Peter Wright's dramatic fall from the top of world darts has sparked widespread debate about whether the two-time World Champion could lose his PDC Tour Card. Currently ranked 38th in the World, Wright has dropped 30 places in the rankings, and with £69,000 to defend in the last two months of 2026, questions are being asked about his professional status. However, a closer look at the numbers suggests that while his form has declined alarmingly, his Tour Card may not be in immediate danger.
Wright's ranking of 38th, with £237,000 in prize money, puts him in a relatively secure position compared to players like Callan Rydz at 39th and Jeffrey De Graaf at 43rd. Even in the worst-case scenario, after defending £69,000 from 2024, he would still sit on £183,000 in January. The current World Number 64, Lukas Wenig, occupies the last Tour Card spot with £117,250, which is bound to increase due to guaranteed World Championship money but still falls short of Wright's 2025 earnings of £134,500 alone. Logistically, it would take a lot of bad luck for Wright to lose his card, so why are people saying he will?
The answer lies in his alarming decline in form. In 2023, Wright won 53% of his matches (61-54), but that figure dropped to 49% in 2024 (64-66), 46% in 2025 (45-52), and just 39% in 2026 (29-46). His scoring has fallen off a cliff: his average dropped from 93.31 between March and September 2025 to 87.32 by mid-2026, and his first nine average fell from 101.32 to 92.25 over the same period. His 180s per leg also declined from 0.25 to 0.17. Despite an improvement in his finishing—functional doubles climbed from 43.86% to 47.47%—his deciding leg average has plummeted from 95.62 to 80.34 in the latest quarter, contributing to an 8-15 record in matches decided by one leg in 2026.
Wright's psychological state has also been a factor. In March 2026, he told Assendelft Media, "It's horrible when people go 'I want to draw him because he's playing rubbish'." At the Austrian Darts Open in May, he joked, "When I win this one, that's 35 grand. I only need 10 grand," before losing his next match. He later admitted, "I shouldn't be in a World Cup. I'm not playing well enough." These honest but self-critical comments have raised concerns about his confidence. As the article notes, "Knowing you're playing rubbish doesn't help and never has done for darts players," drawing parallels with Glen Durrant and Jules Van Dongen.
Looking ahead, Wright faces a challenging 2027, when he will defend £134,500 earned in 2025—nearly four times his 2026 earnings so far. He is defending £10,000 from the World Matchplay and £7,500 each from the European Championship and World Grand Prix, events he will not qualify for in 2027. With £15,000 to defend from July to September and £32,000 from September to December, his ranking could come under severe pressure. The article projects that if his form continues, he could finish 2027 at World Number 73, well outside the top 64. However, for now, his Tour Card is safe for next year, but he needs to perform to keep it in 2028.
