Van Gerwen drops to lowest PDC ranking since 2012 as Littler and other stars skip Den Bosch
Michael van Gerwen falls to 13th on the PDC Order of Merit and Ross Smith climbs to sixth. Littler, Price and others sit out the Players Championship double in Den Bosch.
Michael van Gerwen has fallen to his lowest position on the PDC Order of Merit since 2012. The latest rankings, published on Monday after the European Championship in Dortmund, have the three-time world champion 13th. This week the tour moves to Den Bosch in the Netherlands for the last-but-one Players Championship double-header of the year, and many of the sport's biggest names have chosen to stay away.
Why Van Gerwen dropped
The Order of Merit ranks players on prize money won over a rolling two-year period, so each event's new earnings replace what was won at the same event two years before. Van Gerwen reached the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2024, but this year he lost in the first round in Dortmund. His semi-final money came off his total and nothing replaced it.
He now has £580,000 and sits 13th, down three places and outside the top ten. Danny Noppert had the same problem: he also lost in the first round after a semi-final two years ago, and he drops from seventh to 11th. Gary Anderson falls five places to 14th because he did not qualify for Dortmund and earned nothing there. Ritchie Edhouse is the biggest faller. He did not qualify either, so the £120,000 he won as champion two years ago has gone, and he slides from 33rd to 55th.
Ross Smith hits a career high
Ross Smith won the European Championship for the second time, beating Martin Schindler in the final, and the £150,000 first prize took him from 14th to sixth. That is the highest ranking of his career. Talk has already begun about whether he should get a place in the 2027 Premier League.
Gian van Veen moves past Luke Humphries into second place. Humphries pulled out of Dortmund through illness and earned no prize money there. Luke Littler is still a long way clear at the top with £3.141 million. Schindler, the first German to reach a PDC major final, rises three places to 20th.
PDC Order of Merit top ten (26 October):
- Luke Littler – £3,141,000
- Gian van Veen – £1,058,250
- Luke Humphries – £1,037,500
- Gerwyn Price – £829,500
- Jonny Clayton – £726,000
- Ross Smith – £714,750
- James Wade – £673,750
- Josh Rock – £619,000
- Stephen Bunting – £603,750
- Nathan Aspinall – £597,000
Big names missing in Den Bosch
Players Championship 31 began at the Maaspoort in Den Bosch on Wednesday 28 October, and Players Championship 32 follows on Thursday. Littler was already known to be skipping both events. Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock, Gary Anderson, Ross Smith, Stephen Bunting, Rob Cross, Ryan Searle and Luke Woodhouse have also pulled out, along with several others. Van Veen is playing only one of the two days.
Van Gerwen is entered and opened against Joe Hunt, who recently secured a Tour Card for next year through the Challenge Tour. Other first-round ties included Raymond van Barneveld against Cameron Menzies and Nathan Aspinall against Carl Sneyd.
The race for Minehead
After Den Bosch, only Players Championships 33 and 34 at Leicester Arena on 4 and 5 November remain. Those four events decide the 64-man field for the Players Championship Finals, which are qualified for through the separate ProTour Order of Merit. The Finals are at Butlin's Minehead from 27 to 29 November, with a £750,000 prize fund and £130,000 for the winner.
Several big names are close to the cut-off. Price is 51st and Anderson 62nd on the ProTour list, and both need to play in Leicester to secure their places. Aspinall is 74th, Rock 76th and Van Barneveld 84th. Littler, the defending champion, has played only two floor events this year and is 126th. Dartsnews.com calculates that he would need to win both Leicester events to qualify.
Key takeaways
- Van Gerwen is 13th on the PDC Order of Merit, his lowest position since 2012.
- Ross Smith's second European Championship title lifts him from 14th to sixth, a career high.
- Gian van Veen has moved past Luke Humphries into second.
- Littler, Price, Humphries, Clayton and Ross Smith are among those skipping Players Championships 31 and 32 in Den Bosch.
- Four floor events remain before the Players Championship Finals in Minehead on 27-29 November.
FAQ
Why did Michael van Gerwen fall in the rankings? The Order of Merit covers two years of prize money. Van Gerwen's 2024 European Championship semi-final earnings dropped off, and he lost in the first round this year, so nothing replaced them.
Is Luke Littler playing in Den Bosch? No. He is skipping Players Championships 31 and 32 and has played only two floor events in 2026.
When are the 2026 Players Championship Finals? From 27 to 29 November at Butlin's Minehead, England, for the top 64 players on the ProTour Order of Merit.
Sources: Dartsnews.com, Mastercaller, Wikipedia