Ross Smith has surged to the summit of the European Tour Order of Merit following his victory at the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest, the eleventh of fifteen events on the 2026 PDC European Tour. The Englishman, known as 'Smudger', claimed his second European Tour crown of the year, propelling him to the top of the rankings with £125,000 in prize money. He now holds a commanding £19,000 lead over second-placed Wessel Nijman, who despite having won two Euro Tours this year, exited in the second round in Budapest.
The top three is completed by Krzysztof Ratajski, who sits on £79,500 after his European Darts Open triumph last month, though he also fell in the second round in Hungary. Ratajski holds a £4,500 cushion over fourth-placed Nathan Aspinall, who reached the semi-finals last weekend. The top 32 after the European Tour season will qualify for the European Championship, scheduled for 22-25 October 2026 in Dortmund.
Notable names currently outside the qualification spots include Stephen Bunting (33rd), Michael Smith (35th), Daryl Gurney (36th), Gary Anderson (41st), Mike De Decker (45th), and Raymond van Barneveld (67th). Former winner Ritchie Edhouse sits 50th. Anderson, who has played minimal European Tour events this year, confirmed he will head to Prague next week after reaching the final in Budapest, his first event of the season.
Several players made significant upward moves in the rankings. Josh Rock climbed to fifth, Cristo Reyes entered the top 25, Dirk van Duijvenbode rose to 23rd, Dave Chisnall jumped to 26th, Chris Dobey moved up four spots to 18th, Gian van Veen advanced five places to 13th, and Danny Noppert broke into the top 10. Beau Greaves, who lost on debut to Rob Cross, is now 68th as she eyes a late push for Dortmund.