Players Championship Order of Merit update: Gerwyn Price loses top spot after first round exit as Stephen Bunting rises

Gerwyn Price has lost top spot on the Players Championship Order of Merit it has been confirmed after Event 18 with Gian van Veen now the leader.

Van Veen surprisingly lost to Benjamin Reus in the third round of Players Championship 18 on Wednesday, but that result still proved enough to overtake Price.

That was mainly due to Price being eliminated in the first round by Mervyn King (6-2). Van Veen's lead over Price is only 1,000 pounds, while number three Chris Dobey is 4,000 pounds behind.

The eighteenth Players Championship tournament of the season was won Wednesday by Stephen Bunting, who saw off Jermaine Wattimena. This title moved Bunting up to the fifteenth position on the Players Championship Order of Merit.

Wattimena is in twelfth place after his lost final, and has also assured himself of participation in the World Matchplay. Dave Chisnall who is top ProTour seed has also moved himself into the top 20 as a result of reaching the semi-finals, he is now 17th.

He sits just ahead of Mike de Decker who reached the Quarter-Finals and is in 18th. Of the big names, Luke Littler is only just in sitting in 44th overall. Michael van Gerwen can barely win a game on the ProTour and is 105th. While Luke Humphries sits just ahead of Littler in 42nd. So while the big names are managing to stay in contention, it is not in the realm of Price, Dobey and Bunting from the Premier League that is for sure.

A total of 34 Players Championship tournaments will be played this season. At the end of the season, the top 64 players on the Players Championship Order of Merit get to compete in the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.