PDC Order of Merit Update: Gerwyn Price returns to top 10 as Rob Cross leads host of big names in trouble

After a busy Pro Tour spell and just before the UK Open, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the PDC Order of Merit. That Luke Littler tops the world darts rankings will surprise no one.

The English teenage sensation has won the most televised tournaments over the past two years, including two world titles. With £2,886,000 in prize money, Littler comfortably leads the rankings and won’t have to worry about his number-one spot for the rest of the year. Luke Humphries follows a long way back in second on £1,248,000.

Gian van Veen is more or less in a hiding to nothing. On £950,250, Van Veen trails second-placed Humphries by a hefty margin, but also holds a huge lead over fourth-placed Michael van Gerwen (£700,250). Van Gerwen still has a healthy buffer over fifth-placed Jonny Clayton (£645,000) for now, but will have to defend a lot of prize money in the second half of the season. Behind Clayton, the gaps are particularly small. The difference between fifth and thirteenth is less than £100,000.

Stephen Bunting and Gary Anderson are Clayton’s closest chasers, followed by James Wade in eighth. Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price complete the top 10. After a strong Pro Tour block, Price has taken tenth place from Danny Noppert, who is now eleventh. Behind ‘The Freeze’, Chris Dobey and Ryan Searle swapped places. The rest of the top 16 is Nathan Aspinall, Ross Smith, and Martin Schindler. Jermaine Wattimena is meanwhile close to a debut in the world’s top 16, as ‘The Machine Gun’ occupies seventeenth position, with a slight lead over Damon Heta and Mike De Decker.

Rob Cross has meanwhile slipped to twentieth and is being closely tracked by Luke Woodhouse. ‘The Shed’ sits 21st and has never been ranked this high on the PDC Order of Merit. Wessel Nijman has moved further up to 24th on the world rankings in recent weeks and even briefly reached 23rd. Nijman still has relatively little to defend this season and it seems only a matter of time before the Dutchman breaks into the top 20 and possibly even the top 16.

Dimitri Van den Bergh is still 26th for now but will drop many places if he fails in March to defend his 2024 UK Open title on the rankings. A disappointing display in Minehead would see ‘The Dreammaker’ fall outside the top 32. Dirk van Duijvenbode (30th) and Michael Smith (32nd) have reclaimed their spots among the world’s top 32. Meanwhile, familiar names like Peter Wright (33rd), Joe Cullen (35th), and Raymond van Barneveld (36th) sit just outside.

Looking a bit lower in the world rankings, Kim Huybrechts (61st) and Mario Vandenbogaerde (64th) are in the danger zone. They must be inside the world’s top 64 after the World Darts Championship to keep their PDC Tour Cards. Other familiar face such as Wesley Plaisier (68th), Max Hopp (70th), Cor Dekker (72nd), Maik Kuivenhoven (76th), and Christian Kist (79th) still have a few months to climb into the top 64.

New Tour Card holders have two years to secure a place in the PDC Order of Merit top 64. Of the players who won a Tour Card at Q-School at the start of 2026, Adam Gawlas has begun the Pro Tour season the best. Thanks to a semi-final run on the floor, the Czech has already earned £17,250, good for a provisional 90th place. Shane McGuirk (92nd), Jimmy van Schie (93rd), Beau Greaves (96th), and Cristo Reyes (97th) have also banked at least £10,000 in their first month on the PDC circuit.