PDC Order of Merit update: Luke Littler closing in on world number 1 status; Gerwyn Price out of top-10, Peter Wright out of top-16

The 2025 World Grand Prix has caused significant movement on the PDC Order of Merit, with changes throughout the top ten and Luke Humphries’ world number one spot coming under increasing pressure.

Since lifting the World Championship title in January 2024, Humphries has led the world rankings, and for most of the year, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ looked untouchable at the top. That gap has now been cut to just £70,750.

Humphries won the World Grand Prix two years ago, meaning he was defending that prize money last week. He reached the final again in Leicester, but it was his great rival Luke Littler who claimed the crown. ‘The Nuke’ didn’t feature in the double-in, double-out event two years ago, so had no money to defend.

Littler banked the £120,000 winner’s cheque, while Humphries saw £60,000 come off his tally from 2023. With four Players Championship events, a European Tour stop and the European Championship still to come this month, Littler has a clear chance to attack the top spot in the coming weeks – while Humphries will be fighting to protect his lead. The rest of the top six – Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting, James Wade and Jonny Clayton – remain unchanged.

The biggest climber inside the world’s top bracket is Danny Noppert. ‘The Freeze’ entered the World Grand Prix ranked 14th, but a superb run to the semi-finals – with victories over Jermaine Wattimena (2–1), Stephen Bunting (3–1) and Gary Anderson (3–1) – earned him £40,000 in prize money and a return to the world’s top ten.

Noppert eventually fell 5–3 in sets to Humphries in the last four, but his strong showing sees him climb four places. Rob Cross, Josh Rock and Chris Dobey are all within striking distance, meaning Noppert has every chance of climbing even higher in the coming weeks.

It’s not the first time the Dutchman has featured among the elite. After winning the 2022 UK Open, plus a World Matchplay semi-final and quarter-final runs at the European Championship and Players Championship Finals later that year, Noppert enjoyed an extended stay inside the world’s top ten.

Gerwyn Price suffered heartbreak in Leicester, missing three match darts against Littler in the quarter-finals. That defeat proved costly, as ‘The Iceman’ slips from seventh to 11th in the world.

Price was runner-up at the 2023 Grand Prix, meaning a hefty sum dropped off his total. Benefiting were Cross and Rock, who each climb two spots to seventh and eighth respectively. Dobey falls one place to ninth, while Damon Heta drops from 11th to 12th.

Gary Anderson holds steady in 13th, but Ross Smith falls from 12th to 14th. The top 16 is now rounded out by Gian van Veen and Martin Schindler, the latter overtaking Peter Wright, who drops out of the top 16 for the first time in years.

Luke Woodhouse continued his steady rise, reaching round two in Leicester and climbing two places to 28th.

Meanwhile, Cameron Menzies has broken into the world’s top 32 for the first time. ‘Cammy’ reached the quarter-finals at the World Grand Prix, banking £25,000 and rising from 33rd to 29th, with relatively little to defend over the coming months.

The progress of Woodhouse, Menzies and Van Duijvenbode came at the expense of Andrew Gilding, Ricardo Pietreczko and Joe Cullen. Gilding and Pietreczko each dropped two places to 31st and 33rd, while Cullen fell five to 32nd. ‘The Rockstar’ has been a fixture in the world’s top 32 since 2016, but that streak is now under serious threat.

A final mention goes to Niko Springer, who has already guaranteed his PDC Tour Card until at least 2027 – just one year into his two-year exemption.

The German earned his Tour Card through his 2024 Development Tour success and was given two years to reach the world’s top 64. He’s done it in less than twelve months.

Springer first caught attention earlier this year with a final appearance at the Dutch Darts Championship and victory at the Hungarian Darts Trophy. He made his World Grand Prix debut last week, losing to Stephen Bunting in round one but still pocketing £7,500 to push him up four places to world number 61.

With several major events still to come, Springer is well on course to continue climbing – and could realistically finish the year inside the world’s top 50.