World Series Order of Merit final ranking: Stephen Bunting tops the pile ahead of Luke Littler & Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen finishes outside top 8

Stephen Bunting has capped a superb season on the global stage by topping the 2025 World Series Order of Merit. The Bullet hit the front after winning the opening event of the year in Bahrain and never looked back, finishing six points clear of his nearest rivals.

The St Helens thrower began his campaign in January with victory at the Bahrain Darts Masters, beating Gerwyn Price 8–4 in the final. A week later he reached the decider at the Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch, only to see Rob Cross walk away with the trophy.

Bunting got his revenge in June in Copenhagen, where he overcame Cross in the final to secure his second World Series crown of the year. Later that same month Luke Humphries got his hands on silverware, lifting the US Darts Masters at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

Consistency was Bunting’s hallmark throughout the season. He reached a fourth final in July at the Poland Darts Masters, though on this occasion Price turned the tables, avenging his earlier defeat in Bahrain.

The closing word on the regular World Series circuit, however, belonged to Luke Littler. After drawing a blank in his first five events, The Nuke exploded into life with back-to-back titles in Australia and New Zealand. In doing so, he joined Michael van Gerwen (2019) and Rob Cross (2023) as only the third player to win World Series events in both Oceanic nations in the same year.

Bunting ended the campaign on 49 points thanks to two titles and two runners-up finishes. Littler and Price both finished six points back on 43, with the teenager edging second place on countback after his double success Down Under. Humphries was fourth on 32 points, followed by Cross on 27.

Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall both finished on 20 points, while Belgium’s Mike de Decker claimed the final top-eight spot with 11 points. That ranking gives the Belgian a valuable boost heading into the Finals, as he will avoid Littler, Humphries and Price in the early rounds. Damon Heta also collected 11 points but missed out on countback, while Van Gerwen, who chose to skip three of the seven tournaments, slipped to tenth with nine points.

The World Series Finals take place from 12–14 September at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, with a 32-player field. Although the PDC has not yet confirmed the exact qualification criteria, it is customary for the top eight in the Order of Merit to also serve as the top eight seeds — meaning De Decker would be seeded and Van Gerwen left vulnerable to a heavyweight clash as early as round one.

Further down the table, Josh Rock (six points), Peter Wright (five) and Jonny Clayton (four) are all expected to receive invitations. A group of seven players, including Jermaine Wattimena, Kevin Doets and Raymond van Barneveld, sit on three points and will be hoping for home-nation favour from the PDC.

The final eight places in Amsterdam will be filled via a Tour Card qualifier on 27 August, ensuring plenty of late drama before the World Series reaches its climax.