PDC Darts World Rankings 2026
Live order of merit updated after every PDC tour event. Search, sort, and track ranking changes across 205 professional players.
QUICK ANSWER
The PDC Order of Merit is a two-year rolling prize money list. Every pound a player wins at a PDC ranking event stays on their total for exactly 104 weeks, then drops off.
It is not a points system and it is not a form guide. It is money won, tracked across a moving two-year window, and it decides who gets seeded, who qualifies for the majors, and who keeps a Tour Card. The table above is that list.
How the Two-Year Rolling Window Works
Most explanations stop at "it's a two-year prize money list." The half that actually moves the table is the drop-off. Prize money is removed from a player's total exactly 104 weeks after it was won, regardless of where that falls in the calendar. Win £200,000 at the 2024 World Matchplay and that money leaves your total the week the 2026 World Matchplay finishes.
That creates the single most misunderstood pattern in darts rankings: a player can fall several places without playing badly. They were simply defending a big result from two years ago and did not replace it. The reverse is just as common — a player with nothing to defend climbs on a modest run because everyone above them is shedding old money.
THE PART MOST GUIDES SKIP
Every ranking event a player enters is both an earning opportunity and a defence. When you look at the table above, you are seeing the net result of money coming in and money falling out at the same time. A flat total does not mean a flat two years.
Which Events Count Toward the Order of Merit
This is where competitor pages get it wrong most often. Prestige and prize money do not make an event a ranking event — the PDC's own classification does.
COUNTS
Ranking events
The eight Premier Ranked Events — World Championship, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam, European Championship, Players Championship Finals, UK Open and World Masters — plus the full ProTour schedule of Players Championship and European Tour events.
DOES NOT COUNT
Non-ranking events
The Premier League, the World Cup of Darts and the World Series Finals. The PDC classifies the Premier League as a Premier Invitational Event, not a ranked one, so none of its prize money reaches the Order of Merit.
The Premier League point is worth repeating because it surprises people. Its 2026 prize fund was £1.25 million, and a player can win the whole thing without moving a single place on the list above. Invitational money pays the bills; it does not buy a seeding.
What the Table Above Shows Right Now
These are the figures behind the current list, dated 3 August 2026.
The drop-off between the top of the list and everyone else is steeper than the rankings alone suggest. Luke Littler sits at No. 1 with £3,127,000 — 5.2 times the total of Danny Noppert at No. 10 (£599,750). Ten players hold more than a third of all ranking money on a list of 205.
At the other extreme, the margins at the top are razor thin. Gian van Veen moved to No. 2 on £1,002,750, with Luke Humphries third on £1,000,500 — a gap of £2,250, or less than a single quarter-final run at a Players Championship event.
By nation, England accounts for 68 of the 205 ranked players (33%), ahead of the Netherlands on 30 and Germany on 25. The top 10 is drawn from just four countries: England, the Netherlands, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Four PDC Money Lists, and Why They Get Confused
The Order of Merit is one of several PDC lists, and they are routinely treated as interchangeable. They are not — they run over different periods and count different events.
TWO YEARS
PDC Order of Merit
The main list, shown above. All ranking prize money across a rolling 104-week window. This is the one that decides seedings and major qualification.
ONE YEAR
ProTour Order of Merit
Players Championship and European Tour money only, over roughly one year. Used to fill the qualifying spots at majors for players outside the main top 16.
ONE YEAR
European Tour Order of Merit
European Tour events only. The top 32 on this list qualify for, and are seeded at, the European Championship.
YOUTH
Development Tour Order of Merit
A separate list covering the youth circuit. Money won here does not appear on the main Order of Merit.
What a Ranking Position Actually Gets You
A player's position on the list above translates directly into where they enter tournaments and who they face first.
- World Championship: the top 32 on the Order of Merit are seeded. For the 2025/26 edition the field expanded to 128 players, made up of the top 40 from the Order of Merit, the top 40 from the ProTour list not already qualified, and 48 international qualifiers.
- World Matchplay and World Grand Prix: the top 16 on the Order of Merit qualify and are seeded, drawn against the top 16 from the ProTour rankings in round one.
- UK Open: ranking position sets your entry round. Players ranked 1–32 come in at round four, 33–64 at round three, 65–96 at round two, and 97–128 at round one.
- World Masters: the top 24 qualify, with the top 16 seeded.
Each event has a published cut-off date, and the list is frozen at that point for qualification purposes even though the live table keeps updating afterwards. Ties are settled by countback over the previous four eligible events, working back from the most recent until the players separate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Premier League prize money count toward the Order of Merit?
No. The PDC classifies the Premier League as a Premier Invitational Event rather than a ranked one, so none of its prize money reaches the Order of Merit. The same applies to the World Cup of Darts and the World Series Finals. A player can bank a significant sum from these events and stay exactly where they are on the list above.
How often is the Order of Merit updated?
After every ranking event. In practice that means the table moves several times a month during the Players Championship blocks and European Tour weekends, with larger swings after the televised majors. Each tournament also has a published cut-off date, which is the snapshot used to decide qualification and seeding for that event.
Why did a player drop down the rankings without losing early?
Almost always because of the 104-week drop-off. Prize money won two years earlier leaves the total on a fixed schedule, so a player defending a deep run from the same event two years ago will fall unless they match it. Movement on this list reflects the difference between money coming in and money falling out, not recent form on its own.
What is the difference between the Order of Merit and the ProTour rankings?
The Order of Merit covers all ranking prize money over two years. The ProTour Order of Merit covers only Players Championship and European Tour money over roughly one year. Majors typically take the top 16 from the Order of Merit and then fill the rest of the field from the ProTour list, which is why an in-form player outside the main top 16 can still qualify.
How many players are on the PDC Order of Merit?
The table above currently lists 205 players from 24 countries, holding £28.09 million in ranking prize money between them as of 3 August 2026. The number changes as players earn their first ranking money and as older prize money drops out of the two-year window entirely.
Ranking rules verified against the PDC's published Order of Merit rules at pdc.tv. Prize money figures reflect the live data in the table above, last updated 3 August 2026.