Order of Merit Players Championship | Wessel Nijman sits top of the pile after title, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen lose ground as Beau Greaves rises

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 has climbed to top spot after securing yet another title. He overtakes PC9 champion Chris Dobey. The Dutchman boasts £64,250 after his triumph in Wigan with Dobey just behind with £56,500 after his quarterfinal run.

A long way back to Gerwyn Price in third with £32,750 with James Wade (£30,000) and Kevin Doets (£29,000) completing the top five. The Dutchman was one of the big winners, rising three places after a fast start to the campaign.

The biggest riser comes in the form of Scott Waites. The former Grand Slam of Darts champion was an unlikely finalist, completing a brilliant day of darts before becoming yet another victim of Nijman. He rose from 65th to 16th! Now sitting on £18,750, a good day of darts has left him in a brilliant position for the rest of the year.

A first-round exit for Luke Humphries pushes him further away from the top 10 as he sinks to 15th in the order. Stephen Bunting remains in 13th with Luke Woodhouse and Karel Sedlacek leapfrogging them both after their quarterfinal appearances.

A second consecutive quarterfinal for Beau Greaves catapults her into 22nd, trailing the likes of Jonny Clayton and Danny Noppert.

Michael van Gerwen drops six places to 27th as Luke Littler is yet to show himself on the Players Championship stage in 2026.

(as of dartsrankings.com)