PDC Order of Merit Update: Luke Littler passes Michael van Gerwen but World Number One out of reach for now

The PDC World Darts Championship final between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler was not only a battle for the world title, but also decisive in the battle for the second spot in the world rankings.

Littler crowned himself the new world champion on Friday night and took the top prize of 500,000 pounds. As a result, 'The Nuke' moved up to second place on the PDC Order of Merit. Van Gerwen did solidify his third spot. Although Littler earned half a million in prize money, the first spot is still far out of sight. The dethroned world champion Luke Humphries still has a lead of almost seven thousand over his 17-year-old compatriot.

Perhaps Littler will be able to make an assault on the top spot in the autumn, as that is the period when Humphries has a lot of prize money to defend. The next world championship is only the first tournament where Littler has to defend prize money.

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Behind the top three, Rob Cross moved up one spot, putting 'Voltage' in fourth place. Stephen Bunting progressed three spots and can call himself number five in the world for the first time. Dave Chisnall and Jonny Clayton maintained their positions and are seventh and eighth, respectively. Damon Heta and Gerwyn Price both gained one spot and hold the eighth and ninth spots. Chris Dobey moved up five places after his semifinal finish and debuts in the top-10 of the world rankings.

The big losers were Michael Smith and Dimitri van den Bergh. Smith had to defend his world title from two years ago in the world rankings, but was eliminated already in the second round. As a result, Smith dropped from second to 16th place. Van den Bergh made it to the semifinals in 2023 and also loses a good portion of his prize money. 'The Dreammaker' had to drop seven spots and is now eighteenth.

Ryan Joyce and Ricardo Pietreczko moved into the top-32 after their good performances in London. Both darters managed to reach the last sixteen at the World Darts Championship and moved up four spots. Joyce is now ranked No. 29 in the world, while Pietreczko is one spot below him. Gabriel Clemens also had to give up a lot of spots. Like Van den Bergh, "The German Giant" was a semifinalist in 2023. The German lost already in the second round and fell back ten spots. He now finds himself in 37th place. Kevin Doets actually climbed ten places after reaching the last sixteen. The Dutchman now occupies the 41st spot on the PDC Order of Merit.

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