PDC Order of Merit

World ranking system for darts

The PDC Order of Merit, known for sponsorship purposes as the Werner Rankings Ladder,[1] is the world ranking system for professional darts players used by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), which ranks players according to the prize money won in PDC ranking tournaments. These world rankings are used to determine qualification and seeding for the televised ranking tournaments as well as the awarding of PDC Tour Cards at the end of the season.[2] The Order of Merit format has been used since the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, superseding the original PDC World Ranking system established in 1993, where points awarded for performances in tournaments according to their relative prestige.[3][4] Upon the introduction of the rankings, the first player to hold the number one rank was Alan Warriner.[5] Since 1993, twelve other players have held the top spot, including Luke Humphries, the current world number one.[6] Alongside the main Order of Merit, the PDC also operate several secondary Orders of Merit which count prize money won on specific PDC Tours and may also offer qualification to specific televised events.

## Methodology

[edit]

The PDC World Darts Championship offers the highest amount of prize money of any event contributing to the Order of Merit.

The Professional Darts Corporation adopted the current Order of Merit system in 2007. In this system, the total prize money won in PDC ranking events over the eligibility period is counted. For PDC Tour Card holders, this eligibility period is either the previous two years or since the player was awarded a tour card, whichever is shorter.[4] The PDC World Darts Championship is considered last event of the season, after which the year-end Order of Merit is calculated and players in the top 64 offered a Tour Card for the following year.[4] New Tour Card holders start on £0, even if they held a Tour Card in the previous season but failed to make the top 64, resulting in them having to regain their Tour Card through the qualifying tournament, Q School.[4] Players without Tour Cards who earn money in ranking tournaments (such as Luke Littler in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship) are eligible to be ranked during the season,[7] though if they fail to reach the top 64 at the end of the year, their ranking money is reset to £0.[4] If two players are tied and need separating for seeding or event qualification, the tie is broken by player with the highest total earnings across the previous four ranking tournaments. If this fails to break the tie, players' prize money is counted back from the most recent event until a tie can be broken, with the possibility of a play-off if this cannot break the tie.[4]

### Ranking tournaments

[edit]

The PDC holds ranked and unranked tournaments. Ranking tournaments are those which all PDC Tour Card holders are eligible to participate in or qualify for, while unranked tournaments are invitational and do not count toward the Order of Merit. Currently, the Premier League, World Series of Darts events and the World Cup of Darts are the only unranked PDC tournaments with Tour Card Holder participation outside of the secondary tours.[4]

Prize money awarded towards 2025 PDC Order of Merit in ranking tournaments (£1000s)[4] Tournament  | Total  | Winner  | Finalist  | Semi-finalists  | Top 8  | Top 16  | Top 32  | Top 64  | Top 96  | Top 128  | Prelim. Top 16  | Prelim. Top 32  | Prelim. Top 64

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PDC Premier Events (2025)
World Championship | 5,000  | 1,000  | 400  | 200  | 100  | 60  | 35  | 25  | —  | 15  | —
World Masters[A] | 500  | 100  | 50  | 30  | 12.5  | 10  | 5  | —  | 2.5  | 1  | 0.75
UK Open | 600  | 110  | 50  | 30  | 15  | 10  | 5  | 2.5  | 1.5  | 1  | —
World Matchplay | 800  | 200  | 100  | 50  | 30  | 15  | 10  | —
World Grand Prix | 600  | 120  | 60  | 40  | 25  | 15  | 7.5  | —
European Championship | 600  | 120  | 60  | 40  | 25  | 15  | 7.5  | —
Grand Slam of Darts[B] | 650  | 150  | 70  | 50  | 25  | 12  | 5[C] | —
Players Championship Finals | 600  | 120  | 60  | 30  | 20  | 10  | 6.5  | 3  | —
PDC Pro Tour[D]
14 European Tour events | 175  | 30  | 12  | 8.5  | 6  | 4  | 2.5[E] | 1.25[F] | —
34 Players Championship events | 125  | 15  | 10  | 5  | 3.5  | 2.5  | 1.5  | 1.0  | —
Total 2025 payouts | 14,625  | 2,670  | 1,246  | 1,401  | 1,682  | 2,102  | 2,448  | 1,956  | 48  | 992  | 20  | 16  | 24
Prize money from the 2023 and 2024 seasons still contributing to the Order of Merit, where differing from 2025 prize money[11][12]
World Championship | 2,500  | 500  | 200  | 100  | 50  | 35  | 25  | 15  | 7.5  | —
Prize money from the 2023 season still contributing to the Order of Merit, where differing from 2024 and 2025 prize money[12]
Players Championship events[G] | 100  | 12  | 8  | 4  | 3  | 2  | 1.25  | 0.75  | —

1. ^ Prior to 2025, the World Masters was an invitational tournament for 24 players which did not contribute to the Order of Merit.[8][9]
2. ^ An additional £3,500 is awarded to the 8 group winners.
3. ^ £8,000 and £5,000 are awarded to the third and fourth place finishers respectively in the group stage, which comprise the top 32.
4. ^ In 2025, the Pro Tour expanded from 13 European Tour events to 14 and 30 Players Championship events to 34.[9][10]
5. ^ Seeded players at European Tour events automatically qualify to the top 32, and do not receive money toward Order of Merit if they lose at this stage.
6. ^ European Tour events only have 48 players.
7. ^ Only events which are less than 104 weeks old count to the Order of Merit.

## PDC Order of Merit

[edit]

Luke Humphries, the current PDC world number one

PDC Order of Merit as of 30 July 2025.[13] Players ranked 1 - 32

Rank  | Change  | Player  | Earnings
1 |  |  Luke Humphries | £1,797,750
2 |  |  Luke Littler | £1,500,500
3 |  |  Michael van Gerwen | £739,750
4 |  |  Stephen Bunting | £620,500
5 |  |  James Wade | £611,750
6 |  |  Gerwyn Price | £533,000
7 |  |  Chris Dobey | £520,500
8 |  |  Jonny Clayton | £513,750
9 |  |  Rob Cross | £505,500
10 |  |  Damon Heta | £486,250
11 |  |  Josh Rock | £481,750
12 |  |  Gary Anderson | £475,750
13 |  |  Dave Chisnall | £469,250
14 |  |  Ross Smith | £461,250
15 |  |  Danny Noppert | £454,000
16 |  |  Peter Wright | £442,000
17 |  |  Martin Schindler | £418,000
18 |  |  Gian van Veen | £416,000
19 |  |  Mike De Decker | £398,000
20 |  |  Ryan Searle | £388,000
21 |  |  Michael Smith | £368,500
22 |  |  Dimitri Van den Bergh | £363,250
23 |  |  Nathan Aspinall | £333,250
24 |  |  Ryan Joyce | £329,750
25 |  |  Andrew Gilding | £326,750
26 |  4  |  Jermaine Wattimena | £324,750
27 |  1  |  Daryl Gurney | £323,250
28 |  1  |  Ritchie Edhouse | £315,250
29 |  1  |  Ricardo Pietreczko | £314,500
30 |  1  |  Joe Cullen | £314,000
31 |  |  Luke Woodhouse | £298,750
32 |  |  Dirk van Duijvenbode | £278,500
*Change since 27 July 2025.

PDC Order of Merit as of 30 July 2025.[13] Players ranked 33 - 64

Rank  | Change  | Player  | Earnings
33 |  |  Cameron Menzies | £274,250
34 |  |  Krzysztof Ratajski | £268,250
35 |  |  Raymond van Barneveld | £256,250
36 |  |  Brendan Dolan | £248,500
37 |  |  Scott Williams | £245,250
38 |  |  Martin Lukeman | £226,250
39 |  |  Gabriel Clemens | £198,250
40 |  |  Wessel Nijman | £195,500
41 |  |  Kevin Doets | £183,750
42 |  1  |  Callan Rydz | £180,750
43 |  |  Mickey Mansell | £161,000
44 |  2  |  Niels Zonneveld | £155,750
45 |  1  |  Ricky Evans | £155,250
46 |  1  |  Madars Razma | £151,750
47 |  |  William O'Connor | £143,500
48 |  1  |  Ian White | £121,750
49 |  1  |  Richard Veenstra | £120,500
50 |  |  Kim Huybrechts | £117,750
51 |  |  Florian Hempel | £109,750
52 |  1  |  Keane Barry | £105,000
53 |  1  |  Matt Campbell | £102,500
54 |  |  Alan Soutar | £101,000
55 |  1  |  Connor Scutt | £98,250
55 |  |  José de Sousa | £98,250
57 |  |  Jim Williams | £95,500
58 |  |  Robert Owen | £95,000
59 |  |  Jeffrey de Graaf | £94,500
60 |  1  |  Ryan Meikle | £90,500
60 |  |  Nick Kenny | £90,500
62 |  1  |  Stephen Burton | £88,500
63 |  |  Mensur Suljović | £85,750
64 |  |  Thibault Tricole | £80,750
*Change since 27 July 2025.

Click "show" to view players ranked outside top 64

PDC Order of Merit as of 30 July 2025.[13] Players ranked 65th or lower

Rank  | Change  | Player  | Earnings
65 |  |  Dylan Slevin | £78,750
66 |  |  Dom Taylor | £69,000
67 |  |  James Hurrell | £67,500
68 |  |  Mario Vandenbogaerde | £58,250
69 |  |  Chris Landman | £54,250
70 |  8  |  Lukas Wenig | £45,500
71 |  1  |  Niko Springer | £45,250
72 |  1  |  Andy Baetens | £44,500
73 |  |  Bradley Brooks | £43,750
74 |  2  |  Matthew Dennant | £42,750
75 |  2  |  Berry van Peer | £38,750
76 |  |  Steve Lennon | £38,500
77 |  2  |  Darren Beveridge | £38,250
78 |  4  |  Owen Bates | £37,500
79 |  2  |  Nathan Rafferty | £36,750
80 |  1  |  Karel Sedláček | £36,500
81 |  17  |  Sebastian Białecki | £36,250
82 |  2  |  Rhys Griffin | £36,000
83 |  4  |  Patrick Geeraets | £35,250
84 |  1  |  Adam Hunt | £33,500
85 |  2  |  Jitse Van der Wal | £32,500
86 |  1  |  Radek Szagański | £31,500
87 |  1  |  Jelle Klaasen | £30,250
88 |  7  |  Cam Crabtree | £29,750
89 |  2  |  Martijn Dragt | £29,000
90 |  2  |  Danny Lauby | £28,750
91 |  |  Robert Grundy | £28,250
92 |  1  |  Adam Lipscombe | £27,750
93 |  3  |  Benjamin Reus | £27,000
94 |  1  |  William Borland | £26,500
94 |  5  |  Haupai Puha | £26,500
96 |  3  |  Justin Hood | £26,000
97 |  3  |  George Killington | £25,000
98 |  2  |  Dominik Grüllich | £24,750
99 |  2  |  Darius Labanauskas | £22,250
100 |  1  |  Brett Claydon | £22,000
101 |  |  Max Hopp | £21,750
102 |  2  |  Wesley Plaisier | £17,750
103 |  1  |  Maik Kuivenhoven | £17,250
104 |  1  |  Andy Boulton | £16,500
105 |  1  |  Joshua Richardson | £16,250
105 |  3  |  Darryl Pilgrim | £16,250
107 |  2  |  Marvin van Velzen | £15,250
107 |  3  |  Thomas Lovely | £15,250
109 |  1  |  Michele Turetta | £15,000
110 |  2  |  Tom Bissell | £13,500
111 |  2  |  Jim Long | £12,750
112 |  10  |  Jimmy van Schie | £12,500
112 |  |  Carl Sneyd | £12,500
114 |  6  |  Andreas Harrysson | £12,250
115 |  1  |  Christian Kist | £12,000
115 |  4  |  Leon Weber | £12,000
117 |  14  |  Jamai van den Herik | £10,500
117 |  1  |  Stefan Bellmont | £10,500
117 |  2  |  Adam Warner | £10,500
120 |  8  |  Kevin Burness | £9,500
121 |  1  |  Maximilian Czerwinski | £9,000
121 |  4  |  Boris Krčmar | £9,000
123 |  13  |  Mervyn King | £8,500
123 |  8  |  Viktor Tingström | £8,500
123 |  5  |  Greg Ritchie | £8,500
123 |  5  |  Tim Wolters | £8,500
127 |  6  |  Ted Evetts | £8,000
128 |  6  |  Stefaan Henderyck | £7,500
128 |  6  |  Rusty-Jake Rodriguez | £7,500
128 |  6  |  Tavis Dudeney | £7,500
131 |  4  |  Oskar Lukasiak | £7,250
132 |  7  |  Danny van Trijp | £6,500
132 |  3  |  Tommy Lishman | £6,500
134 |  4  |  Tytus Kanik | £6,250
134 |  1  |  Adam Paxton | £6,250
136 |  3  |  Alexander Merkx | £5,500
136 |  3  |  Tom Sykes | £5,500
136 |  3  |  Graham Hall | £5,500
136 |  3  |  Beau Greaves | £5,500
140 |  4  |  Jarno Bottenberg | £5,000
140 |  4  |  Jeffrey Sparidaans | £5,000
140 |  4  |  Daniel Klose | £5,000
140 |  4  |  Jurjen van der Velde | £5,000
144 |  5  |  Cor Dekker | £4,500
145 |  13  |  Henry Coates | £4,250
145 |  2  |  Pero Ljubić | £4,250
147 |  3  |  Kai Gotthardt | £4,000
147 |  3  |  Jules van Dongen | £4,000
149 |  1  |  Johan Engström | £3,750
149 |  1  |  Michael Unterbuchner | £3,750
149 |  1  |  Aden Kirk | £3,750
152 |  36  |  Michael Flynn | £3,500
153 |  2  |  Nathan Girvan | £3,250
154 |  |  Dennie Olde Kalter | £2,500
154 |  |  Arno Merk | £2,500
154 |  2  |  Kevin Knopf | £2,500
154 |  2  |  Petr Křivka | £2,500
154 |  2  |  Teemu Harju | £2,500
154 |  2  |  Paul Krohne | £2,500
154 |  2  |  Graham Usher | £2,500
161 |  4  |  Scott Campbell | £2,000
162 |  |  Sietse Lap | £1,500
162 |  3  |  Jack Tweddell | £1,500
164 |  4  |  Kevin Troppmann | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Liam Maendl-Lawrance | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Martin Kramer | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Mirosław Grudziecki | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Yorick Hofkens | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Dragutin Horvat | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Joshua Hermann | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Moritz Bohrmann | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Jeffrey de Zwaan | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Jerry Hendriks | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Benjamin Pratnemer | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Marcel Erba | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Christian Gödl | £1,250
164 |  4  |  György Jehirszki | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Rowby-John Rodriguez | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Zoran Lerchbacher | £1,250
164 |  4  |  András Borbély | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Finn Behrens | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Michael Rosenauer | £1,250
164 |  4  |  René Eidams | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Patrick Klingelhöfer | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Paul Goyer | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Laurin Welk | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Marko Kantele | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Cedric Waegemans | £1,250
164 |  4  |  François Schweyen | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Patrick De Backer | £1,250
164 |  4  |  Sybren Gijbels | £1,250
192 |  |  Ron Meulenkamp | £1,000
192 |  4  |  Sam Spivey | £1,000
192 |  4  |  Paul Rowley | £1,000
192 |  4  |  Shaun Fox | £1,000
192 |  4  |  Simon Stevenson | £1,000
192 |  4  |  Tommy Morris | £1,000
198 |  4  |  Ryan Branley | £750
*Change since 27 July 2025.

## Secondary Orders of Merit

[edit]

In addition to the main two-year Order of Merit, the PDC also operates three Orders of Merit for subsets of the PDC Tour and four Orders of Merit for secondary tours. These rankings offer qualification to televised events and are the basis for seeding in tournaments. Additionally, some secondary tours offer Tour Cards. These are secondary Orders of Merit are the:

* Pro Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in Players Championships and European Tour events over a 12-month rolling period. In addition to qualification for televised tournaments, this ranking determines the seedings for Players Championship events.[14]
* European Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in European Tour events during the calendar year. The top 32 on this ranking list qualify for the European Championship at the end of the year, where all players are seeded according to their European Tour ranking.[15]
* Players Championship Order of Merit, which counts money earned in Player Championship events during the calendar year. The top 64 on this ranking qualify for the Players Championship Finals. Similarly to the European Championship, all players are seeded according to their rank.[16]
* Challenge Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in a calendar year on the Challenge Tour, a secondary tour open to players without Tour Cards that participated in the most recent Q-School. Top ranked players at the end of the year may qualify for televised tournaments and receive Tour Cards, depending on their rank.[17] The Challenge Tour Order of Merit also acts as a reserve list for Pro Tour events.[4]
* Development Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in a calendar year on the Development Tour, a secondary open to some Tour Card holders and players without Tour Card aged 16–23. Top ranked players at the end of the year may qualify for televised tournaments and receive Tour Cards, depending on their rank.[18]
* Women's Series Order of Merit, which counts money earned in a calendar year on the Women's Series, a secondary tour for female players.[4] Top ranked players at the end of the year may qualify for televised tournaments and receive Tour Cards, depending on their rank.[19]
* Women's World Matchplay Order of Merit, which counts money earned on the Women's Series earned over an approximately 12-month period prior to the Women's World Matchplay, to the which the top 8 players are invited.[4]

Qualification and seedings to PDC events via PDC Orders of Merit[4] Tournament  | Qualifiers (seeds)

|

By Order of Merit  | Other
Main  | PT | ET | PC | WS | CT | DT | WO
Ranked televised events
World Championship | 40 (32) | 40  | —  | 3  | 3  | 3  | 39
World Masters | 24 (16)[a] | —  | [b] | [b] | [b] | 8[c]
UK Open | TCH | —  | 8  | 8  | —  | 16
World Matchplay | 16 (16) | 16  | —
World Grand Prix | 16 (16) | 16  | —
European Championship | —  | 32 (32) | —
Grand Slam of Darts | 0 (8) | —  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 21
Players Championship Finals | —  | 64 (64) | —
PDC Pro Tour
European Tour events | 16 (16) | 16  | —  | 16
Players Championship events | TCH | 0 (32) | —
Non-ranked televised events
Premier League Darts | 4  | —  | 4
World Series of Darts Finals | —  | 8 (8) | —  | 24
World Cup of Darts | [d] | —  | [d]
Tour Cards  | 64  | —  | 2  | 2  | —  | 60[e]

1. ^ Players Ranked 25–56 will enter at the last 64 of the preliminary round, while Players Ranked 57–88 will be seeded in the preliminary round group stage, and Players Ranked 89–128 will enter at the preliminary rounded group stage non-seeded[20]
2. ^ a b c The top 8 eligible players from the Secondary Tours holders enter at the preliminary round group stage
3. ^ The 8 qualifiers from the preliminary round.
4. ^ a b Customarily, up to 2 Tour Card Holders are invited where possible from each nation, with priority for selection given to the highest-ranked players in the main Order of Merit. However, on some occasions (such as John Henderson's defence of Scotland's 2021 title), a lower-ranked player is invited. Where no Tour Card holders are available for a participating nation, players are invited directly by the PDC or through national qualifiers.[4][21]
5. ^ Players who have one year remaining of a two-year Tour Card and players qualifying through Q-school.

## Previous world ranking system

[edit]

Prior to 2007, a ranking point system was used where ranking points were awarded according to the stage reached in a tournament and the relative prestige of the tournament.[22] There was no limit on the number of tournaments which counted to the tally, which meant that the top-ranked players were not necessarily the best-performing in the major tournaments. For instance, Colin Lloyd was the world number one player in the PDC for most of 2005 and 2006, despite most of the major titles being shared between Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and John Part.[23]

PDC World Rankings Points System, 2003[22] Tournament Category  | Winner  | Runner-up  | Top 4  | Top 8  | Top 16  | Top 32  | Top 40  | Top 64

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World Championship  | 50  | 40  | 35  | 30  | 24  | 16  | 12  | [a]
Premier Event  | 30  | 24  | 20  | 16  | 12  | 8  | —  | [b][c]
Category One  | 16  | 12  | 10  | 8  | 6  | 4  | —  | [d]
Category Two  | 8  | 6  | 4  | 3  | 2  | 1  | —
Category Three  | 5  | 4  | 3  | 2  | 1  | —

1. ^ 2, 4 or 6 points for players who reached the later rounds of qualifying.
2. ^ For events with more than 128 players, 4 points.
3. ^ 1, 2, or 4 points for players who reached the later rounds of qualifying for the World Matchplay.
4. ^ For events with more than 128 players, 2 points.

## Previous World Number Ones

[edit]

PDC Ranking Leaders Timeline[5][24]

13 players have held the position of World Number One since the World Darts Council started new rankings in 1993. Seven different players held the position in the old points system, and seven players have held the position since the PDC switched to the two-year earnings based Order of Merit system in 2007, with Phil Taylor being the only player to have been number one in both eras.

Player  | # | Years in which player stood Number 1

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Phil Taylor | 13  |

* 1996
* 2000
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013

Michael van Gerwen | 7  |

* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

Alan Warriner | 6  |

* 1993
* 1994
* 1997
* 1998
* 2001
* 2002

Rod Harrington | 5  |

* 1995
* 1996
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000

Colin Lloyd | 3  |

* 2005
* 2006
* 2007

Dennis Priestley | 2  |

* 1994
* 1995

Peter Manley | 2  |

* 2000
* 2001

Gerwyn Price | 2  |

* 2021
* 2022

Luke Humphries | 2  |

* 2024
* 2025

Raymond van Barneveld | 1  | 2008
John Part | 1  | 2003
Peter Wright | 1  | 2022
Michael Smith | 1  | 2023
Italic indicates the player was reigning world champion that year
Bold indicates the player stood number one at the conclusion of that year's world championship

### Periods

[edit]

No.  | Player(s)  | From  | Length  | Ref.

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1 |  Alan Warriner-Little | January 1993 | Incarnation of the WDC  | 674 days[A] | [5]
2 |  Dennis Priestley | 6 November 1994 | 1994 Lada UK Masters  | 155  | [5][25]
3 |  Rod Harrington | 10 April 1995 | 1995 UK Matchplay  | 479 days[A] | [5][25]
4 |  Phil Taylor | August 1996 |  | 31 days[A] | [5][25]
|  Alan Warriner-Little (2) | September 1996 |  | 699 days[A] | [5][25]
|  Rod Harrington (2) | 1 August 1998 | 1998 World Matchplay | 728 days  | [5][25]
|  Phil Taylor (2) | 29 July 2000 | 2000 World Matchplay | 57 days  | [5][25]
5 |  Peter Manley | 24 September 2000 | 2000 Windy City Open  | 399 days  | [5][25]
|  Alan Warriner-Little (3) | 28 October 2001 | 2001 World Grand Prix | 69 days  | [5][25]
|  Alan Warriner-Little (4) and Phil Taylor (3) | 5 January 2002 | 2002 World Championship | 28 days  | [5][25]
|  Alan Warriner-Little (5) | 2 February 2002 | 2002 Eastbourne Open  | 88 days[A] | [5][25]
|  Phil Taylor (4) | May 2002 |  | 248 days[A] | [5][25]
6 |  John Part | 4 January 2003 | 2003 World Championship | 203 days  | [5][25]
|  Phil Taylor (5) | 26 July 2003 | 2003 Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy | 582 days  | [5][25]
7 |  Colin Lloyd | 27 February 2005 | 2005 West Tyrone Open  | 469 days  | [26][25]
|  Phil Taylor (6) | 11 June 2006 | 2006 UK Open | 7 days  | [27][28]
|  Colin Lloyd (2) | 18 June 2006 | 2006 Players Championship 3  | 197 days  | [28][25]
|  Phil Taylor (7) | 1 January 2007 | 2007 World Championship | 365 days  | [5][25]
8 |  Raymond van Barneveld | 1 January 2008 | 2008 World Championship | 159 days  | [29][25]
|  Phil Taylor (8) | 8 June 2008 | 2008 UK Open | 2,033 days  | [29][30]
9 |  Michael van Gerwen | 1 January 2014 | 2014 World Championship | 2,559 days  | [30][31]
10 |  Gerwyn Price | 3 January 2021 | 2021 World Championship | 427 days  | [31][32]
11 |  Peter Wright | 6 March 2022 | 2022 UK Open | 140 days  | [32][33]
|  Gerwyn Price (2) | 24 July 2022 | 2022 World Matchplay | 77 days  | [33]
|  Peter Wright (2) | 9 October 2022 | 2022 World Grand Prix | 21 days  | [34]
|  Gerwyn Price (3) | 30 October 2022 | 2022 European Championship | 65 days  | [34][35]
12 |  Michael Smith | 3 January 2023 | 2023 World Championship | 365 days  | [35]
13 |  Luke Humphries | 3 January 2024 | 2024 World Championship | 589 days  | [6][36]

1. ^ a b c d e f Uses 1st of month where exact date unknown.

Key
Before January 2007  | Used old points system

|

Current  | Reigning number one on Order of Merit

### Total Days at No. 1

[edit]

No.  | Player  | Total Days at No 1  | Longest Consecutive Run

|
|
|

1 | Phil Taylor | 3323 | 2033
2 | Michael van Gerwen | 2559 | 2559
3 | Alan Warriner-Little | 1558 | 699
4 | Rod Harrington | 1207 | 728
5 | Colin Lloyd | 666 | 469
6 | Luke Humphries | 589 | 589
7 | Gerwyn Price | 569 | 427
8 | Peter Manley | 399 | 399
9 | Michael Smith | 365 | 365
10 | John Part | 203 | 203
11 | Peter Wright | 161 | 140
12 | Raymond van Barneveld | 159 | 159
13 | Dennis Priestley | 155 | 155
Active players in bold.

## First WDC/PDC rankings

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Following the World Darts Council split from the British Darts Organisation between 1992 and 1994, the WDC drew up its first ranking list in the run-up to its inaugural 1994 World Championship. Mike Gregory and Chris Johns later went back to the BDO set up, and Bobby George and many of the non-UK players never competed in the early days of the WDC.[citation needed]

Ranking  | Player  |  | Ranking  | Player

|
|
|
|

1  |  Alan Warriner | 16  |  Jann Hoffmann
2  |  Rod Harrington | =  |  Chris Johns
3  |  Phil Taylor | =  |  Roland Scholten
4  |  John Lowe | 19  |  Raymond van Barneveld
5  |  Mike Gregory | =  |  Keith Deller
6  |  Peter Evison | 21  |  Bobby George
7  |  Kevin Spiolek | 22  |  Per Skau
=  |  Dennis Priestley | 23  |  Bernd Hebecker
9  |  Bob Anderson | =  |  Andree Welge
10  |  Jocky Wilson | =  |  Pascal Rabau
11  |  Jamie Harvey | 26  |  Leo Laurens
12  |  Eric Bristow | =  |  Bert Vlaardingerbroek
13  |  Cliff Lazarenko | =  |  Tom Kirby
14  |  Magnus Caris | =  |  Wayne Weening
=  |  Steve Beaton | =  |  Mauro Levy

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Phillips, Josh (2 July 2025). "Werner unveiled as PDC's 'Official Ladder Partner'". PDC. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
2. ^ "PDC Order of Merit | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
3. ^ "PDC Rankings". Global Darts. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "PDC Order of Merit Rules". PDC. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "World Number 1 (PDC)". Professional Dart Players Association. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
6. ^ a b Wood, Kieran (3 January 2024). "Luke Humphries the new world number one after World Darts Championships". Darts News. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
7. ^ Wood, Kieran (4 January 2024). "PDC Order of Merit after World Darts Championship 2024: Luke Humphries new number one, Luke Littler and Scott Williams into top-32, Peter Wright down to 8th". Darts News. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
8. ^ Allen, Dave (29 August 2024). "The Masters expands to 32-player ranked event in 2025". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
9. ^ a b Allen, Dave (29 August 2024). "More darts than ever in 2025 as PDC calendar released". PDC. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
10. ^ Gill, Samuel (29 August 2024). "PDC announces 2025 Calendar with over 130 days of ranking action including expanded ProTour confirmed". Darts News. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
11. ^ Chiu, Nigel (13 December 2024). "World Darts Championship: Schedule, format, previous winners and nine darters at Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
12. ^ a b "PDC Order of Merit Rules | PDC". PDC. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
14. ^ "ProTour Order of Merit". PDC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
15. ^ "2020 European Tour Order of Merit". PDC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
16. ^ "Players Championship Order of Merit". PDC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
17. ^ "Challenge Tour Order of Merit". PDC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
18. ^ "Development Tour Order of Merit". PDC. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
19. ^ "2024 PDC Women's Series Order of Merit". Retrieved 15 October 2023.
20. ^ Gill, Samuel (25 December 2024). "Format confirmed for 2025 Winmau World Masters including much-loved sets returning". Darts News. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
21. ^ Christie, Craig (31 May 2022). "John Henderson relishing opportunity to defend Cazoo World Cup of Darts title with Peter Wright". Northern Scot. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
22. ^ a b "Planetdarts : The Official Site of the Professional Darts Corporation Ltd". www.planetdarts.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2003-06-27. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
23. ^ "PDC Roll of Honour, Darts Championships - PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
24. ^ Nicholson, Paul (29 November 2023). "World number ones in darts: Michael Smith joins illustrious list of 12 players to reach the top of the PDC rankings including Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price". Sporting Life. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Darts Database Player Stats". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
26. ^ "Lloydy on top of the World". PDC. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
27. ^ "Taylor Regains Number One Spot". PDC. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
28. ^ a b "Lloyd Confirmed As Number One". PDC. 20 June 2006.
29. ^ a b "Taylor Back on Top". PDC. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
30. ^ a b Walters, Mike (1 January 2014). "Michael van Gerwen is Ladbrokes PDC World Darts Champion after beating Peter Wright". Mirror. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
31. ^ a b Allen, Dave (4 January 2021). "A number one hit! Price joins exclusive list to top rankings". PDC.
32. ^ a b "Peter Wright is world number one darts player after Gerwyn Price fails to reach UK Open final". Sporting Life. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
33. ^ a b Gorton, Josh (22 July 2022). "Price denies De Sousa in Winter Gardens thriller to seal semi-final spot". PDC. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
34. ^ a b Gill, Samuel (31 October 2022). "Price regains World Number One spot, Ross Smith into top 20 after maiden major win in updated PDC Order of Merit after European Championship". Darts News. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
35. ^ a b "Michael Smith beats Michael van Gerwen to win first world title with 'best leg of darts ever'". ESPN. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
36. ^ Gill, Samuel (4 January 2025). "PDC Order of Merit Update: Luke Littler passes Michael van Gerwen but World Number One out of reach for now". Darts News. Retrieved 5 January 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official PDC Order of Merit

* v
* t
* e

Top 20 PDC darts players in Order of Merit

|  |

1. Luke Humphries
2. Luke Littler
3. Michael van Gerwen
4. Stephen Bunting
5. James Wade

6. Gerwyn Price
7. Chris Dobey
8. Jonny Clayton
9. Rob Cross
10. Damon Heta

11. Josh Rock
12. Gary Anderson
13. Dave Chisnall
14. Ross Smith
15. Danny Noppert

16. Peter Wright
17. Martin Schindler
18. Gian van Veen
19. Mike De Decker
20. Ryan Searle

|
|
|
|

Rankings as of 30 July 2025 with movement in rank since 27 July 2025 indicated.

* v
* t
* e

Professional Darts Corporation

* Order of Merit
* Professional Darts Players Association
* Awards Dinner
* Triple Crown

Tournaments|

| Premier|

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|

Other|

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Former|

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Darts

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Organisations|

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See also|

* Split in darts
* List of darts players
* who have switched organisation
* Darts world rankings
* PDC
* World Professional Darts Championship
* BDO
* PDC
* WDF
* Bullseye
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*[PT]: ProTour
*[ET]: European Tour
*[PC]: Players Championship
*[WS]: World Series
*[CT]: Challenge Tour
*[DT]: Development Tour
*[WO]: Women's Series
*[TCH]: All Tour Card Holders
*[#]: total number of years
*[Ref.]: Reference
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template