Players Championship Order of Merit Update after PC 32: Luke Littler completes last ditch Minehead bid, question marks over Luke Humphries

Luke Littler did himself a huge favor by winning Players Championship 32. 'The Nuke' was still outside the top-64 prior to the tournament, meaning he still had everything to do to qualify for the major tournament. However, his 8-2 victory over Dennie Olde Kalter today moved him up to No. 34, making him a sure bet.

The Players Championship Finals is the climax all Players Championship tournaments played this year. It is also the last tournament before the World Darts Championship starts. The top-64 of the Players Championship Order of Merit qualify for the final tournament after 34 tournaments played. Only two tournaments remain later this month, which means it will be all or nothing for some players in those two defining days.

One name we are definitely not going to see at the major tournament is Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman skipped tournaments several times this year, and at the ones he did attend he underperformed. As a result, he was in a paltry 93rd place before this week's dual began. On Tuesday, he again went down in the first round, after which he decided to give up and call it a day. Mighty Mike would miss the last two PC tournaments anyway due to a planned vacation to Dubai.

Where Luke Littler managed to salvage his situation today, the same is not yet true of current world No. 1 Luke Humphries. Prior to the day, "Cool Hand Luke" was in spot 56. Today he did not advance beyond the second round, where he surprisingly lost 6-2 to William Borland. This moved him up just two spots to place 54.

With a lead of a paltry 2,000 pounds, the former world champion cannot afford early exits during the last 2 floor tournaments. In case he is eliminated early both days, he will have to be very lucky that the players below him don't get much further than him. Otherwise, like Van Gerwen, we will not see Humphries in Minehead.

Gerwyn Price is still No. 1 on the Players Championship Order of Merit. 'The Iceman' was not present this week but still leads with 99,500 pounds earned. Behind him follow Damon Heta and Ross Smith in spots 2 and 3, both with 90,000 pounds.

Sixth place is occupied by Stephen Bunting, who has collected 83,500 pounds at floor tournaments this year. The top-10 is completed by Cameron Menzies (spot No. 8 with £70,500), Chris Dobey (spot No. 9 with £70,000) and Josh Rock (spot No. 10 with £65,500).