Players Championship Order of Merit update: Price takes top spot; Littler, Humphries, Aspinall and Van Gerwen at serious risk of missing Minehead

Gerwyn Price took his fourth Players Championship title of the season in Hildesheim on Tuesday. This title also makes him the new number one on the Players Championship Order of Merit. The Welshman defeated Gian van Veen 8-5 in the final, after a day in which he repeatedly teetered on the brink of elimination.

Price opened his campaign convincingly with a 108 average against Dom Taylor, but some oppressive moments soon followed. In the second round, he faced a seemingly hopeless 5-1 deficit against James Hurrell, who even had five match darts. Still, the Welshman survived that storm. He also had to chase Andy Baetens, Wessel Nijman and William O'Connor, but always managed to show his class at the decisive moments.

In the semifinals against O'Connor, the adventure still seemed to run aground when he fell behind 6-4. However, Price forced a leg decider and seized that opportunity with both hands, qualifying for the final match with Van Veen.

In that, Price initially seemed headed for a walk-over. With check-outs of 122 and 129 he rushed to a 6-0 lead. Van Veen showed great resilience and fought back to 6-5, including a brilliant 164 finish. At that point Price felt the tension rising, but with a phenomenal 11-darter he managed to stop his opponent's advance. Moments later, he finished it off with a 15-darter. With an average of 109.28 and thirteen maximum scores in the final, "The Iceman" showed his class.

With £87,000, Price now leads the rankings after 26 of 34 Players Championship tournaments. Van Veen follows in second place with £83,500. Behind that is a sizable gap to number three Damon Heta, who is £10,000 behind Van Veen. Ross Smith (£70,000) and Stephen Bunting (£68,500) follow in his wake, before we find Jermaine Wattimena in sixth place with £61,000. The top-10 is completed by Cameron Menzies, Chris Dobey, Jonny Clayton and Josh Rock.

At the end of the year, the 64 best players on the Players Championship Order of Merit get to compete in the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.

There are still quite a few familiar names who still have to pull out all the stops to be there in Minehead in November. Luke Littler is absent this week in Hildesheim and has dropped to 57th place as a result. However, 'The Nuke' still has seven tournaments left after this Pro Tour block to improve his ranking.

Luke Humphries did travel to Hildesheim, but was knocked out in the second round on Tuesday by an unstoppable Bradley Brooks, who fired a 112 average against his compatriot. With £20,000, Humphries is currently sitting dangerously close to the cut off in 62nd on the Players Championship Order of Merit. Of the 26 Players Championship tournaments now finished, Humphries has only played six.

Nathan Aspinall, on the other hand, still had to chase to secure his spot in the top 64. 'The Asp' made it to the last sixteen on Tuesday, earning £2,500 in prize money. He narrowed his gap to the top-64, but at £18,000, Aspinall is still £1,500 behind for a spot on the right side of the line.

For Michael van Gerwen and Dimitri van den Bergh, the situation is even more complicated.

Michael van Gerwen, who was eliminated in the first round of Players Championship 26 by Callan Rydz, dropped to 100th place. With seven tournaments to go, Van Gerwen is as much as £9,000 short of a spot in the top 64. The Dutchman actually needs a final in one of the upcoming tournaments to improve his position at least a bit. Van den Bergh is even lower than Van Gerwen and 'The Dreammaker' can only be found in spot 109 with £9500.

On Wednesday, the Players Championship circuit continues with the 27th tournament of the season. There is another block of three Players Championship tournaments in late September and early October, before the final two Pro Tour double-headers follow later.