PDC European Tour Order of Merit update: Wessel Nijman dethrones Luke Littler as leader after Gottingen win, Van Gerwen and Anderson have work to do

Wessel Nijman is the new leader on the PDC European Tour Order of Merit. Nijman took top spot on the Euro Tour ranking from Luke Littler after winning the European Darts Trophy last weekend.

Nijman had already won four Players Championship events, including one in February this year. However, his first Euro Tour final had yet to come. He came close last year with two semi-finals. This time he finally broke through that barrier.

In the first round of the European Darts Trophy, Nijman narrowly avoided elimination against Cristo Reyes. The Spaniard was edged 6-5. After that, Nijman was unstoppable. He dispatched Mike De Decker (6-2), then swept aside Gian van Veen 6-1 with a 112.87 average.

On Sunday evening, Nijman opened the final session with a 6-2 quarterfinal win over Josh Rock. In the last four he followed up with a 7-1 victory against Niels Zonneveld, averaging 110.41. Nijman then sealed the title with an 8-3 triumph over Gerwyn Price. It earned him the top prize of £35,000, and with it the number one spot on the PDC European Tour Order of Merit. Nijman had already banked £8,000 for his quarterfinal at the Poland Darts Open, taking his total to £43,000.

Littler sits second with £25,000. “The Nuke” skipped the Euro Tour event in Göttingen, but will return next weekend at the Belgian Darts Open in Wieze. Gian van Veen is third on £20,000. “GVV The Giant” lost the final in Poland to Littler. Josh Rock (£16,000) is fourth, followed by Gerwyn Price and Chris Dobey on £15,000 each.

Rock has gone up three spots after his weekend and was one of the major climbers this weekend going from 7th to 4th.

Thanks to his semi-final at the European Darts Trophy, Niels Zonneveld has climbed to seventh with £13,500, putting him in early contention for a European Championship debut later this year. Jermaine Wattimena, on £10,000 also rose from 13th to 9th.

Michael van Gerwen has yet to register on the Euro Tour ranking. “Mighty Mike” missed the Poland Darts Open due to illness and lost his opening match at the European Darts Trophy. As a seeded player, Van Gerwen must win his first match for the prize money to count towards the ranking. Gary Anderson and James Wade have also yet to collect any pounds. Both darts icons lost immediately at the Poland Darts Open and withdrew from the European Darts Trophy.

On the otherhand, Ross Smith is up to 9th from 13th and for Price, Heta, Van Duijvenbode, Springer, Krohne and Krcmar, they all appear on this list for the first time this season with Price in particular sat fifth after one event so for MVG and Anderson it only takes one good tournament to be up there.

While Stephen Bunting amid all the issues with whistling and the Niko Springer incident, he is not a player to benefit from this weekend as he goes from 7th down to 18th.

A top-32 position is valuable at the end of the season. There will be fifteen Euro Tour events across 2026. Results in these tournaments contribute to the PDC European Tour Order of Merit. The top 32 at the end will qualify for the European Championship in Dortmund.