PDC Order of Merit

Last updated

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.

Contents

Methodology

The PDC World Darts Championship offers the highest amount of prize money of any event contributing to the Order of Merit. PDC World Darts Championship 2016.jpg
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

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]
TournamentTotalWinnerFinalistSemi-finalistsTop 8Top 16Top 32Top 64Top 96Top 128Prelim. Top 16Prelim. Top 32Prelim. Top 64
PDC Premier Events (2025)
World Championship 5,0001,00040020010060352515
World Masters [A] 500100503012.51052.510.75
UK Open 6001105030151052.51.51
World Matchplay 80020010050301510
World Grand Prix 600120604025157.5
European Championship 600120604025157.5
Grand Slam of Darts [B] 650150705025125 [C]
Players Championship Finals 600120603020106.53
PDC Pro Tour [D]
14 European Tour events 17530128.5642.5 [E] 1.25 [F]
34 Players Championship events 125151053.52.51.51.0
Total 2025 payouts14,6252,6701,2461,4011,6822,1022,4481,95648992201624
Prize money from the 2023 and 2024 seasons still contributing to the Order of Merit, where differing from 2025 prize money [11] [12]
World Championship2,500500200100503525157.5
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] 1001284321.250.75
  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

Luke Humphries, the current PDC world number one 2025-04-03 Premier League Darts Berlin 2025 by Sandro Halank-104.jpg
Luke Humphries, the current PDC world number one
PDC Order of Merit as of 27 July 2025. [13]
Players ranked 1 - 32
RankChangePlayerEarnings
1Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries £1,797,750
2Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Luke Littler £1,500,500
3Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen £739,750
4Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Stephen Bunting £620,500
5Increase2.svg 3 Flag of England.svg   James Wade £611,750
6Increase2.svg 3 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price £533,000
7Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of England.svg   Chris Dobey £520,500
8Decrease2.svg 3 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton £513,750
9Increase2.svg 2 Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross £505,500
10Steady2.svg Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Damon Heta £486,250
11Increase2.svg 6 Ulster Banner.svg   Josh Rock £481,750
12Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson £475,750
13Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Dave Chisnall £468,250
14Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Ross Smith £456,750
15Increase2.svg 1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Danny Noppert £446,500
16Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright £442,000
17Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Germany.svg   Martin Schindler £416,500
18Increase2.svg 4 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Gian van Veen £410,000
19Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Mike De Decker £397,000
20Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of England.svg   Ryan Searle £388,000
21Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith £368,500
22Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Dimitri Van den Bergh £362,250
23Decrease2.svg 16 Flag of England.svg   Nathan Aspinall £333,250
24Increase2.svg 2 Flag of England.svg   Ryan Joyce £326,250
25Increase2.svg 3 Flag of England.svg   Andrew Gilding £325,750
26Decrease2.svg 1 Ulster Banner.svg   Daryl Gurney £319,750
27Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Ritchie Edhouse £315,250
28Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Germany.svg   Ricardo Pietreczko £314,500
29Decrease2.svg 5 Flag of England.svg   Joe Cullen £312,500
30Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jermaine Wattimena £308,250
31Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Luke Woodhouse £296,250
32Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Dirk van Duijvenbode £278,500
*Change since 13 July 2025.
PDC Order of Merit as of 27 July 2025. [13]
Players ranked 33 - 64
RankChangePlayerEarnings
33Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Scotland.svg   Cameron Menzies £271,750
34Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of Poland.svg   Krzysztof Ratajski £267,250
35Increase2.svg 1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld £255,250
36Decrease2.svg 1 Ulster Banner.svg   Brendan Dolan £246,000
37Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Scott Williams £243,750
38Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Martin Lukeman £224,750
39Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Gabriel Clemens £194,250
40Increase2.svg 2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Wessel Nijman £190,500
41Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Kevin Doets £180,750
41Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of England.svg   Callan Rydz £180,750
43Steady2.svg Ulster Banner.svg   Mickey Mansell £159,000
44Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Ricky Evans £153,750
45Steady2.svg Flag of Latvia.svg   Madars Razma £150,750
46Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Niels Zonneveld £145,750
47Steady2.svg Flag of Ireland.svg   William O'Connor £141,000
48Increase2.svg 1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Richard Veenstra £120,500
49Increase2.svg 1 Flag of England.svg   Ian White £118,750
50Decrease2.svg 2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Kim Huybrechts £116,250
51Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Florian Hempel £108,750
52Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg   Matt Campbell £102,500
53Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Ireland.svg   Keane Barry £101,500
54Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Scotland.svg   Alan Soutar £98,500
55Decrease2.svg 3 Flag of Portugal (official).svg   José de Sousa £98,250
56Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Connor Scutt £97,250
57Steady2.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jim Williams £95,500
58Steady2.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Robert Owen £94,000
59Steady2.svg Flag of Sweden.svg   Jeffrey de Graaf £93,500
60Steady2.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Nick Kenny £90,500
61Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Ryan Meikle £86,500
61Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Stephen Burton £86,500
63Steady2.svg Flag of Austria.svg   Mensur Suljović £84,750
64Steady2.svg Flag of France.svg   Thibault Tricole £78,750
*Change since 13 July 2025.
Click "show" to view players ranked outside top 64
PDC Order of Merit as of 27 July 2025. [13]
Players ranked 65th or lower
RankChangePlayerEarnings
65Steady2.svg Flag of Ireland.svg   Dylan Slevin £77,250
66Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Dom Taylor £68,000
67Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   James Hurrell £67,500
68Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Mario Vandenbogaerde £58,250
69Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Chris Landman £52,750
70Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Niko Springer £43,750
71Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Andy Baetens £42,000
72Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Matthew Dennant£39,250
73Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Bradley Brooks £37,750
73Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Berry van Peer £37,750
75Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg  Darren Beveridge£36,250
76Steady2.svg Flag of Ireland.svg   Steve Lennon £36,000
77Steady2.svg Ulster Banner.svg   Nathan Rafferty £35,750
78Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Lukas Wenig £35,500
79Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Patrick Geeraets£35,250
80Steady2.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Rhys Griffin£35,000
81Steady2.svg Flag of the Czech Republic.svg   Karel Sedláček £34,000
82Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Owen Bates £33,500
83Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jitse Van der Wal£32,500
83Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Adam Hunt £32,500
85Steady2.svg Flag of Poland.svg   Radek Szagański £31,500
86Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jelle Klaasen £29,250
87Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Martijn Dragt£29,000
88Steady2.svg Flag of the United States.svg   Danny Lauby £28,750
89Steady2.svg Flag of New Zealand.svg   Haupai Puha £26,500
90Steady2.svg Flag of Denmark.svg  Benjamin Reus£26,000
91Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Robert Grundy£25,750
91Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Adam Lipscombe£25,750
93Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg   William Borland £25,500
94Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   George Killington £25,000
95Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Cam Crabtree £23,750
96Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Dominik Grüllich£23,250
97Steady2.svg Flag of Lithuania.svg   Darius Labanauskas £22,250
98Steady2.svg Flag of Poland.svg   Sebastian Białecki £21,250
99Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Justin Hood£21,000
99Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Brett Claydon £21,000
101Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Max Hopp £20,750
102Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Darryl Pilgrim£16,250
103Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg   Andy Boulton £15,500
104Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Wesley Plaisier £15,250
104Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Maik Kuivenhoven £15,250
104Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Joshua Richardson£15,250
104Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Thomas Lovely£15,250
108Steady2.svg Flag of Italy.svg  Michele Turetta£15,000
109Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Marvin van Velzen£12,750
109Steady2.svg Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg   Jim Long £12,750
111Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Leon Weber£12,000
112Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Tom Bissell£11,500
112Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Carl Sneyd£11,500
114Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Christian Kist £11,000
115Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Adam Warner£10,500
116Steady2.svg Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Stefan Bellmont £9,500
117Steady2.svg Flag of Croatia.svg   Boris Krčmar £9,000
118Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg  Greg Ritchie£8,500
118Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Tim Wolters£8,500
120Steady2.svg Flag of Sweden.svg   Andreas Harrysson £8,250
121Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Ted Evetts £8,000
122Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Maximilian Czerwinski£7,500
122Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Stefaan Henderyck£7,500
122Steady2.svg Flag of Austria.svg   Rusty-Jake Rodriguez £7,500
122Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jimmy van Schie £7,500
122Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Tavis Dudeney£7,500
127Steady2.svg Flag of Sweden.svg   Oskar Lukasiak £7,250
128Steady2.svg Ulster Banner.svg   Kevin Burness £7,000
129Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Tommy Lishman£6,500
130Steady2.svg Flag of Poland.svg   Tytus Kanik £6,250
131Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jamai van den Herik£6,000
131Steady2.svg Flag of Sweden.svg  Viktor Tingström£6,000
133Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Graham Hall£5,500
133Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Beau Greaves £5,500
135Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Adam Paxton£5,250
136Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King £5,000
136Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Daniel Klose £5,000
136Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jurjen van der Velde £5,000
139Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Alexander Merkx £4,500
139Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Danny van Trijp £4,500
139Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Tom Sykes£4,500
139Steady2.svg Flag of Norway.svg   Cor Dekker £4,500
143Steady2.svg Flag of Croatia.svg  Pero Ljubić£4,250
144Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jeffrey Sparidaans £4,000
144Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jarno Bottenberg£4,000
144Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Kai Gotthardt£4,000
144Steady2.svg Flag of the United States.svg   Jules van Dongen £4,000
148Steady2.svg Flag of Sweden.svg   Johan Engström £3,750
148Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Michael Unterbuchner £3,750
148Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Aden Kirk £3,750
151Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg   Nathan Girvan £3,250
152Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Kevin Knopf£2,500
152Steady2.svg Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Petr Křivka£2,500
152Steady2.svg Flag of Finland.svg   Teemu Harju £2,500
152Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Paul Krohne£2,500
152Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Graham Usher £2,500
157Steady2.svg Flag of Scotland.svg  Scott Campbell£2,000
158Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Henry Coates£1,750
159Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Jack Tweddell£1,500
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Kevin Troppmann£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Liam Maendl-Lawrance£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Martin Kramer£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Poland.svg  Mirosław Grudziecki£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Yorick Hofkens£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Dragutin Horvat £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Joshua Hermann£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Moritz Bohrmann£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jeffrey de Zwaan £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jerry Hendriks £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Slovenia.svg   Benjamin Pratnemer £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Marcel Erba£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Austria.svg   Christian Gödl £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Hungary.svg  György Jehirszki£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Austria.svg   Rowby-John Rodriguez £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Austria.svg   Zoran Lerchbacher £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Hungary.svg  András Borbély£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Finn Behrens£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   Michael Rosenauer £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg   René Eidams £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Patrick Klingelhöfer£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Paul Goyer£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Germany.svg  Laurin Welk£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Finland.svg   Marko Kantele £1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Cedric Waegemans£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  François Schweyen£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Patrick De Backer£1,250
160Steady2.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Sybren Gijbels£1,250
188Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Sam Spivey£1,000
188Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Paul Rowley£1,000
188Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Shaun Fox£1,000
188Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Simon Stevenson £1,000
188Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Tommy Morris£1,000
188Steady2.svg Flag of Ireland.svg  Michael Flynn£1,000
194Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg  Ryan Branley£750
*Change since 13 July 2025.

Secondary Orders of Merit

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:

Qualification and seedings to PDC events via PDC Orders of Merit [4]
TournamentQualifiers (seeds)
By Order of MeritOther
MainPTETPCWSCTDTWO
Ranked televised events
World Championship 40 (32)4033339
World Masters 24 (16) [a] [b] [b] [b] 8 [c]
UK Open TCH8816
World Matchplay 16 (16)16
World Grand Prix 16 (16)16
European Championship 32 (32)
Grand Slam of Darts 0 (8)11121
Players Championship Finals 64 (64)
PDC Pro Tour
European Tour events 16 (16)1616
Players Championship events TCH0 (32)
Non-ranked televised events
Premier League Darts 44
World Series of Darts Finals 8 (8)24
World Cup of Darts [d] [d]
Tour Cards642260 [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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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

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 CategoryWinnerRunner-upTop 4Top 8Top 16Top 32Top 40Top 64
World Championship50403530241612 [a]
Premier Event30242016128 [b] [c]
Category One161210864 [d]
Category Two864321
Category Three54321
  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

PDC Ranking Leaders Timeline [5] [24]
PDC Order of Merit

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
Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor 13
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2006
  • 2007
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen 7
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
Flag of England.svg Alan Warriner 6
  • 1993
  • 1994
  • 1997
  • 1998
  • 2001
  • 2002
Flag of England.svg Rod Harrington 5
  • 1995
  • 1996
  • 1998
  • 1999
  • 2000
Flag of England.svg Colin Lloyd 3
  • 2005
  • 2006
  • 2007
Flag of England.svg Dennis Priestley 2
  • 1994
  • 1995
Flag of England.svg Peter Manley 2
  • 2000
  • 2001
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gerwyn Price 2
  • 2021
  • 2022
Flag of England.svg Luke Humphries 2
  • 2024
  • 2025
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld 12008
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg John Part 12003
Flag of Scotland.svg Peter Wright 12022
Flag of England.svg Michael Smith 12023
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

No.Player(s)FromLengthRef.
1 Flag of England.svg   Alan Warriner-Little January 1993Incarnation of the WDC674 days [A] [5]
2 Flag of England.svg   Dennis Priestley 6 November 19941994 Lada UK Masters155 [5] [25]
3 Flag of England.svg   Rod Harrington 10 April 19951995 UK Matchplay479 days [A] [5] [25]
4 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor August 199631 days [A] [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Alan Warriner-Little (2)September 1996699 days [A] [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Rod Harrington (2)1 August 1998 1998 World Matchplay 728 days [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (2)29 July 2000 2000 World Matchplay 57 days [5] [25]
5 Flag of England.svg   Peter Manley 24 September 20002000 Windy City Open399 days [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Alan Warriner-Little (3)28 October 2001 2001 World Grand Prix 69 days [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg Alan Warriner-Little (4) and Phil Taylor (3)5 January 2002 2002 World Championship 28 days [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Alan Warriner-Little (5)2 February 20022002 Eastbourne Open88 days [A] [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (4)May 2002248 days [A] [5] [25]
6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg   John Part 4 January 2003 2003 World Championship 203 days [5] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (5)26 July 20032003 Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy 582 days [5] [25]
7 Flag of England.svg   Colin Lloyd 27 February 20052005 West Tyrone Open469 days [26] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (6)11 June 2006 2006 UK Open 7 days [27] [28]
Flag of England.svg   Colin Lloyd (2)18 June 20062006 Players Championship 3197 days [28] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (7)1 January 2007 2007 World Championship 365 days [5] [25]
8 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld 1 January 2008 2008 World Championship 159 days [29] [25]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (8)8 June 2008 2008 UK Open 2,033 days [29] [30]
9 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 1 January 2014 2014 World Championship 2,559 days [30] [31]
10 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price 3 January 2021 2021 World Championship 427 days [31] [32]
11 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 6 March 2022 2022 UK Open 140 days [32] [33]
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price (2)24 July 2022 2022 World Matchplay 77 days [33]
Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright (2)9 October 2022 2022 World Grand Prix 21 days [34]
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price (3)30 October 2022 2022 European Championship 65 days [34] [35]
12 Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith 3 January 2023 2023 World Championship 365 days [35]
13 Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries 3 January 2024 2024 World Championship 573 days [6] [36]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Uses 1st of month where exact date unknown.
Key
Before January 2007Used old points system
CurrentReigning number one on Order of Merit

Total Days at No. 1

No.PlayerTotal Days at No 1Longest Consecutive Run
1 Phil Taylor 33232033
2 Michael van Gerwen 25592559
3 Alan Warriner-Little 1558699
4 Rod Harrington 1207728
5 Colin Lloyd 666469
6 Luke Humphries 573573
7 Gerwyn Price 569427
8 Peter Manley 399399
9 Michael Smith 365365
10 John Part 203203
11 Peter Wright 161140
12 Raymond van Barneveld 159159
13 Dennis Priestley 155155
Active players in bold.

First WDC/PDC rankings

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 ]

RankingPlayer RankingPlayer
1 Flag of England.svg Alan Warriner 16 Flag of Denmark.svg Jann Hoffmann
2 Flag of England.svg Rod Harrington = Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Chris Johns
3 Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor = Flag of the Netherlands.svg Roland Scholten
4 Flag of England.svg John Lowe 19 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld
5 Flag of England.svg Mike Gregory = Flag of England.svg Keith Deller
6 Flag of England.svg Peter Evison 21 Flag of England.svg Bobby George
7 Flag of England.svg Kevin Spiolek 22 Flag of Denmark.svg Per Skau
= Flag of England.svg Dennis Priestley 23 Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Hebecker
9 Flag of England.svg Bob Anderson = Flag of Germany.svg Andree Welge
10 Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson = Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Pascal Rabau
11 Flag of Scotland.svg Jamie Harvey 26 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Leo Laurens
12 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow = Flag of the Netherlands.svg Bert Vlaardingerbroek
13 Flag of England.svg Cliff Lazarenko = Flag of Ireland.svg Tom Kirby
14 Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Caris = Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Weening
= Flag of England.svg Steve Beaton = Flag of Finland.svg Mauro Levy

References

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  28. 1 2 "Lloyd Confirmed As Number One". PDC. 20 June 2006.
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