Order of Merit Players Championship after PC 21 | Wessel Nijman miles clear of chasing pack after sixth title

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.

Wessel Nijman continues to extend the gap at the top of the order. He is the only player who has surpassed the £100,000 mark with Chris Dobey in second miles back with a respectable £79,000 won, thus showing the extent of his dominance.

The top seven remains unchanged. A quarter-final for Kevin Doets extends the gap to Andrew Gilding who remains in fourth with Luke Woodhouse and Ross Smith staying put. Beau Greaves bolstered her position in seventh with a second PC semi-final after another eye-catching day out.

Jonny Clayton climbs a couple of places into eighth with Jermaine Wattimena and James Wade completing the top 10. Ryan Searle had the chance to shoot further up but wasted chances in the final against Nijman saw him just miss out in 11th.

A quarter-final for Stephen Bunting actually saw him drop a place to 14th with Luke Humphries falling four spots after not showing up. Defeat early on for Gerwyn Price restricted his progress. He is in 26th, two places behind Michael van Gerwen who did not play.

The likes of Michael Smith, Damon Heta and Martin Schindler are in the top 64, but outside the top 50 in a slightly precarious position. There is a vast array of talents who are not in the provisional spots for Minehead. That includes Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright, Cameron Menzies, and Dimitri Van den Bergh. Dutch duo Gian van Veen and Raymond van Barneveld are not even in the top 100. Luke Littler sits firmly bottom of the pile as fans patiently wait for him to introduce himself.

(as of dartsrankings.com)