Ryan Searle leads Players Championship Order of Merit after first two-game series

Ryan Searle fell just short of winning a title each of the past two days, but after the first double header of Players Championship tournaments, "Heavy Metal" does top the Players Championship Order of Merit.

Searle lost 8-7 to Luke Littler in the final on Monday, while the Englishman went down 8-5 to Gary Anderson in the final of Players Championship 2 on Tuesday. Anderson and Littler are behind Searle in spots two and three, respectively.

Behind the trio is Gian van Veen in fourth place. The 21-year-old Dutchman earned a semifinal place and was in the last sixteen once. Jose de Sousa also started the new season well and is in sixth place after two tournaments.

Behind them are Martin Lukeman and the Scottish trio of Peter Wright, Cameron Menzies and Alan Soutar. Niels Zonneveld and Raymond van Barneveld share tenth place, while Andy Baetens is the highest-ranked Belgian in third.

After all the Players Championship tournaments, the top 64 ranked players will compete in the Players Championship Finals. This tournament from Nov. 22 to 24 will be played in Minehead.

(Source: Dartsrankings.com)