Order of Merit Players Championship after PC 16 | Andrew Gilding leapfrogs Beau Greaves into top 4 after first ProTour title of his career

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.

Andrew Gilding was the big mover on the Players Championship Order of Merit after PC16, with his first ever Players Championship title lifting him up to fourth on £50,750. Goldfinger started the day on £34,500 and added £16,250 through his Leicester title run, moving ahead of Beau Greaves, James Wade and Luke Woodhouse.

At the very top, Wessel Nijman remains well clear on £104,500, despite his run ending in the last 32 against Darius Labanauskas. Chris Dobey stays second on £70,750, while Kevin Doets holds third on £61,250 after reaching the last 16. Nijman’s lead over Dobey is now £33,750, underlining how much work the chasing pack still have to do.

Beau Greaves sits fifth on £43,750 after reaching the second round, with James Wade sixth on £39,500 and Luke Woodhouse seventh on £36,750. Joe Cullen, Ross Smith and Michael van Gerwen complete the top 10, with Van Gerwen remaining inside that group on £34,500 despite losing in the opening round to Joe Hunt.

Finalist Jonny Clayton made a significant move, climbing to 18th on £29,750 after his run to the final. Elsewhere, Niko Springer rose to 27th on £24,750 after reaching the semi-finals, while Ian White moved up to 42nd on £20,000 thanks to his own semi-final run. Joe Hunt also continued his strong week, moving to 21st on £28,500 after beating Van Gerwen and reaching the quarter-finals.

Luke Littler as a result of not playing again still sits on zero and will need to start playing ProTours again soon to have any hope of making it to Minehead.

(as of dartsrankings.com)