574.5

6 Rob Cross 539.25

7 Peter Wright 467

8 Dimitri Van den Bergh 462.75

9 Jonny Clayton 448.5

10 Dave Chisnall 448

11 Damon Heta 434.75

12 Joe Cullen 387.5

13 Danny Noppert 376.5

14 Chris Dobey 370.5

15 Dirk van Duijvenbode 363.25

16 Ross Smith 357.75

----------

17 Stephen Bunting 349.25

18 Andrew Gilding 320.75

19 Ryan Searle 312.5

20 James Wade 310.25

21 Josh Rock 305.25

22 Gary Anderson 290

23 Gabriel Clemens 288.5

24 Luke Littler 268.25

25 Krzysztof Ratajski 267.75

26 Martin Schindler 257

27 Jose de Sousa 239

28 Brendan Dolan 232.75

29 Daryl Gurney 232.5

30 Raymond van Barneveld 221.75

31 Scott Williams 181.25

32 Ricardo Pietreczko 167

PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit

Rank - Name - Prize money (in units of £1000)

1 Gary Anderson 71.5

2 Ricardo Pietreczko 70.5

3 Ryan Searle 69.5

4 Ryan Joyce 54.5

5 Luke Littler 50.75

6 Stephen Bunting 50.75

7 Gian van Veen 48

8 Krzysztof Ratajski 43

9 Josh Rock 40.75

10 Callan Rydz 35.25

11 James Wade 35

12 Daryl Gurney 35

13 Andrew Gilding 32.75

14 Mike De Decker 31

15 Luke Woodhouse 30.5

16 Brendan Dolan 30.25

----------

17 Kevin Doets 29.5

18 Jose de Sousa 29.5

19 Cameron Menzies 26.25

20 Gabriel Clemens 26

21 Raymond van Barneveld 25.75

22 Martin Lukeman 24.75

23 Jim Williams 24.5

24 Martin Schindler 24.25

25 Ritchie Edhouse 23.75

26 Scott Williams 22.25

27 Richard Veenstra 22

28 Jermaine Wattimena 21

29 Ricky Evans 19.25

30 Niels Zonneveld 19

31 Stephen Burton 18.75

32 Mickey Mansell 18.75