PDC Order of Merit Update: Michael van Gerwen gains ground on top five return as Gary Anderson moves past sinking Stephen Bunting

Michael van Gerwen has gained ground on the PDC Order of Merit thanks to his semi-final appearance at the Czech Darts Open. The 37-year-old Dutchman has risen to sixth place, overtaking James Wade. Wessel Nijman has also continued his impressive rise and has now climbed to 12th in the world.

For Van Gerwen, the tournament in Prague marked his 64th European Tour semi-final. ‘Mighty Mike’ began his weekend with a victory over Mario Vandenbogaerde before defeating compatriot Wessel Nijman. Jonny Clayton was also dispatched in the quarter-finals, allowing Van Gerwen to reach the last four.

His performances earned him £10,000 in prize money counting towards the world rankings. As a result, Van Gerwen moves ahead of Wade and is now sixth. It is a welcome boost for the three-time world champion, who earlier this year slipped to his lowest world ranking position since 2012 following his second-round elimination from the World Matchplay.

Van Gerwen will also have opportunities to make further progress over the coming months. His results towards the end of 2024 were less impressive, meaning there are opportunities to improve his position at the upcoming major tournaments. However, a particularly large amount of prize money will have to be defended later this year. Following his run to the final of the 2024/25 World Championship, Van Gerwen has £200,000 of prize money on the line at Alexandra Palace in December. Aside from the World Matchplay, the £10,000 he earned in Prague was Van Gerwen’s best payday since he won Players Championship 15 in May.

Another player who continues to climb is Ross Smith. The former European champion arrived in Prague having recently won the Hungarian Darts Trophy and once again reached the final day of the Czech Darts Open.

Smith was eliminated in the quarter-finals this time, earning £8,000 in the process. That was enough to move him ahead of Chris Dobey and up to 14th in the world rankings.

His figures for the full calendar year are also noteworthy. Smith has earned more than £250,000 since the beginning of 2026. That puts him among the four players who have collected the most prize money this year.

While several players made significant gains in Prague, Stephen Bunting endured another disappointing weekend. ‘The Bullet’ lost his opening match to Luke Woodhouse and consequently drops one place in the world rankings.

Bunting is overtaken by Gary Anderson and drops to 10th in the world. At the start of 2026, the former Masters champion was still ranked seventh in the world. His recent European Tour results have been particularly disappointing. Bunting has won just four of his last nine matches on the Euro Tour circuit.

Those to make gains included Keane Barry who has shown good form as of late and has gone up two spots. The Irishman reached the Last 16 in Prague and he now moves ahead of Mensur Suljovic and Ian White and he is now World No.54. Jeffrey de Graaf also moves up two spots to World No.46 overtaking players including Gabriel Clemens.

Wessel Nijman is also continuing to climb rapidly. The Dutchman reached the last 16 in Prague, where Van Gerwen eventually proved too strong, winning 6-4. Nevertheless, his result was enough to gain another place in the world rankings.

Nijman overtakes World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle and is now 12th in the world. Since the start of the year, he has climbed an impressive 17 places.

His rise is largely thanks to his excellent performances on the ProTour. Nijman has now won eight ProTour titles and has accumulated significant prize money through his consistent results in both Players Championship events and on the European Tour.

In 2026, Nijman has already earned £292,000 in prize money. Of all the players, only world number one Luke Littler has earned more this year.

Other movers around him include Ryan Searle and Chris Dobey both up a spot each to World No.13 and 15. In the race for Tour Cards, Mario Vandenbogaerde goes up two spots to World No.66 while Thibault Tricole and Max Hopp also up a spot sees them up to World No.67 and World No.68 as they aim to keep Tour status. Beau Greaves also after another European Tour goes up to 76th. At World No.64, she will lose her ability to play Women's Series so time is ticking.

(as per dartsrankings.com)