Michael van Gerwen dramatically missed out on a spot in the final of the Dutch Darts Championship last weekend. 'Mighty Mike' lost 6-7 to Jonny Clayton after a 4-0 and 6-4 lead and this defeat may have major consequences.
Van Gerwen has not had to play qualifying tournaments for the Euro Tour tournaments for several years now. That's because the top-16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit is always guaranteed to participate in the Euro Tour tournaments. However, Van Gerwen has now dropped out of that, as he is currently in eighteenth place. He used to be supreme at Pro Tour tournaments, but his last Pro Tour title dates from early May 2023. The Pro Tour rankings are compiled based on performance over a 12-month period, instead of the 24-month period that applies to the world rankings.
However, the PDC has established a safety net this year for players who fall out of the top-16 Pro Tour rankings, as Premier League players such as Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall are also not among 16 best Pro Tour players. As of the 2024 season, the top-16 world-ranked players will also receive invitations to the Euro Tour tournaments.
However, there is still a substantial difference between qualifying for a Euro Tour tournament via the Pro Tour ranking, and qualifying based on world ranking position. Players who qualify via the Pro Tour are given protected status in the draw for a Euro Tour tournament and only have to start the tournament from the second round.
The players who obtain a spot via the regular Order of Merit do have to start from the first round. They also get a random spot in the tournament schedule. Basically Van Gerwen will have to play one round earlier and thus one day earlier in the Euro Tour tournaments from the ninth and tenth Euro Tour tournaments.
Nevertheless, Van Gerwen still has a small chance to be among the top-16 seeded players. Should two players finish above him, which happens regularly on the Euro Tours, 'Mighty Mike' will still advance. However, there is a chance that fans at the German Darts Championship (August 30-September 1) and the Flanders Darts Trophy (September 6-8) will be able to see the triple world champion at work on Friday instead of a cushy Saturday spot.
Qualifying race for Euro Tour 9 & 10
Position | Name | Prize money |
1 | Luke Humphries | £163,250 |
2 | Dave Chisnall | £125,250 |
3 | Gary Anderson | £124,250 |
4 | Gerwyn Price | £117,250 |
4 | Damon Heta | £117,250 |
6 | Danny Noppert | £115,500 |
7 | Josh Rock | £106,250 |
8 | Stephen Bunting | £101,500 |
9 | Ryan Searle | £101,000 |
10 | Ross Smith | £98,500 |
11 | Rob Cross | £98,250 |
12 | Martin Schindler | £90,250 |
13 | Chris Dobey | £88,750 |
14 | Ricardo Pietreczko | £88,250 |
15 | Luke Littler | £86,000 |
16 | Gian van Veen | £84,500 |
17 | Michael Smith | £78,250 |
18 | Michael van Gerwen | £76,500 |
19 | Ryan Joyce | £76,000 |
20 | Daryl Gurney | £70,500 |
21 | Joe Cullen | £66,250 |
22 | Brendan Dolan | £66,000 |
23 | Luke Woodhouse | £64,000 |
24 | Jonny Clayton | £63,750 |
25 | Raymond van Barneveld | £63,000 |
26 | Krzysztof Ratajski | £61,000 |
27 | James Wade | £58,750 |
28 | Ritchie Edhouse | £58,000 |
29 | Andrew Gilding | £57,500 |
30 | Peter Wright | £57,250 |
31 | Dirk van Duijvenbode | £52,000 |
32 | Callan Rydz | £45,500 |
33 | Kevin Doets | £44,250 |
34 | Mike De Decker | £43,500 |
35 | Gabriel Clemens | £42,250 |
36 | Cameron Menzies | £39,750 |
37 | Jose De Sousa | £37,500 |
38 | Jermaine Wattimena | £37,250 |
39 | Richard Veenstra | £37,000 |
40 | Scott Williams | £35,500 |
41 | Martin Lukeman | £34,750 |
42 | Niels Zonneveld | £32,500 |
43 | William O'Connor | £31,250 |
43 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | £31,250 |
43 | Mickey Mansell | £31,250 |
46 | Nathan Aspinall | £30,750 |
47 | Jim Williams | £28,500 |
48 | Stephen Burton | £28,250 |
49 | Ian White | £28,000 |
50 | Madars Razma | £27,250 |
50 | Ricky Evans | £27,250 |
52 | Daniel Klose | £27,000 |
53 | Karel Sedlacek | £22,750 |
54 | Kim Huybrechts | £22,250 |
55 | Alan Soutar | £22,000 |
56 | Lee Evans | £21,750 |
57 | Maik Kuivenhoven | £21,000 |
58 | Arron Monk | £20,500 |
59 | Florian Hempel | £20,250 |
60 | Rowby-John Rodriguez | £19,750 |
61 | Dylan Slevin | £19,500 |
62 | Ryan Meikle | £19,000 |
63 | Jeffrey De Zwaan | £18,750 |
64 | Mensur Suljovic | £18,500 |
65 | Steve Beaton | £18,000 |
66 | Jeffrey De Graaf | £17,500 |
67 | Robert Owen | £17,250 |
68 | Jamie Hughes | £16,750 |
69 | Keane Barry | £16,500 |
69 | Jeffrey Sparidaans | £16,500 |
71 | Simon Whitlock | £16,000 |
72 | Mervyn King | £15,500 |
73 | Nick Kenny | £15,000 |
74 | Graham Hall | £14,750 |
75 | James Hurrell | £14,250 |
76 | Dom Taylor | £14,000 |
77 | Berry van Peer | £13,500 |
78 | Thibault Tricole | £13,250 |
79 | Ronny Huybrechts | £13,000 |
80 | Matt Campbell | £12,500 |
81 | Vincent van der Voort | £12,250 |
82 | Wessel Nijman | £12,000 |
82 | Christian Perez | £12,000 |
84 | Boris Krcmar | £11,500 |
85 | Andy Baetens | £10,500 |
85 | Leighton Bennett | £10,500 |
87 | Danny van Trijp | £10,250 |
87 | Pascal Rupprecht | £10,250 |
87 | Adam Smith-Neale | £10,250 |
90 | Steve Lennon | £10,000 |
91 | Lukas Wenig | £9,750 |
91 | Chris Landman | £9,750 |
93 | Adam Gawlas | £9,500 |
94 | Danny Jansen | £9,000 |
94 | Jurjen van der Velde | £9,000 |
96 | Franz Roetzsch | £8,500 |
97 | Keegan Brown | £8,000 |
97 | Robbie Knops | £8,000 |
99 | Patrick Geeraets | £7,500 |
99 | Danny Lauby | £7,500 |
101 | Josh Payne | £7,250 |
102 | Mario Vandenbogaerde | £7,000 |
102 | Graham Usher | £7,000 |
104 | Callum Goffin | £6,500 |
104 | Radek Szaganski | £6,500 |
104 | Owen Roelofs | £6,500 |
107 | Jelle Klaasen | £6,000 |
108 | Paul Krohne | £5,500 |
108 | Stefan Bellmont | £5,500 |
108 | Brett Claydon | £5,500 |
111 | Matthew Dennant | £5,250 |
112 | Haupai Puha | £5,000 |
112 | Robert Grundy | £5,000 |
112 | Geert Nentjes | £5,000 |
115 | Romeo Grbavac | £4,750 |
116 | Darren Beveridge | £4,500 |
116 | Owen Bates | £4,500 |
116 | Nathan Rafferty | £4,500 |
116 | Adam Hunt | £4,500 |
116 | Connor Scutt | £4,500 |
116 | Oskar Lukasiak | £4,500 |
122 | George Killington | £4,000 |
122 | William Borland | £4,000 |
122 | Michele Turetta | £4,000 |
125 | Michael Unterbuchner | £3,750 |
126 | Rhys Griffin | £3,500 |
127 | Jitse Van der Wal | £3,250 |
127 | Adam Warner | £3,250 |
129 | Benjamin Drue Reus | £3,000 |
129 | Joshua Richardson | £3,000 |
131 | Jacques Labre | £2,750 |
132 | Moreno Blom | £2,500 |
132 | Marvin van Velzen | £2,500 |
132 | Moritz Hilger | £2,500 |
132 | Sebastian Bialecki | £2,500 |
132 | Richie Burnett | £2,500 |
132 | Darius Labanauskas | £2,500 |
132 | Johan Engstrom | £2,500 |
132 | John Henderson | £2,500 |
132 | Andreas Harrysson | £2,500 |
141 | Jules van Dongen | £2,000 |
141 | Thomas Lovely | £2,000 |
143 | Lee Cocks | £1,500 |
144 | Jiri Brejcha | £1,250 |
144 | Teemu Harju | £1,250 |
144 | Christian Kist | £1,250 |
144 | Damian Mol | £1,250 |
144 | Daniel Larsson | £1,250 |
144 | Kevin Troppmann | £1,250 |
144 | Christopher Toonders | £1,250 |
144 | Christian Goedl | £1,250 |
144 | Hannes Schnier | £1,250 |
144 | Dominik Haberl | £1,250 |
144 | Zoran Lerchbacher | £1,250 |
144 | Rene Eidams | £1,250 |
144 | Arno Brand | £1,250 |
144 | Niko Springer | £1,250 |
144 | Cor Dekker | £1,250 |
144 | Alexander Masek | £1,250 |
144 | Kai Gotthardt | £1,250 |
144 | Jan Dueckers | £1,250 |
144 | Patrick Klingelhoefer | £1,250 |
144 | Vitezslav Sedlak | £1,250 |
144 | Matthias Ehlers | £1,250 |
144 | Viktor Tingstrom | £1,250 |
144 | Oliver Mueller (FfO) | £1,250 |
144 | Born Van Put | £1,250 |
144 | Geert De Vos | £1,250 |
144 | Steven Strobbe | £1,250 |
144 | Jeroen Caron | £1,250 |
171 | Shane McGuirk | £1,000 |
171 | Darryl Pilgrim | £1,000 |
171 | Aden Kirk | £1,000 |
171 | Tim Wolters | £1,000 |
171 | Wesley Plaisier | £1,000 |