Order of Merit Players Championship | Wessel Nijman sets the pace in front with second title win, Joe Cullen clambers into top 10 after final appearance as Littler remains on zero

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 entered the day as the number one seed for the first time, and it may be a tag he needs to get used to after taking home the title and leapfrogging Chris Dobey in the process in the Order of Merit. He won over Joe Cullen in the final leaves him on £39,500.

'Hollywood' sits close behind with £37,500 with the absent Gerwyn Price remaining in third with £32.750. PC7 champion Ryan Searle exited at the first hurdle and thus stays on £27,750, but drops down a place into fifth with James Wade storming past as he rose his overall tally to £26.750.

Alan Soutar's final in PC7 keeps him in seventh, boasting £23,250. Ross Smith is close on his heels with £22,000 after his run to the semi-finals, as Cullen rises from 15th to ninth thanks to his deep run. Stephen Bunting climbs back into the top 10.

Luke Humphries has fallen out of the top 10 after not appearing in either of the events in Leicester, staying firmly put on £17,000. Right behind him in 17th is Michael van Gerwen, A third round run was enough to boost him up a position but he still trails the world number one by a small margin, with the Dutchman having earned £15,500. An early exit for Peter Wright sees him sit in 59th while the likes of Michael Smith, Martin Schindler and Raymond van Barneveld are not even in the top 64 after the first eight events.

However, the most striking name remains Luke Littler. He has still not earned any prize money on this ranking. The English top talent has, for now, chosen not to compete on the Pro Tour.

(as of dartsrankings.com)