Michael van Gerwen's grip on a top-ten spot in the PDC Order of Merit is hanging by a thread after the three-time world champion slipped to tenth in the latest rankings. The Dutchman is now just £3,000 ahead of Nathan Aspinall, leaving his place among the world's elite increasingly vulnerable heading into the final months of 2026.
Van Gerwen's troubles continued at the Dutch Darts Championship, where he suffered a 6-5 defeat to William O'Connor in his opening match, eliminated by a spectacular 121 checkout on the bullseye. That early exit left him without a victory in his final three European Tour appearances of 2026 and saw him fall one place to tenth, with Gary Anderson moving above him into ninth. The Scot now sits on £591,750 in ranking prize money, compared to Van Gerwen's £587,500, while Aspinall lurks immediately behind on £584,500.
At the top, Luke Littler retains a commanding advantage at world number one with £3,113,500, more than £2 million ahead of second-placed Luke Humphries. The battle behind Littler remains considerably tighter, with Humphries on £1,062,500 and Gian van Veen third on £1,045,750 – just £16,750 separating the pair ahead of the European Championship in Dortmund. Gerwyn Price remains fourth with £787,000, followed by Jonny Clayton in fifth and James Wade in sixth.
Danny Noppert climbed to seventh after reaching the Dutch Darts Championship final, overtaking Josh Rock, who did not compete in Maastricht. Noppert defeated Dave Chisnall, Jermaine Wattimena, Luke Woodhouse and Van Veen on his way to the final, producing a 113.42 average against Woodhouse in the quarter-finals, but his wait for a maiden European Tour title continues after an 8-5 defeat to Niels Zonneveld – his fifth loss in as many European Tour finals. Noppert now sits on £623,500, £17,000 ahead of Rock and within £57,750 of sixth-placed Wade.
Zonneveld's sensational triumph in Maastricht earned him a career-high world ranking of 28th with £316,750. The 28-year-old claimed his maiden PDC ranking title after defeating Mike De Decker, Krzysztof Ratajski, Gerwyn Price, Wessel Nijman and Stephen Bunting before beating Noppert 8-5 in the final, collecting £35,000 in prize money and moving above Daryl Gurney. Ross Smith also gained ground, finishing top of the 2026 European Tour Order of Merit with £158,000 across a campaign featuring two titles and two runner-up finishes, rising to 14th on £572,250 – just £4,000 behind Bunting in 13th and £5,000 behind Wessel Nijman in 12th.
William O'Connor broke into the world's top 32 for the first time, climbing one place to 32nd after his run in Maastricht, which included checkouts of 136, 131 and 121 to defeat Van Gerwen. He now heads to Dortmund to face Littler in the opening round of the European Championship. Elsewhere, Karel Sedlacek climbed two places to 44th, moving above Raymond van Barneveld, who drops to 45th, while Kim Huybrechts fell four positions to 55th after missing four match darts against Jimmy van Schie in a 6-5 defeat that cost him a place in Dortmund. Jeffrey de Graaf climbed two places to 41st, and Cameron Menzies moved up to 25th at the expense of Kevin Doets.
