Players Championship Order of Merit Update: Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen see Minehead hopes fade, Aspinall completes last gasp push

The Players Championship Order of Merit has been updated after the latest tournament which saw Jermaine Wattimena scoop the title but more pertinent is the race to Minehead and in particular the top names both in and out of contention.

Michael van Gerwen is all but gone and seems to have left the country entirely. He has one event to qualify as he misses the final two due to a family holiday in Dubai and was reportedly spotted at Manchester Airport soon after his loss to Dom Taylor on Tuesday. He has a bit of a different complexion to others as others will likely play the last block.

But after a pretty woeful year on the ProTour he seems set to miss it for the first time since 2009 and there is mixed news for the smattering of big names who also haven't made it.

Luke Littler to a lesser extent is in the same boat as Van Gerwen and also has yet to play his way into the top-64. The reigning world champion is currently 73rd on the Players Championship Order of Merit and his deficit is manageable with three tournaments to go. Littler needs to make up 2,500 pounds, a task Littler should normally be able to meet.

Nathan Aspinall was also outside the top-64 prior to Players Championship 31, but has secured his spot after reaching the final in Wigan. 'The Asp' successively defeated Thibault Tricole (6-2), Steve Lennon (6-4), Ryan Joyce (6-2), Lukas Wenig (6-5), James Wade (6-5) and Stephen Bunting (7-3), while also notching two nine darters. Aspinall eventually lost in the final to Jermaine Wattimena, but did pocket 10,000 pounds in prize money. That was more than enough for Aspinall to firmly establish himself in the top 64. He did not play in the event last year and often has skipped ProTours so this will delight him.

Luke Humphries lost in the second round but is just about in the provisional spots. He will hope for one run tomorrow to fully confirm him so he doesn't have to return for the next block as the events stack up ahead of Minehead.

The big winner of the day was Jermaine Wattimena, who captured his second PDC ranking title in magnificent fashion. In the first round, he escaped elimination against Christian Kist, who lost a 5-3 lead and missed six matchdarts.

Wattimena then won from Madars Razma (6-4) and Niko Springer (6-4), before advancing to the final with big wins over Martin Schindler (6-2), Chris Landman (6-1) and Niels Zonneveld (7-0). In the final match, he gave two-time major winner Aspinall a big beating 8-2. With £15,000 in prize money won, Wattimena is now sixth in the floor rankings.

Gerwyn Price is still the leader on the Players Championship Order of Merit after 31 of 34 tournaments with 99,500 pounds. Nothing more will be added to that this week, as 'The Iceman' is missing from the double header in Wigan.

Behind Price, Gian van Veen and Ross Smith are both on £89,000, while Damon Heta is number four with £87,500, before Jermaine Wattimena then Stephen Bunting complete the top five.

Wessel Nijman is in spot seven with £74,500, while Cameron Menzies (£70,500), Chris Dobey (£66,500) and Josh Rock (£65,500) complete the top-10.