Peter Wright returned to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit after winning the HappyBet European Darts Open in Leverkusen last night.
The world number three was overtaken at the top by Michael van Gerwen following the Dutchman’s victory in Vienna the previous weekend.
But after van Gerwen was knocked out by emerging star Rob Cross in the third round yesterday afternoon, Wright then went all the way, beating Mervyn King 6-2 in the final, to move back to the top.
The European Darts Open was the eighth of 12 events on this year’s European Tour, with its own Order of Merit being used to determine the 32 players who will qualify for the Unibet European Championship later this year.
The top 32 players on the European Tour Order of Merit following the completion of the 12th event will qualify for Hasselt, with the top eight being seeded for the event.
King’s run to his first European Tour final in almost three years has seen him climb into a provisional seeding position, while John Henderson and Cross have strengthened their positions with runs to the quarter-finals at the weekend.
James Wade and James Richardson have both moved into the top 32, at the expense of Chris Dobey and Jamie Bain, who both failed to qualify for Leverkusen. Wade lost out to Dave Chisnall in the second round, while Richardson went one better as he got to the final day before bowing out to Michael Smith in the last 16.
European Tour Order of Merit (Only top 32 qualify for the Unibet European Championship) (as of July 3, 2017)
| Pos | Player | Prize Money |
| 1 | Peter Wright | £113,000 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | £102,000 |
| 3 | Michael Smith | £51,000 |
| 4 | Mensur Suljovic | £43,000 |
| 5 | Jelle Klaasen | £31,000 |
| 6 | Mervyn King | £25,000 |
| = | Cristo Reyes | £25,000 |
| 8 | Benito van de Pas | £24,000 |
| 9 | Joe Cullen | £23,000 |
| = | Dave Chisnall | £23,000 |
| 11 | Daryl Gurney | £21,000 |
| 12 | Stephen Bunting | £20,000 |
| = | Gerwyn Price | £20,000 |
| 14 | Rob Cross | £18,000 |
| 15 | Ian White | £16,000 |
| 16 | Simon Whitlock | £15,000 |
| 17 | Dimitri van den Bergh | £14,000 |
| 18 | John Henderson | £13,000 |
| = | Krzysztof Ratajski | £13,000 |
| = | Kim Huybrechts | £13,000 |
| 21 | Alan Norris | £12,000 |
| 22 | Christian Kist | £11,000 |
| 23 | Martin Schindler | £10,000 |
| 24 | Vincent van der Voort | £9,000 |
| = | James Richardson | £9,000 |
| 26 | James Wilson | £8,000 |
| = | Jonny Clayton | £8,000 |
| = | Kyle Anderson | £8,000 |
| = | James Wade | £8,000 |
| 30 | Darren Johnson | £7,000 |
| = | Dirk van Duijvenbode | £7,000 |
| = | Jan Dekker | £7,000 |
| 33 | Justin Pipe | £6,000 |
| = | Chris Quantock | £6,000 |
| = | Chris Dobey | £6,000 |
| = | Zoran Lerchbacher | £6,000 |
| = | Ronny Huybrechts | £6,000 |
| = | Jamie Bain | £6,000 |
| = | Mark Webster | £6,000 |
Other notable players: Gary Anderson (£0), Adrian Lewis (£5,000), Phil Taylor (£0), Raymond van Barneveld (£4,000), Robert Thornton (£3,000), Terry Jenkins (£0), Steve Beaton (£3,000), Brendan Dolan (£1,000), Darren Webster (£5,000)
Picture: PDC Europe
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