Ten players with form slumps or ranking concerns: Van Gerwen, Luke Humphries, Gary Anderson and Stephen Bunting all under pressure

The second half of the darts season is traditionally the period when the prizes are truly decided. After months in which the Players Championships and Euro Tours dominate much of the calendar, the focus increasingly shifts towards the major televised events. That is precisely where significant prize money is on offer and players can make huge strides on the PDC Order of Merit in a short time.

For a number of well-known names, this crucial stretch could not come at a better time. Over the coming months they will need results to salvage a disappointing season, protect their position on the world rankings, or secure spots at key tournaments.

Not every player on this list is in a deep slump. Jonny Clayton, for instance, often plays well, but struggles to translate his level into standout results. For Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries, the bar is simply much higher due to their status. Lower down the rankings, the concerns are more concrete. Mike De Decker is at risk of losing a lot of prize money, while Ricardo Pietreczko and Ricky Evans may even face a particularly sparse autumn schedule.

These are ten prominent darters for whom the second half of the 2026 season will be crucial.

Luke Humphries began 2026 as the player tipped to be Luke Littler’s main challenger. In terms of results, that has yet to materialize.

“Cool Hand Luke” started the year as the clear world number two, but has since lost that spot to Gian van Veen. His tenth place on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit also shows that several players have outperformed him this season.

Humphries still opened the year reasonably with a runner-up finish at the World Masters, but suffered early exits at the UK Open and World Matchplay. His display in Blackpool was especially disappointing. For the second year in a row, Humphries fell at the first hurdle there.

On top of that, he plays relatively few events and has looked inconsistent this season. Humphries has also made adjustments to his throw. Heading into the crucial autumn, he will hope all the pieces fall back into place.

The days when opponents approached a match against Michael van Gerwen with dread are behind us. The three-time world champion can still hit a very high level, but no longer shows it consistently.

Van Gerwen last won a ranking major in 2022. In 2026, he failed to reach the quarterfinals at any ranking major. That has consequences for his position on the world rankings. Van Gerwen started the season as world number four, but has now slipped to seventh. On the Year-to-Date Order of Merit, he is only twentieth.

The virtual ranking towards the World Championship also shows there is work to do. Van Gerwen currently sits nineteenth on that list. The striking thing is that his absolute top level does not appear to have vanished entirely. In spells, “Mighty Mike” still produces averages of 105 or higher. The problem lies mainly in his inconsistency. To contend for the biggest prizes again on a regular basis, Van Gerwen will need to reach that level far more often. There is also the question of how far he is still willing to go to squeeze the maximum out of his darts career.

Jonny Clayton’s story is different. The Welshman is not on this list because his level has dropped dramatically. On the contrary, Clayton often plays quite well. Those performances simply have not translated into titles and big results this season.

The current world number five is still waiting for his first title of 2026. He did reach a Euro Tour final, but otherwise his results on that circuit have been underwhelming.

On the Year-to-Date Order of Merit, “The Ferret” sits thirteenth. That is not a disastrous position, but this season offered Clayton a fine chance to cement himself more firmly among the absolute elite.

He is defending relatively little prize money and could therefore have launched an assault on the world’s top four with strong results. Instead, he has now been overtaken again by compatriot Gerwyn Price. The autumn provides Clayton with fresh opportunities to make up for the missed chances.

Stephen Bunting will also not look back on his first seven months with satisfaction. The Englishman has slipped to ninth in the world rankings and is only 21st on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit.

His performances at the majors have been particularly disappointing. Bunting has now failed to reach the quarterfinals at eight consecutive majors. The Euro Tour is not clicking either. He has played eight tournaments on the European circuit this season and one quarterfinal is his best result so far.

The picture on the floor is also inconsistent, with plenty of early exits. In the autumn, Bunting initially has little prize money to defend at the majors, which gives him openings to make up ground. However, the pressure rises towards the Worlds. He is defending a semifinal place there. Without strong results in the coming months, his spot in the top 16 could come under serious threat after the World Championship.

Nathan Aspinall has admitted several times that motivation has been an issue this season. After his wedding last weekend, the Englishman wants to get properly back on track.

That also seems necessary. Aspinall is only 22nd on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit and has yet to reach a major quarterfinal in 2026.

Results on the Euro Tour are significantly better. There, ‘The Asp’ won a title and reached three additional quarterfinals. On the floor, however, he skips many events. Of the first 26 Players Championships, Aspinall played only eight. He reached one final, but otherwise failed to post many big results.

The autumn will therefore be important for Aspinall. Not only to salvage his season, but also to firmly put himself back in contention for the Premier League.

In recent years, Gary Anderson has shown he can be particularly effective with a limited schedule. The Scot regularly collected Pro Tour titles without playing every event. In 2026, such a win is still missing.

Anderson’s form is patchy and he also suffers early exits on the floor on a regular basis. His strategy of maintaining a high world ranking with relatively few tournaments is becoming harder to sustain.

Thanks to his semifinal run at the last Worlds, Anderson does not need to fear for his top-16 status just yet. However, his 31st place on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit is a clear warning sign.

If Anderson wants to stick with a limited schedule, the results at the events he does play will have to improve.

Martin Schindler is enduring a difficult season. Germany’s top darter was still 13th in the world in December, but has since slipped to 19th.

His 32nd place on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit underlines that results in 2026 are lagging. On top of that, Schindler is in danger of missing the World Grand Prix, and qualification for the European Championship and Players Championship Finals is far from guaranteed.

His Euro Tour performances stand out negatively in particular. After ten events he has just two quarterfinals to his name. That contrasts sharply with the previous two seasons, in which Schindler claimed three Euro Tour titles.

He has never relied on big results at the majors anyway. Across his entire career, Schindler has reached the quarterfinals of a ranking major only twice. The most recent was in October 2023. The autumn is therefore a key period to halt his downward trend.

The ranking concerns may be even greater for Mike De Decker. The Belgian produced a sensation in 2024 by winning the World Grand Prix, but has not yet managed to build on that outlier consistently.

The problem will be especially visible this autumn. De Decker is currently nowhere near the qualifying spots for the World Grand Prix and thus risks seeing the £120,000 prize money from his 2024 title drop off his ranking entirely.

He has now fallen to 24th in the world rankings, and the expectation is that he will drop outside the world’s top 32 by October.

His 53rd place on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit offers little cause for optimism either. For comparison: compatriot Kim Huybrechts is seventeen places higher. For now, De Decker still looks set to remain the highest-ranked Belgian on the official world list, but if the current trend continues, that could change next year.

Warning lights are flashing for Ricardo Pietreczko as well. The German, usually very hard to beat, has not reached a quarterfinal anywhere on the circuit in 2026.

Pietreczko is also battling dartitis, and his floor results are deeply concerning. Of the first 26 Players Championship events, he was knocked out in the first round no fewer than sixteen times.

As a result, we only find him back in 78th place on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit. If his slump continues, his schedule in the second half of the season risks becoming very limited. As things stand, there is even a chance we will only see Pietreczko again at the World Darts Championship in the autumn.

Finally, Ricky Evans is also enduring a particularly difficult season. The born entertainer sits only 72nd on the Year-to-Date Order of Merit and is currently 51st on the main world ranking.

His Tour Card is not immediately at risk this year, but a lack of prize money could certainly hurt him next season. Moreover, a spot at the upcoming World Championship is far from guaranteed. Evans is currently only just inside the field.

A single semi-final on the Euro Tour is the bright spot of his season. The numbers at the Players Championships are far less flattering. Evans made it past the second round only once and crashed out in the first round no fewer than eighteen times.

For ‘Rapid Ricky’, the task in the coming months is clear. He will need to start winning more matches quickly to improve his position and secure his place at the Worlds. Otherwise, Alexandra Palace may have to do without one of its regular crowd-pleasers in December.

After the summer, the focus of the darts season shifts decisively to the big TV stages. In a span of less than four months, the key tournaments come thick and fast, with the World Darts Championship as the ultimate destination.

The first stop is from September 17 to 20, when the World Series Finals take place at AFAS Live in Amsterdam. Although this tournament does not count towards the PDC Order of Merit and sits below the ranking majors in prestige, the field does offer a chance to build rhythm and confidence for the crucial months ahead.

Not long after, the ranking season truly resumes with the World Grand Prix. From September 28 to October 4, Leicester hosts the renowned double-in, double-out format. The unique format makes the World Grand Prix one of the most unpredictable majors on the calendar every year.

Later in October, the PDC roadshow moves to Dortmund for the European Championship. That event runs from October 22 to 25. Gian van Veen heads there as defending champion and has the chance to add another major title to his résumé.

Next up in November is the revamped Grand Slam of Darts. The tournament is played from November 14 to 22 and features an expanded field of 48 players this year. They are split into sixteen groups of three. The group stage determines who advances to the knockout phase, after which the battle for the Eric Bristow Trophy continues in a straight-elimination bracket.

The final major tune-up before the World Championship is the Players Championship Finals. From November 27 to 29, the top 64 performers of the Players Championship season compete in Minehead.

After that, all attention turns to Alexandra Palace. The World Darts Championship is played in London from December 11 to January 3 and, as usual, serves as the showpiece that brings the darts season to a close.