Category: Rankings

One of the interesting sub-plots to follow during the BetVictor World Matchplay will be the race to qualify for the Champions League of Darts in September.

The tournament was launched last year and saw the PDC makes its televised debut on the BBC, with Phil Taylor defeating Michael van Gerwen 11-5 in the final to win the inaugural event.

The criteria for last year was set as the top eight players on the PDC Order of Merit, but this year the defending champion Taylor is guaranteed a spot even if he falls out of the top eight come the cut-off, which will be straight after the World Matchplay.

It means only the top seven on the PDC Order of Merit following the World Matchplay are certain to be in the tournament, and as it stands three players from last year’s line-up are set to miss out.

Below is the provisional PDC Order of Merit, with prize money won from the 2015 World Matchplay removed and first round prize money from this year’s World Matchplay added.

James Wade, a runner-up in Blackpool two years ago, Michael Smith and Robert Thornton are all currently set to miss out, while Dave Chisnall, Mensur Suljovic and Raymond van Barneveld are currently in line for their debuts in the non-ranking event.

Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis are mathematically secure of their places, which leaves just three spots left to be decided in Blackpool.

Provisional PDC Order of Merit (Phil Taylor + the next top seven qualify) (2015 World Matchplay prize money removed and first round prize money from this year’s World Matchplay added)

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Michael van Gerwen (Q)	£1,650,250
2	Gary Anderson (Q)	£756,000
3	Peter Wright (Q)	£667,250
4	Adrian Lewis (Q)	£385,000
5	Dave Chisnall	£352,500
6	Mensur Suljovic	£335,500
7	Raymond van Barneveld	£320,500
8	Michael Smith	£312,750
9	James Wade	£312,500
10	Jelle Klaasen	£312,250
11	Phil Taylor (Q)	£301,250
12	Kim Huybrechts	£279,250
13	Ian White	£272,000
14	Benito van de Pas	£265,750
15	Daryl Gurney	£256,500
16	Robert Thornton	£255,750
17	Simon Whitlock	£246,000
18	Alan Norris	£240,750
19	Gerwyn Price	£226,500

Michael van Gerwen stretched his lead at the top of the World Series of Darts to 12 points following his victory in the US Darts Masters yesterday.

The world number one won the inaugural staging of the event in Las Vegas after beating Daryl Gurney 8-6 in a closely-fought final, making it back-to-back victories on the World Series circuit after he also retained the Shanghai Darts Masters title last week.

World Series debutant Gurney heads into eighth spot after reaching the final, while Las Vegas semi-finalists Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price are second and third respectively.

World Series of Darts Order of Merit (as of July 16, 2017)

Pos	Player	Points
1	Michael van Gerwen	32
2	Gary Anderson	20
3	Gerwyn Price	13
4	Peter Wright	11
=	Dave Chisnall	11
6	Raymond van Barneveld	9
=	James Wade	9
8	Daryl Gurney	8
9	Phil Taylor	6
10	Dawson Murschell	3
=	Dave Richardson	3
12	Max Hopp	1
=	Chris White	1
=	Willard Bruguier	1
=	Jayson Barlow	1
=	David Cameron	1
=	Shawn Brenneman	1
=	Dennis Sayre	1
=	Paul Lim	1
=	Royden Lam	1
=	Haruki Muramatsu	1
=	Hyun Chul Park	1
=	Cheng An Liu	1
=	Xiao Chen Zong	1
=	Wei Hong Li	1
=	Hai Long Chen	1

 

Daryl Gurney has become the newest member of the top 16 in the PDC this week.

The Northern Irish number one has moved into the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time in his career, overtaking Australia’s Simon Whitlock into 16th spot.

Gurney was just won win away from climbing into the top 16 on Sunday, losing 6-2 to Joe Cullen in the semi-finals of Players Championship 16, but has now pushed himself above Whitlock after the prize money from the 2015 European Darts Open fell off the two-year ranking list yesterday.

Elsewhere, Michael Smith has moved back into the top 10, at the expense of Jelle Klaasen, Ian White has leapfrogged Kim Huybrechts into 12th, and Benito van de Pas has climbed above 2015 European Darts Open champion Robert Thornton and up into 14th.

PDC Order of Merit (as of July 14, 2017)

Justin Pipe hauled himself into the final qualifying spot for the BetVictor World Matchplay with one event left to go before the cut-off after reaching the semi-finals of Players Championship 15 today.

The world number 28, who reached back-to-back quarter-finals in Blackpool in 2012 and 2013, produced his best performance of the season so far to get to the semi-finals in Barnsley on Saturday.

The £3,000 accrued was enough to see him climb into the last provisional qualifying spot for this year’s World Matchplay, knocking out Chris Dobey in the process, and he holds a £750 lead over both Dobey and Jonny Clayton heading into Players Championship 16 tomorrow.

The final three places in the 32-player field will be determined tomorrow, after Players Championship 15 winner Darren Webster, Steve West, Steve Beaton and Kyle Anderson all mathematically secured their spots today.

John Henderson, Christian Kist and Pipe currently occupy the final three places with one event to go before the cut-off, but Dobey and Clayton will be bidding to snatch their ranking with a good run tomorrow.

Provisional PDC Order of Merit (Only top 16 qualify) 

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Michael van Gerwen	£1,748,250
2	Gary Anderson	£759,000
3	Peter Wright	£688,750
4	Adrian Lewis	£388,000
5	Dave Chisnall	£364,500
6	James Wade	£360,500
7	Mensur Suljovic	£347,500
8	Phil Taylor	£321,250
9	Raymond van Barneveld	£319,500
10	Jelle Klaasen	£314,750
11	Michael Smith	£313,750
12	Kim Huybrechts	£287,750
13	Ian White	£281,750
14	Robert Thornton	£278,250
15	Benito van de Pas	£264,750
16	Simon Whitlock	£251,000
17	Daryl Gurney	£247,500

Provisional PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit (Excluding players already in the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit) (Only top 16 qualify) 

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Daryl Gurney	£84,250
2	Alan Norris	£78,750
3	Rob Cross	£61,750
4	Joe Cullen	£61,250
5	Mervyn King	£61,000
6	Gerwyn Price	£60,750
7	Cristo Reyes	£57,500
8	Stephen Bunting	£51,000
9	Darren Webster	£43,250
10	James Wilson	£41,750
=	Steve West	£41,750
12	Steve Beaton	£40,500
13	Kyle Anderson	£39,000
14	John Henderson	£38,000
15	Christian Kist	£35,500
16	Justin Pipe	£34,500
17	Jonny Clayton	£33,750
=	Chris Dobey	£33,750
19	Ronny Huybrechts	£31,750
20	Dimitri van den Bergh	£30,250
=	Vincent van der Voort	£30,250

The race to the BetVictor World Matchplay reaches its conclusion with the final events before the cut-off taking place at the Barnsley Metrodome this weekend.

A Players Championship double-header, offering a combined £150,000 in prize money, will be held on Saturday and Sunday and will be the final events before the cut-off for qualification for this year’s World Matchplay.

Following this weekend’s double-header, the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit along with the top 16 non-qualified players from the Pro Tour Order of Merit will qualify for the major event.

With two £10,000 first prizes up for grabs this weekend there could be some movement in the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit, while Simon Whitlock in 16th spot could still be overhauled by Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price or Alan Norris.

The quartet would all be among the Pro Tour Order of Merit qualifiers regardless of their position in the main Order of Merit, along with rising star Rob Cross, who is currently one of six players set to make their debuts at the World Matchplay.

Cristo Reyes, James Wilson, Steve West, Christian Kist and Chris Dobey are also in line to make their debuts, but Justin Pipe, Jonny Clayton, Ronny Huybrechts and Vincent van der Voort also sit just outside the provisional qualifying places.

The listed Order of Merit tables have no prize money to be removed from, meaning earnings won in Barnsley will be added to the totals below.

Provisional PDC Order of Merit (Only top 16 qualify) 

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Michael van Gerwen	£1,748,250
2	Gary Anderson	£759,000
3	Peter Wright	£688,750
4	Adrian Lewis	£388,000
5	Dave Chisnall	£364,500
6	James Wade	£360,500
7	Mensur Suljovic	£347,500
8	Phil Taylor	£321,250
9	Raymond van Barneveld	£319,500
10	Jelle Klaasen	£314,750
11	Michael Smith	£312,750
12	Kim Huybrechts	£286,750
13	Ian White	£281,750
14	Robert Thornton	£276,750
15	Benito van de Pas	£264,750
16	Simon Whitlock	£250,500
17	Daryl Gurney	£241,500
18	Gerwyn Price	£238,000
19	Alan Norris	£235,000

Provisional PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit (Excluding players already in the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit) (Only top 16 qualify) 

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Daryl Gurney	£78,250
2	Alan Norris	£76,500
3	Rob Cross	£60,750
4	Gerwyn Price	£60,750
5	Joe Cullen	£60,250
6	Mervyn King	£59,500
7	Cristo Reyes	£57,500
8	Stephen Bunting	£51,000
9	James Wilson	£41,750
10	Steve West	£41,250
11	Steve Beaton	£39,500
12	Kyle Anderson	£36,000
13	John Henderson	£35,750
14	Christian Kist	£35,500
15	Darren Webster	£33,250
16	Chris Dobey	£32,750
17	Justin Pipe	£31,500
=	Jonny Clayton	£31,500
19	Ronny Huybrechts	£31,250
20	Vincent van der Voort	£30,250

John Henderson has risen back into the top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit following his run to the quarter-finals in Leverkusen at the weekend.

The Scot defeated Ray Campbell, Kim Huybrechts and Alan Norris on his way to reaching the last eight of the HappyBet European Darts Open, his best run on the tour since a semi-final run in a Players Championship event last September.

Henderson’s move back into the top 32 came at the expense of Jamie Caven, who drops out of the top 32 on the Order of Merit for the first time in over four years.

Lower down the rankings, rising star Rob Cross has broken into the top 50 for the first time as his impressive first year on the main PDC circuit continues.

Last year’s Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner knocked out world number one Michael van Gerwen in the third round in Leverkusen on Sunday, before losing out to eventual runner-up Mervyn King in the quarter-finals.

Peter Wright took the title in Leverkusen on Sunday evening, beating King 6-2 in the final to win his fourth European Tour event of 2017, with his latest victory closing the gap on world number two Gary Anderson to £70,250.

PDC Order of Merit (as of July 3, 2017)

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

Joe Cullen has moved up two spots to 22nd on the PDC Order of Merit following his run to the semi-finals of the Austrian Darts Open last weekend.

The 27-year-old has been in good form on the European Tour in recent months, reaching one semi-final as well as two quarter-finals in his previous four events on the circuit.

Cullen picked up his first senior ranking title in the PDC back in April, and his good run in Vienna has seen him continue to climb the rankings, moving above both Terry Jenkins and Mark Webster and into 22nd spot.

Higher up the Order of Merit, Jelle Klaasen’s run to the third round in Vienna was enough to dislodge Phil Taylor out of eighth spot, with the 16-time world champion continuing to slide down the rankings due to his reduced playing schedule in his final year on the tour.

Back-to-back semi-finals on the European Tour for Cristo Reyes has helped the Spaniard climb up into a career-high 28th spot, while Chris Dobey’s run to the third round has pushed him up two spots and into 36th.

Kim Viljanen’s impressive run to the quarter-finals at the weekend has propelled the Finn up 10 places and into 80th, while Martin Schindler and Jamie Bain have also made good ground on the Order of Merit following their exploits in Vienna.

PDC Order of Merit (as of June 26, 2017)

Chris Dobey moved closer to securing his first appearance in the BetVictor World Matchplay with his run to the third round in Vienna last weekend.

The world number 39 made his debut in several major events last year, including the World Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and European Championship.

The top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit on July 10, following Players Championship 16, will automatically qualify for the World Matchplay, while the next top 16 players on the Pro Tour Order of Merit will complete the 32-player line-up.

With three events to go before the cut off, of the chasing pack it was Dobey who made the biggest strides based on his performances at the Austrian Darts Open at the weekend.

Comfortable victories over David Pallett and Stephen Bunting saw Dobey progress to the last 16 of a PDC ranking event for the first time since February, before he was beaten by Finland’s Kim Viljanen 6-2 in the third round.

The £3,000 for getting to the last 16 has moved Dobey level with Scotland’s John Henderson in the 16th and final qualifying spot from the Pro Tour Order of Merit, but, perhaps crucially, Dobey has not qualified for this weekend’s European Tour event in Leverkusen, while Henderson has.

Henderson is guaranteed a minimum £1,000 this weekend, which will see him open up a gap on Dobey again, while Justin Pipe, currently down in 19th, has also qualified and can put himself into contention for Blackpool with a good run.

Looking at the PDC Order of Merit, Daryl Gurney continues to get closer to a spot in the top 16, besting Simon Whitlock’s run in Vienna by one round at the weekend, cutting the gap between the two now to £11,750.

PDC Order of Merit (Only top 16 qualify) (as of June 26, 2017)

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Michael van Gerwen	£1,745,250
2	Gary Anderson	£759,000
3	Peter Wright	£666,000
4	Adrian Lewis	£389,500
5	James Wade	£370,000
6	Dave Chisnall	£362,000
7	Mensur Suljovic	£345,500
8	Jelle Klaasen	£325,500
9	Phil Taylor	£324,250
10	Raymond van Barneveld	£319,500
11	Michael Smith	£309,500
12	Kim Huybrechts	£292,500
13	Ian White	£288,750
14	Robert Thornton	£277,750
15	Benito van de Pas	£267,000
16	Simon Whitlock	£252,250
17	Daryl Gurney	£240,500
18	Gerwyn Price	£236,250
19	Alan Norris	£233,750
20	Mervyn King	£179,500

PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit (Excluding players already in the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit) (Only top 16 qualify) (as of June 26, 2017)

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Daryl Gurney	£76,750
2	Alan Norris	£74,000
3	Joe Cullen	£63,250
4	Cristo Reyes	£61,000
5	Gerwyn Price	£59,000
6	Rob Cross	£56,750
7	Mervyn King	£51,500
8	Stephen Bunting	£50,000
9	Steve Beaton	£47,000
10	James Wilson	£42,250
11	Steve West	£41,750
12	Kyle Anderson	£38,250
13	Christian Kist	£34,500
14	Ronny Huybrechts	£33,500
15	Darren Webster	£33,250
16	John Henderson	£32,750
=	Chris Dobey	£32,750
18	Jonny Clayton	£31,500
19	Justin Pipe	£31,000
20	Vincent van der Voort	£30,250

Michael van Gerwen climbed up to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit following last night’s victory in the Austrian Darts Open in Vienna.

The world number one edged past Michael Smith 6-5 in a thrilling final to land back-to-back titles on the European Tour circuit, and his third in total for 2017.

The victory helped van Gerwen to climb above Peter Wright, a three-time winner on the European Tour this season, up into the top spot on the European Tour Order of Merit, which is the sole means of qualification for the Unibet European Championship later this year.

The top 32 players on the Order of Merit, following the completion of the 12th and final European Tour event of the year, will all qualify for the televised event in Hasselt, with the top eight enlisted as the seeds for the tournament.

Joe Cullen’s run to the semi-finals in Vienna has moved him into the top eight, at the expense of Dave Chisnall, who was absent from the European Tour this past weekend.

Jamie Bain and Chris Dobey’s runs to the last 16 at the weekend has moved them both into provisional qualifying places, while Finnish ace Kim Viljanen pushed himself into contention too.

Viljanen was the surprise conqueror of world number three Peter Wright on Saturday, and he went on to make it through to the quarter-finals the following day to sit on £5,000 on the Order of Merit.

A number of big names are set to miss out on the European Championship as it stands, with Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor having yet to play in any European Tour event in 2017, while James Wade, Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld all currently fall just short of the top 32.

With five events of this year’s European Tour left to go, and £675,000 in prize money up for grabs, there is still plenty of time for the top boys to haul themselves into a qualifying spot for Hasselt.

European Tour Order of Merit (Only top 32 qualify for the Unibet European Championship) (as of June 26, 2017)

Pos	Player	Prize Money
1	Michael van Gerwen	£99,000
2	Peter Wright	£88,000
3	Michael Smith	£45,000
4	Mensur Suljovic	£37,000
5	Jelle Klaasen	£31,000
6	Cristo Reyes	£24,000
=	Benito van de Pas	£24,000
8	Joe Cullen	£20,000
9	Dave Chisnall	£19,000
10	Daryl Gurney	£18,000
11	Stephen Bunting	£17,000
12	Ian White	£16,000
=	Gerwyn Price	£16,000
14	Mervyn King	£15,000
=	Simon Whitlock	£15,000
16	Rob Cross	£14,000
17	Kim Huybrechts	£13,000
18	Krzysztof Ratajski	£11,000
=	Dimitri van den Bergh	£11,000
20	Martin Schindler	£9,000
=	John Henderson	£9,000
=	Christian Kist	£9,000
=	Alan Norris	£9,000
24	Jonny Clayton	£8,000
=	James Wilson	£8,000
26	Vincent van der Voort	£7,000
=	Dirk van Duijvenbode	£7,000
=	Kyle Anderson	£7,000
=	Jan Dekker	£7,000
=	Darren Johnson	£7,000
31	Chris Dobey	£6,000
=	Jamie Bain	£6,000
=	Ronny Huybrechts	£6,000
=	Chris Quantock	£6,000
=	James Richardson	£6,000
=	James Wade	£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), Mark Webster (£5,000), Steve Beaton (£3,000), Brendan Dolan (£1,000), Justin Pipe (£5,000), Darren Webster (£5,000), Jamie Caven (£0)