WDF Ranking Men's Update: Jason Brandon rises to the top after Las Vegas Open title with Gates, Lawrie dropping down

A new name is at the top of the WDF rankings, with Jason Brandon's title in the Las Vegas Open enough to put him at the top of the leaderboard in the early parts of the 2026 WDF campaign.

It was not just a couple of places, it was a huge jump in the rankings from ninth to first. He was very impressive in the Gold event, defeating Alex Spellman 6-0 in a comprehensive final display, averaging just over 91 to cap off a great weekend.

The 180 points tallied up in the States shoots him right up to number one with 674 points, ahead of Leonard Gates who was previously topping the list. There is the feel to a more open top end to the rankings this year with the likes of Jimmy van Schie and Shane McGuirk fleeing the WDF for the PDC, with players looking to capitalise on their prolonged absence.

Gates had a firm grip on top sport for a while, switching between number one and two for a while. He has once again been bumped down a place with him not back competing yet following his Toronto Area Open title at the start of the month.

15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie is also shoved down a position. The WDF World Championship finalist sits on 591 points, very close to the 622 that Gates boasts. If he can surpass this tally and overtake the two Americans who sit above him, then he will become the youngest WDF number one. It feels like a matter of when rather than if, but for now the young Scot must remain patient.

The Las Vegas runner-up Spellman also makes headway into the rankings, up to fourth now thanks to the 111 points collected by reaching the final. The result of the two American rising up is that Jenson Walker (552) and Raymond Smith (532) drop down two places to fifth and sixth respectively.

It is a much larger drop for James Beeton, who is now down in 12 the with 430 points to his name. There are many winners thanks to this sudden decrease down the rankings. Neil Duff and Jeff Smith sit in seventh and eighth with Matt Clark rising a healthy two spots into ninth as Corne Groeneveld makes camp in 10th.

The action is set to continue this weekend with a triple header of events in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, with another event also occurring in Edmonton, Canada.