European Tour Order of Merit Update: Ross Smith snatches lead from Josh Rock after maiden title, big names languish outside top 32

PDC
Monday, 25 May 2026 at 08:52
Ross Smith (7)
It was a dramatic end to the International Darts Open, and a brilliant on of you are Ross Smith. The former European Champion broke his European Tour duct by defeating Ryan Searle 8-3 in the final to clinch the title and break new ground.
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‘Smudger’ had been perilously close many times before, reaching and losing four finals before. However, his day with destiny finally struck and he clinched a maiden European Tour title which subsequently moved him to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit with a massive £75,000 won.
As it occurred, Josh Rock, the winner of the Austrian Darts Open, drops down to second spot thanks to an early exit hampering his progress in Riesa. He sticks on the £61,000 he already earned this year.
The gap to Smith is a seismic one. Although qualification for the European Championship is a small one in his mind barring the position he is in, the top spot he owned for a couple of weeks has been swiped away by the Englishman who is top by £14,000 thanks to his heroics in Riesa.
Wessel Nijman seals the top three. He exited early to the hands of James Wade but still managed to extend his gap to the absent Gerwyn Price. The four-time champion was a late withdrawal, pulling away any chance of gaining any money on the European Tour.

Little movement for big names

Similar to Price, Nathan Aspinall and Luke Humphries did not bother to show up. They stay fifth and sixth in the standings albeit with one Euro Tour title in 2026 to their name.
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Danny Noppert’s progress was minimal as he slots into seventh before the world number one Luke Littler appears on the ranking. The two-time world champion has only played in two events but partially due to his title in the Poland Darts Open he fits in at eighth.
Dutch duo Kevin Doets and Niels Zonneveld complete the top 10. Michael van Gerwen can only manage 13th, behind Jonny Clayton in 12th who did not make the trip. Martin Schinlder and world number three Gian van Veen follow close behind. The world Championship finalist won his first match as the number one seed on the European Tour although he would bow out at the quarter-final stage to a certain Searle. The Englishman still waits for a maiden Euro Tour title but slots in at 17th.
Gian van Veen celebrating on stage
Gian van Veen has risen into the top 16 thanks to winning a brace of games

Big names have work to do

As we go down the order, the 2025 champion Stephen Bunting slots in at 32nd and has work to do over the next few months with James Wade a position ahead of 'The Bullet.' Joe Cullen moves out of the top 32 with Dave Chisnall languishing just behind in 35th. He could only manage averages in the mid-80s in a torrid weekend for the eight-time European Tour champion.
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The likes of Peter Wright and Mike De Decker sit 76th and 82nd with just £3,500 earned. Raymond van Barneveld is not even in the top 100.
The European Tour continues on the weekend of May 29, 30, and 31 with the Baltic Sea Darts Open in Kiel. Price begins the tournament as defending champion after defeating Gary Anderson 8–3 in last year’s final.

European Tour Order of Merit after International Darts Open

RkNamePrize Money
1Ross Smith75
2Josh Rock61
3Wessel Nijman58
4Gerwyn Price50
5Nathan Aspinall48
6Luke Humphries45
7Danny Noppert41
8Luke Littler40
9Kevin Doets38.5
10Niels Zonneveld38.5
11Krzysztof Ratajski34
12Jonny Clayton33
13Michael van Gerwen31
14Martin Schindler31
15Gian van Veen28
16Chris Dobey28
17Ryan Searle25
18Jermaine Wattimena25
19Ryan Joyce24.5
20Cristo Reyes24
21Kim Huybrechts23.5
22Andrew Gilding23
23Niko Springer23
24Rob Cross22
25Cameron Menzies22
26Daryl Gurney22
27Luke Woodhouse20
28Michael Smith20
29William O'Connor19
30Damon Heta18.5
31James Wade18
32Stephen Bunting18
33Dirk van Duijvenbode16.5
34Joe Cullen15.5
35Dave Chisnall14
36Sebastian Bialecki11.5
37Ian White11.5
38Mickey Mansell11
39Madars Razma10.5
40Karel Sedlacek10.5
41Lukas Wenig9.5
42Keane Barry9.5
43Paul Krohne9.5
44Ricky Evans9
45Ricardo Pietreczko8.5
46Mensur Suljovic8.5
47Boris Krcmar8.5
48Andy Baetens8
49Richard Veenstra8
50Jeffrey De Zwaan7.5
51Connor Scutt7
52Patrik Kovacs7
53Maik Kuivenhoven6
54James Hurrell6
55Bradley Brooks5.5
55Charlie Manby5.5
57Darius Labanauskas5.5
58Alan Soutar5.5
59Marcel Hausotter5.5
60Michael Unterbuchner5.5
61Ritchie Edhouse5.5
62Adam Gawlas5.5
63Jonas Masalin4
64Daniel Klose4
65Jan Schmidt4
66Dragutin Horvat4
66Mario Vandenbogaerde4
68Justin Hood4
69Johan Engstrom4
70Tyler Thorpe4
71Jeffrey de Graaf4
72Chris Landman4
73Finn Behrens4
74Anton Ostlund4
75Thomas Lovely4
76Peter Wright3.5
76Rob Owen3.5
78Oskar Lukasiak3.5
78Valters Melderis3.5
80Brendan Dolan3.5
81Ryan Meikle3.5
82Darryl Pilgrim3.5
82Mike De Decker3.5
84Jaimy Van de Weerd2
84Mio Varila2
84Rhys Griffin2
84Samuel Price2
88Benjamin Pratnemer2
88Jim Long2
88Mervyn King2
88Owen Bates2
88Peter Kelemen2
88Tom Sykes2
94Jason Riedtke2
94Jimmy van Schie2
94Max Hopp2
94Nandor Major2
94Teemu Harju2
99Christian Kist2
99Gyorgy Jehirszki2
99Jeffrey Sparidaans2
99Liam Maendl-Lawrance2
99Tom Bissell2
104Aaron Hardy2
104Gabriel Clemens2
104Nick Kenny2
104Nick Zwittnigg2
104Zoran Lerchbacher2
109Jurjen van der Velde2
109Michael Hurtz2
109Petr Krivka2
109Raymond van Barneveld2
109Robin Masino2
114Adam Lipscombe2
114Cor Dekker2
114Kevin Troppmann2
114Stephen Burton2
118Francois Schweyen2
118Jani Haavisto2
118Pascal Devroey2
118Scott Williams2
118Sietse Lap2
118Thibault Tricole2
124Cam Crabtree2
124Florian Hempel2
124Florian Preis2
124Kai Gotthardt2
124Shane McGuirk2
124Wojciech Brulinski2
130Andreas Harrysson2
130Callan Rydz2
130Carl Sneyd2
130Dawid Robak2
130Krzysztof Kciuk2
130Marvin Kraft2
130Miroslaw Grudziecki2
130Piotr Maciejczak2
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