ANALYSIS: Uncertain times for former World Champions as previous stars risk sliding down the order

Throughout the years, darts has been dominated by English players. From Eric Bristow, to Phil Taylor, to now Luke Humphries and Luke Littler at the top of the rankings. There are currently 43 players on the PDC tour who call themself English, the most out of any nation.

While most people will focus on the players at the top of the pecking order, some are not having as good a time of it. From a former world number one threatened to fall out of the top 32, to a darter who has failed to kick on from a deep run at the World Championships. Here are five English players who are out of form.

Darts can be such a cruel sport. At the start of 2023, Michael Smith stormed to glory at Alexander Palace, winning the Worlds and moving up to number one in the world. Since then, he has been plagued by misfortune, injuries and a lack of form, which has seen him plummet down the order. He has had to deal with arthritis in his right hand, play through a grade 2 AC shoulder injury, and his wrists are not in the best condition after they were both broken when Smith was 19.

He has shown glimpses of his old self in recent times, reaching a UK Open quarter-final earlier this year, and pushing Michael van Gerwen very close in last year's World Matchplay semi-final. These performances have been too inconsistent, and nowhere near enough to keep him up there with the best.

It may get even worse for the 34-year-old, who is in danger of not qualifying for the upcoming World Grand Prix. He recently made headlines for not making it into the Matchplay, and could face the same fate if he cannot make up the £2.75k gap to Ricardo Pietreczko, who currently sits in 16th, by the 28th September. This is major because he is defending £40,000 from his semi-final run two years ago. If he does not get in, then he risks falling closer to the edge of the top 32, with players around him poised to take advantage.

He is also living dangerously in the European Tour order of merit. Placed in 32nd and the last qualifying slot, he needs to get some wins on the tour to cement his place in Dortmund at the end of October. He has five events to confirm his place in the event. While he is not defending much money, there is the risk that players around him will gain more places on him. This is similar to the Players Championship finals, but he sits in a relatively comfortable 35th.

There is a world where Smith could find himself out of the top 32, with £124,000 to defend for the rest of the year. A sad state of affairs for one of the very best players in the world.

Between 2021 and 2023, Cullen finished the year as either the 11th or 12th in the world. In 2021, he had his breakout year, winning the Masters, which earned him a place in the Premier League. He grabbed this opportunity with open arms, going on to miss a match dart in the final against van Gerwen.

The Rockstar has failed to keep up the consistent form he had shown in his rise to the top, now having fallen to 30th in the world, his lowest ranking since 2016. Recently, £50,000 had come off his total after he failed to defend that sum at the World Matchplay, being outclassed by eventual runner-up James Wade.

In a similar fashion to Smith, he is in line to lose the £40k he won in the Grand Prix semi-final two years ago. He currently sits 18th on the Pro Tour order of merit, two positions away from a qualifying slot. To achieve this, he needs to improve his Pro Tour and European tour form. He started the year well on the floor, reaching the final in the first Players championship event before winning in Leicester shortly after. Since then, he has only managed to get to the fourth round once in 16 previous events.

It is a similar fate for the European Tour, where Cullen sits 37th. He needs to gain five extra places in the five remaining events to compete in Dortmund. If he fails to get to these major events or go on a deep run in the Worlds, then there is a huge risk Cullen may drop out of the World's top 40.

It was a dream World Championships for Scott Williams in 2024, getting to the semi-finals before getting battered by Luke Humphries. The run earned him a huge £100k in prize money, and put hs name firmly on the darts map. Since then, Shaggy has struggled to kick on. He finished last year in 36th, but could fall a lot further away if he cannot defend some of that prize money at the end of the year.

He currently sits 37th in the order of merit with just under £250k. He is defending almost £120k, mostly from the World Championships. If he cannot successfully defend most of that, then he will drop considerably down the rankings. At the moment, that drop will place him just inside the top 50, but with £88k to defend in 2026, the looming threat of Williams losing his tour card becomes more realistic.

He has had some positive moments this year, making three Players Championship semi-finals, going on to lose in a final in Leicester to Wade. He sits 40th in the Players Championships order of merit, looking good to be in the Players Championships. This does not replicate in Europe, with only one competition qualified for, which ended in the second round.

If he does not find some consistent form or go on another deep run, then 2026 could be a make-or-break year for Shaggy.

In the post-World Championship order of merit, Rob Cross sits in 23rd. A substantial fall-off from a player has been placed with the best in the world since his 2018 World Championships heroics. Despite this, with the £100k coming off his ranking ahead of the 2026 event, this will see Voltage drop to his lowest position since becoming a World Champion.

The 34-year-old started the year in the top four, confirming his place in the Premier League. Since then, he has not made the strides that he would have hoped to. A shock second-round exit in the World Championships was followed by disappointing runs in the World Masters, UK Open and the Matchplay.

Along with the World Champs money being taken off his record, Cross has to also defend £70k from the 2023 Grand Slam final. He will need to qualify for the event to have any chance of defending that prize money.

In total, Cross still has to defend over £200k from 2023, as the pressure builds on the former electrician to turn his form around and start winning majors again.

Callan Rydz showed what he is capable of at the start of the year by getting to the quarter-finals of the World championships, only losing out to van Gerwen in a tight game. It was expected that the 27-year-old would find the form that put him on the darting map back in 2022 for similar reasons, but similar to then it has not worked out like that.

The only major he has played in was the UK Open, where he reached the third round. He failed to qualify for the Matchplay, with early round exits in Pro Tours and a failure to win on the Euro Tour. He has a £6k buffer for the Players Championship finals, which should be enough for him to qualify unless something really bad happens.

There is no worry about losing his tour card or slipping too far down the rankings as of yet for Rydz, but with over £100k in prize money to defend next year, he needs to find a consistent streak of form to carry on challenging the big events and players.