Luke Littler's Minehead gamble does not pay off, sat 141st in Order of Merit as return to ProTour likely needed to keep clean sweep alive

Tuesday, 25 August 2026 at 20:22

The Players Championship series comprises a total of 34 tournaments which take place over Hildesheim, Wigan, Leicester, Milton Keynes and new for 2026, a trip to Den Bosch.

It sees the top names including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen in action over the course of the year with the PDC ProTour being seen as the so-called Bread and Butter tournaments that help towards qualifying for most majors including the PDC World Darts Championship.

But the Players Championship Order of Merit is the one to watch for this series as it sees the top 64 players over the course of the season qualify for the Players Championship Finals which take place in Minehead at the end of November.

It is determined based on total prize money won by each player in the Players Championship events throughout the year. The top 64 qualify and it also spells some issues as it did in 2025 for the likes of Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall and Luke Humphries who had to qualify late. Michael van Gerwen for instance did not qualify at all.

Wattimena surges up rankings as Littler remains well outside Minehead spots

The Players Championship Order of Merit has been updated after the latest event which was won by a certain Jermaine Wattimena who defeated Kevin Doets in the final 8-6 to seal his third crown on the ProTour.

But perhaps bigger than his win over Doets was his one over Littler who remains stranded on 141st and even if he wins tomorrow he will not be in the top 64. This means that for Littler despite adding £4,000, he is still well short of the £26,250 needed as of right now. For reference he would've won £30,000 if he claimed both titles and that perhaps would've seen him in, but he still would face a nervy wait.

As it stands, he will need to return on further weekends to make Minehead so mission impossible has to continue for another sequel. In terms of the other stories, Kevin Doets continues to shine and he is up to second despite losing in the final usurping Chris Dobey.

Littler's Minehead gamble does not bear fruit.

Luke Woodhouse too has been excellent all year. He lost in the semi-finals and he is up to 4th. While Wattimena in winning the title is up to sixth spot. Ross Smith and Beau Greaves the ones to fall to 7th and 8th. Further down, Joe Cullen now in 17th goes up three spots to 17th. While Dirk van Duijvenbode is up five to 19th.

Kim Huybrechts and Cameron Menzies surge to 33rd and 34th up four and seven spots. While Michael van Gerwen after another early loss falls to 36th down three spots.

Luke Humphries too is down four spots to 38th. While Gerwyn Price in not playing is down to 45th. Usually a ProTour stalwart, he might need to put that right to avoid sweating over Minehead. Like Gian van Veen will be going down four spots to 52nd putting himself in further jeopardy.

Gary Anderson too down to 55th down four spots. Josh Rock is also currently not in neither are Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Raymond van Barneveld. All went up five and eight spots but are still only just in the top 90. Littler's haul today up nine spots.

Players Championship Order of Merit after Event 27

(as of dartsrankings.com)

Prize money in the tables is in units of £1,000.

Rk	Name	Prize Money
1	Wessel Nijman	144
2	Kevin Doets	95.5
3	Chris Dobey	93.25
4	Luke Woodhouse	81
5	Andrew Gilding	77.5
6	Jermaine Wattimena	68.75
7	Ross Smith	65.5
8	Beau Greaves	60.25
9	Sebastian Bialecki	56
10	Rob Cross	55.5
11	Jonny Clayton	54.5
12	Ryan Searle	53.25
13	Stephen Bunting	50
14	Cristo Reyes	48
15	Danny Noppert	48
16	James Wade	48
17	Joe Cullen	47
18	Gabriel Clemens	46.75
19	Dirk van Duijvenbode	46.25
20	William O'Connor	46.25
21	Jeffrey de Graaf	45.75
22	Krzysztof Ratajski	45.5
23	Max Hopp	45.25
24	Dave Chisnall	45
25	Tom Bissell	43.25
26	Joe Hunt	42.75
27	Damon Heta	42.25
28	Richard Veenstra	42
29	Karel Sedlacek	42
30	Maik Kuivenhoven	42
31	Niko Springer	41.5
32	Justin Hood	40.5
33	Kim Huybrechts	39
34	Cameron Menzies	38.25
35	Tom Sykes	38
36	Michael van Gerwen	37.75
37	Mickey Mansell	37
38	Luke Humphries	37
39	Callan Rydz	36.25
40	Rob Owen	35.5
41	Daryl Gurney	35
42	Christian Kist	34.5
43	Mensur Suljovic	34.25
44	Charlie Manby	34
45	Gerwyn Price	34
46	Darryl Pilgrim	33
47	Connor Scutt	33
48	Niels Zonneveld	31.25
49	James Hurrell	31.25
50	Alexander Merkx	30.5
51	Alan Soutar	30.25
52	Gian van Veen	30.25
53	Madars Razma	30.25
54	David Sharp	30
55	Gary Anderson	29.75
56	Darius Labanauskas	28.75
57	Michael Smith	28
58	Ritchie Edhouse	27.75
59	Brendan Dolan	27.75
60	Martin Schindler	27.5
61	Henry Coates	26.75
62	Jim Long	26.75
63	Keane Barry	26.25
64	Mario Vandenbogaerde	26.25
65	Mervyn King	25.75
66	Shane McGuirk	25.25
67	Bradley Brooks	24.25
68	Wesley Plaisier	24.25
69	Tommy Morris	24.25
70	Cam Crabtree	24
71	Jimmy van Schie	24
72	Andy Boulton	24
73	Martijn Dragt	23.25
74	Ian White	23.25
75	Josh Rock	23
76	Jurjen van der Velde	22.75
77	Mike De Decker	22.75
78	Jeffrey Sparidaans	21.75
79	Thibault Tricole	21.75
80	Lukas Wenig	21.75
81	Nick Kenny	20.5
82	Ryan Joyce	20.5
83	Cor Dekker	20.5
84	Adam Gawlas	20.25
85	Scott Waites	20
86	Niall Culleton	19.75
87	Owen Bates	19.5
88	Peter Wright	19.25
89	Nathan Aspinall	19.25
90	Jack Tweddell	19.25
91	Derek Coulson	19
92	Tommy Lishman	18.75
93	Viktor Tingstrom	18.5
94	Adam Lipscombe	18.25
95	Marvin van Velzen	18
96	Arno Merk	17.75
97	Ricardo Pietreczko	17.25
98	Leon Weber	17.25
99	Raymond van Barneveld	16.75
100	Chris Landman	16.75
101	Ryan Meikle	16.75
102	Adam Paxton	16.5
103	Stephen Burton	16.5
104	Tyler Thorpe	16
105	Scott Williams	16
106	Sietse Lap	16
107	Benjamin Pratnemer	16
108	Adam Leek	16
109	Jeffrey De Zwaan	15.75
110	Thomas Lovely	15.25
111	Kai Gotthardt	14.5
112	Harry Ward	14.25
113	Steve Lennon	13.75
114	Stephen Rosney	13.75
115	Rhys Griffin	13.75
116	Stefan Bellmont	13.25
117	Dimitri Van den Bergh	13.25
118	Nathan Potter	13
119	Yorick Hofkens	12.5
120	Carl Sneyd	11.5
121	Greg Ritchie	11.5
122	Tavis Dudeney	11.5
123	Ricky Evans	10.5
124	Adam Warner	10
125	Daniel Ayres	9.75
126	Pascal Rupprecht	9.5
127	Samuel Price	8.75
128	Dennie Olde Kalter	7.75
129	Dominik Gruellich	7.75
130	Martin Lukeman	7
131	Oskar Lukasiak	6.5
132	Lewis Pride	6.5
133	Maximilian Czerwinski	6.25
134	Marvin Kraft	6.25
135	Stefaan Henderyck	5.75
136	Jack Aldridge	5.25
137	Christopher Wickenden	5
138	Tytus Kanik	4.5
139	Oliver Mitchell	4.25
140	Daniel Klose	4.25
141	Luke Littler	4
142	Callum Goffin	4
143	Aden Kirk	3.75
144	Filip Bereza	3.75
145	Ted Evetts	2.5
146	Rusty-Jake Rodriguez	2.5
147	Gilbert van der Meijden	1.25
148	Pero Ljubic	1.25
149	Danny Trueman	1.25
150	Matthias Ehlers	1.25

Samuel GillChief Content Officer

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.

In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.

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