“If you took £2 million away from Luke Littler's total, he would still be world No. 1” - The staggering gap between Luke Littler and the chasing pack exposed

The World Matchplay is not only the second-biggest ranking tournament of the PDC season, but also one of the year’s key moments for the world rankings. With £225,000 for the winner and sizable payouts for all other participants, the tournament in Blackpool traditionally has major consequences for the PDC Order of Merit.

On his YouTube channel Edgar TV, former professional darter Matthew Edgar extensively analysed all the shifts in the world rankings. He discussed not only the winners and losers, but also looked ahead to the rest of the season and the battle for key positions, such as a spot in the world’s top 16 and even the Premier League Darts.

The first changes are already visible outside the top 32. Brendan Dolan drops two places because he did not compete at the World Matchplay, while Mensur Suljovic and Kim Huybrechts each climb one place.

According to Edgar, these are exactly the moments when the impact of a major ranking tournament becomes clear. "The World Matchplay is over, and as the second biggest ranking event on the PDC calendar, there's been plenty of movement in the rankings."

One of the biggest losers is Dimitri Van den Bergh. The Belgian slips no fewer than seven places and, according to Edgar, finds himself in a worrying situation.

“He's now in danger of falling outside the world's top 64, which means he'll be looking over his shoulder in terms of keeping his Tour Card. There are only 10 Players Championship events left, starting this week in Hildesheim.”

Raymond van Barneveld also loses a position. The Dutchman was a World Matchplay participant a few years ago, but missed out this time in Blackpool, causing a slight drop.

On the other hand, Niko Springer is on the rise. The German climbs to 39th in the world rankings, a new personal best. “That is the highest ranking position ever for Niko Springer,” Edgar states. “He's still not defending any prize money yet, so everything he earns is simply added to his Order of Merit. He'll start defending money soon, but right now it's all profit, which means he's going to keep climbing.”

Edgar therefore expects Springer to continue moving up for the time being. “Niko Springer is definitely someone to keep an eye on.”

The World Matchplay also triggered significant shifts within the top 32. Daryl Gurney drops three places after missing the tournament, while Dave Chisnall gains one thanks to his late qualification and participation, despite his first-round loss to Wessel Nijman. Andrew Gilding fell two places because he failed to match his quarterfinal run from a few years ago.

Edgar also had praise for Cameron Menzies. The Scot knocked out Luke Humphries, reached the second round, and ultimately had to withdraw from his match against Ross Smith. “Cameron Menzies is perhaps a little unfortunate. He beat Luke Humphries in the opening round and reached the second round. Had he beaten Ross Smith as well, he could have climbed even higher.”

The biggest climber in this part of the rankings, however, is Dirk van Duijvenbode. Thanks to his semifinal run, the Dutchman rises from 28th to 23rd in the world. According to Edgar, this could prove a pivotal moment in the career of ‘Aubergenius.’ “That semi-final run could be career-defining in the short term.”

By that, Edgar mainly refers to the fact that Van Duijvenbode seems to be returning to his old level after a long period of injuries. "After returning from injury he'd become something of a soft draw in the big events, but not anymore."

His win over Gary Anderson was especially impressive. “ He played extremely well, especially against Gary Anderson. Is this the start of Dirk working his way back towards the world's top 16? That's the interesting question.”

Nathan Aspinall remains firmly in 16th because his direct rivals made little ground. Jermaine Wattimena, Luke Woodhouse, Martin Schindler, Krzysztof Ratajski, and Damon Heta all earned only first-round prize money, leaving the gap to Aspinall largely unchanged. “Aspinall is still around £21,000 clear."

Ross Smith, by contrast, strengthened his position by reaching the quarterfinals. For Chris Dobey, Edgar does see potential issues emerging. “Chris Dobey, though, is starting to edge closer to the trapdoor, and that's significant.”

According to Edgar, a place in the top 16 is worth far more than just a nice number next to your name. "The benefits of being in the world's top 16 are huge. You get seeding, guaranteed places in events like the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, probably the Grand Slam, and you also receive seeded positions on the European Tour. Once you're established in the top 16, it's much harder to fall out."

Another player taking a huge step again is Wessel Nijman. The Dutchman climbs to 13th in the world rankings, setting a new personal best.

Edgar, however, expects this is far from the final destination. “Another career-high ranking, and I honestly think he'll continue climbing.” In fact, Edgar sees Nijman as a future Premier League player. “I think we're heading towards talking about him as a future Premier League player. That's the direction I see him going.”

Gary Anderson also benefits from his quarterfinal and rises one spot at the expense of Ryan Searle. His opening match, in which he averaged 109, makes Edgar optimistic. "It suggests there could still be even more to come from Gary.”

Josh Rock also earns praise after his quarterfinal. “Josh Rock's quarter-final run was an excellent response after what happened in the Premier League. It was a really good bounce-back.”

The most striking development at the top of the rankings concerns Michael van Gerwen. Due to his second-round defeat, the three-time world champion drops to seventh in the world. According to Edgar, that’s historic. “It's huge. Michael van Gerwen is now world No. 7, the lowest ranking he's had for around 13 years.”

That slide could have major consequences. “It means, under the current rules, he's no longer guaranteed a Premier League place because only the top four qualify automatically.”

And that’s not all. Edgar points out that Van Gerwen has a lot of prize money to defend in the coming months. “There's also plenty more prize money for him to defend. Looking at the provisional end-of-year rankings, he's actually outside the world's top 16."

The World Championship could be decisive. “He's still got to defend his runner-up finish at the World Championship.” Still, Edgar doesn’t expect Van Gerwen to drop out of the top 16 entirely. “I think dropping out of the top 16 altogether is unlikely, but I do think sliding towards the bottom end of the top 16 is a very realistic possibility.”

Gerwyn Price’s run to the final lifts the Welshman three places. He rises from seventh to fourth in the world rankings, returning to a position that, under current rules, grants automatic Premier League entry.

“What a performance," Edgar stated. "It was his first major final for three years and a fantastic week overall.”

Gian van Veen also came close to a huge leap in the world rankings. The Dutchman could even have taken second place from Luke Humphries had he won his semifinal.

Yet Edgar sees the current situation as favourable for both Humphries and Van Veen. Humphries again had little prize money to defend at the World Matchplay. “Over the next couple of years he won't have much prize money to defend from this event.”

Van Veen is also in a strong position. “Van Veen also doesn't have much major prize money to defend until next year's European Championship, so he's firmly established near the top as well.”

As a result, Edgar believes Price’s fourth place looks like the only spot that could realistically change in the short term. “Realistically, the only position likely to change in the short term is Gerwyn Price's No. 4 ranking, and even then someone would need a very deep run or a title to overtake him—which, as we all know at the moment, isn't easy with Luke Littler around.”

The conclusion of Edgar’s analysis focused entirely on Luke Littler. The reigning world champion added another major to his tally and extended his lead over the field to unprecedented levels. “What a tournament he's had. He smashed records all week."

According to Edgar, Littler has now amassed more than £3 million in ranking prize money. The gaps are now almost beyond comprehension. “If you took £2 million away from Luke Littler's total—£1 million more than the current world No. 2 has—he would still be world No. 1.”

And that’s still not all. “If you combined the prize money of the world No. 2 and No. 3 players, they still wouldn't overtake him."

Even the combined totals of numbers two, three, and four are still not enough, according to Edgar. “Add in world No. 4 as well, and they still wouldn't go past him. It's ridiculous.”

Edgar sees clear parallels with Phil Taylor’s absolute peak. “We're talking about Phil Taylor-era dominance, which I honestly didn't think we'd ever see again.”

He still closes with an optimistic outlook. According to Edgar, Littler isn’t the only exceptional talent of the new generation. “The exciting thing, though, is that Luke Littler isn't the only talent coming through. There's an incredible conveyor belt of young players.”