PDC Order of Merit Update: Luke Littler rises past Van Barneveld to 28th in world rankings after Belgian Darts Open title win

Luke Littler received the top prize of 30,000 pounds last weekend after his final victory at the Belgian Darts Open. 'The Nuke' thus managed to crown his debut on the European Tour with a title.

It allowed Littler to move up another two spots in the world rankings. The 17-year-old teenage sensation passed Raymond van Barneveld and Daryl Gurney, which means he now occupies the 28th spot. Know this; the PDC Order of Merit is a ranking based on performance over a 24-month period. Littler has already amassed £267,000 in ranking money in just three months.

''Hope his arrogance is punished'' - Ricardo Pietreczko lashes out angrily at Luke Littler

Littler is still 114,750 pounds behind for a placing in the world's top-16. For the summer, this does not yet seem a realistic option, but a final victory at the World Matchplay in July, for example, could put the Englishman in the top-16.

There are some minor changes in the top-10 of the PDC Order of Merit. Gewryn Price regained the fifth spot from Rob Cross, while Damon Heta moved up two spots and is now seventh. Dimitri van den Bergh just lost two spots and is now ranked number nine in the world.

Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode swapped places, making Noppert now the second Dutchman behind Michael van Gerwen in spot 12. James Wade is back in the top-20, this at the expense of Josh Rock. Gary Anderson passed Krzysztof Ratajski and Martin Schindler, which means 'The Flying Scotsman' now holds the 23rd spot.

Ricardo Pietreczko is nearing a debut in the top-32 of the world rankings. The German, who had an altercation with his opponent after his lost semifinal against Luke Littler, is now in 34th place. Jermaine Wattimena moved up three places after his quarterfinal finish and is now 44th.

"I lost the two legs after I hit the nine so I'm relieved": Luke Littler happy nine-dart finish didn't cost him at Belgian Darts Open

PDC Order of Merit as of March 11

Position	Name	Prize money
1	Luke Humphries	£1,531,500
2	Michael van Gerwen	£1,102,000
3	Michael Smith	£1,064,250
4	Nathan Aspinall	£639,000
5	Gerwyn Price	£603,000
6	Rob Cross	£599,750
7	Damon Heta	£502,500
8	Peter Wright	£498,250
9	Dimitri Van den Bergh	£495,000
10	Dave Chisnall	£488,750
11	Jonny Clayton	£487,500
12	Danny Noppert	£436,250
13	Dirk van Duijvenbode	£431,750
14	Joe Cullen	£412,500
15	Chris Dobey	£395,750
16	Stephen Bunting	£381,750
17	Ross Smith	£377,750
18	Andrew Gilding	£365,000
19	Ryan Searle	£359,750
20	James Wade	£334,000
21	Josh Rock	£332,500
22	Gabriel Clemens	£320,000
23	Gary Anderson	£300,750
24	Martin Schindler	£298,750
25	Krzysztof Ratajski	£294,250
26	Jose De Sousa	£270,250
27	Brendan Dolan	£269,000
28	Luke Littler	£267,000
29	Daryl Gurney	£256,500
30	Raymond van Barneveld	£239,000
31	Scott Williams	£208,000
32	Kim Huybrechts	£178,750
33	Martin Lukeman	£176,250
34	Ricardo Pietreczko	£172,750
34	Callan Rydz	£172,750
36	Madars Razma	£172,250
37	Luke Woodhouse	£160,000
38	Ryan Joyce	£156,500
39	Mike De Decker	£150,750
40	Gian van Veen	£143,500
41	Jim Williams	£139,250
42	Ricky Evans	£137,500
43	Alan Soutar	£119,500
44	Jermaine Wattimena	£118,500
45	Simon Whitlock	£116,750
46	Rowby-John Rodriguez	£114,750
47	Matt Campbell	£114,000
48	Steve Beaton	£112,000
49	Keane Barry	£111,500
50	William O'Connor	£108,750
51	Mickey Mansell	£100,000
52	Cameron Menzies	£99,000
53	Adrian Lewis	£96,000
54	Vincent van der Voort	£93,500
55	Boris Krcmar	£91,750
56	Mervyn King	£88,250
56	Florian Hempel	£88,250
58	Mensur Suljovic	£88,000
58	Jamie Hughes	£88,000
60	Ritchie Edhouse	£87,750
61	Kevin Doets	£87,500
62	Ryan Meikle	£86,750
63	Adam Gawlas	£85,750
64	Ian White	£80,000
65	Richard Veenstra	£76,000
66	Niels Zonneveld	£61,000
67	Lee Evans	£51,000
68	Dylan Slevin	£45,250
69	Maik Kuivenhoven	£33,750
69	Keegan Brown	£33,750
71	Stephen Burton	£31,750
72	Jeffrey De Zwaan	£31,000
73	Daniel Klose	£30,750
74	Karel Sedlacek	£25,500
75	Arron Monk	£25,000
76	Robert Owen	£24,000
77	Jeffrey Sparidaans	£22,500
78	Graham Usher	£22,250
79	Pascal Rupprecht	£22,000
80	Jurjen van der Velde	£21,750
81	Nick Kenny	£20,750
82	Adam Smith-Neale	£18,750
83	Graham Hall	£18,500
84	Josh Payne	£18,000
85	Ronny Huybrechts	£15,250
86	Geert Nentjes	£15,000
87	Owen Roelofs	£12,500
88	Danny van Trijp	£11,500
89	Adam Warner	£11,000
90	Robbie Knops	£10,750
91	Christian Perez	£9,500
92	Berry van Peer	£9,000
93	Callum Goffin	£8,750
94	James Hurrell	£7,750
95	Steve Lennon	£7,500
96	Mario Vandenbogaerde	£6,500
97	Jacques Labre	£6,250
98	Benjamin Drue Reus	£6,000
98	Andy Baetens	£6,000
100	Wessel Nijman	£5,000
100	Leighton Bennett	£5,000
102	Lukas Wenig	£4,500
102	Brett Claydon	£4,500
102	Matthew Dennant	£4,500
102	Patrick Geeraets	£4,500
102	Paul Krohne	£4,500
107	Chris Landman	£4,250
108	Thibault Tricole	£4,000
108	Danny Lauby	£4,000
110	Joshua Richardson	£3,500
110	Rhys Griffin	£3,500
110	Oskar Lukasiak	£3,500
113	Michele Turetta	£3,000
114	Andreas Harrysson	£2,500
114	Tim Wolters	£2,500
114	Leonard Gates	£2,500
114	Scott Mitchell	£2,500
114	Haupai Puha	£2,500
114	Darren Beveridge	£2,500
114	George Killington	£2,500
114	Dom Taylor	£2,500
114	Nathan Rafferty	£2,500
114	Adam Hunt	£2,500
124	Owen Bates	£2,000
124	William Borland	£2,000
124	Danny Jansen	£2,000
127	Wesley Plaisier	£1,500
127	Michael Taylor	£1,500
127	Jarred Cole	£1,500
127	Joe Croft	£1,500
127	John Henderson	£1,500
127	Radek Szaganski	£1,500
133	Jeroen Caron	£1,250
133	Romeo Grbavac	£1,250
133	Born Van Put	£1,250
133	Geert De Vos	£1,250
133	Steven Strobbe	£1,250
138	John Haines	£1,000
138	Tom Lonsdale	£1,000
138	Harry Lane	£1,000
138	Ron Meulenkamp	£1,000
138	Jenson Walker	£1,000
138	Robert Grundy	£1,000
138	Bradley Brooks	£1,000
138	Jack Male	£1,000
138	Jitse Van der Wal	£1,000
138	Jules van Dongen	£1,000