The so-called Order of Merit is often mentioned in darts TV broadcasts. This is the official PDC world rankings .
This Dart PDC world ranking is mainly about the prize money that is earned . The Order of Merit always includes the PDC money rankings from the past two years .
But which tournaments are included in this Order of Merit and which players are noted in it ? There are also other money rankings that exist in the PDC. We would like to clarify which PDC ranking serves which purpose.
PDC Order of Merit: What’s it all about?
The best known of all ranking lists is certainly the PDC Order of Merit. The PDC Dart World Ranking list shows which players have earned prize money in the past two years . Attached you will find a current small excerpt (as of May 2022):
| position | Player name | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Wright | £1,204,000 |
| 2 | Gerwyn Price | £1,191,250 |
| 3 | Michael van Gerwen | £663,500 |
| 4 | Michael Smith | £608,000 |
| 5 | James Wade | £580,500 |
| 6 | Gary Anderson | £481,500 |
| 7 | Jose de Sousa | £467,000 |
| 8th | Dimitri van den Bergh | £440,500 |
| 9 | Johnny Clayton | £440,000 |
| 10 | Rob Cross | £395,500 |
It is clear that the top 10 players have each earned well over 300,000 pounds in the past two years. The lead of Michael van Gerwen, the current world number one, over Rob Cross is still enormous.
By the way, Adam Huckvale takes last place in the Order of Merit. He has grossed £1,000 and is ranked 196th on the Order of Merit - along with 32 other players.
In total, the prize money from eight major PDC tournaments falls into the Order of Merit, as well as the smaller tournaments on the European Tour and the Players Championship events .
Important: Tournaments from other associations, such as WDF Dart , of course do not count towards the PDC Order of Merit.
When will the PDC Order of Merit be updated?
It is important that the list is updated every day . The past two years are always looked at continuously. Anyone who is interested in the history of darts will find out some interesting information that they did not expect.
Which tournaments do not count in the Order of Merit?
Tournaments such as the World Cup, the Premier League, the Champions League, the Masters or the Word Series of Darts do not count towards the Order of Merit.
These are so-called invitational tournaments for which ordinary players cannot qualify. In principle, however, every player must have the chance to qualify for a tournament in the PDC dart world rankings.
This is the main requirement for prize money in a tournament to fall under the Order of Merit.
4 more PDC dart tournaments
There are different PDC world rankings. However, the PDC rankings differ significantly from each other. There are also differences in the PDC money rankings , as you can see from the information below. We have listed other dart records for you in various articles.
1. PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit
The PDC Order of Merit as the official darts world ranking is not the only one that exists in darts. Another is the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit. The Pro Tour rankings serve as the basis for qualifying for major PDC tournaments such as the World Matchplay, the World Grand Prix or the next Darts World Cup.
In contrast to the PDC Order of Merit, the Pro Tour Order of Merit only applies to the past year. Instead of two years, only one year of prize money is taken into account .
For example, the top 16 players in the Pro Tour Order of Merit are eligible to take part in the World Matchplay, provided they have not already qualified for the tournament elsewhere.
2. Challenge Tour Order of Merit
All players of the Professional Dart Player Association (PDPA) who do not have a tour card are eligible to take part in the Challenge Tour.
Only the two players who finish at the top receive the much sought-after Tour Card. This entitles players to take part in all Pro Tour tournaments during this period for two years . However, the players who end up in third to eighth place will at least have the opportunity to take part in the PDC Qualifying School for free.
The Challenge Tour, in which largely unknown players take part, includes a whopping 20 competitions over five weekends . Only very few winners of these competitions end up breaking through to the top stars in the world. The way to get there is a long one.
3rd PDC European Tour Order of Merit
The third PDC money ranking is the PDC European Tour Order of Merit. This is about determining the participants for the so-called European Championship .
The top 32 of this ranking are automatically qualified for the European Championships . It should be noted: Any player from any nation can take part in the qualifying tournaments.
The question often arises as to why, for example, the Australian Simon Whitlock takes part in a European Championship. The reason is that Whitlock can of course play in all qualifying tournaments in Germany.
This means that if he makes it into the top 32, he is also eligible to play in the European Championships.
Infobox: Unlike in football, for example, nationality does not play a role at the European Darts Championship .
The results of the PDC European Tour Order of Merit also flow into the PDC Order of Merit and the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit.
4. Development Tour Order of Merit
In order to bring young talent into the professional business, there is the so-called Development Tour. Only players between the ages of 16 and 23 are eligible to participate.
The placement offers the same profit in this PDC money ranking as in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. The two leaders receive the Tour Card for two years , while places 3 to 8 entitle them to take part in the Qualifying School.
After all, this series offers a whopping £190,000 in prize money . In addition, there is another 50,000 pounds, which is at stake in the Junior World Championships. Here too, a total of 20 competitions take place over five weekends .
Many PDC rankings - but only one really counts at the end of the day
The “smaller” PDC rankings are also very important for newcomers, young players or semi-professional dart players. At the end of the day , the only thing that counts for the professionals is the PDC Order of Merit , which is used to determine the world ranking position. This makes it the official Dart PDC world ranking.
However, it should never be forgotten that certain tournaments are not included in any money rankings. These are the tournaments in which only seeded players in the world rankings are allowed to take part.
As already mentioned, the best-known example of this is the Premier League. If you consider that the top players earn additional amounts of prize money through these tournaments, it becomes clear to everyone that at least the top 32 in the world can make a good living from darts .
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Conclusion
As you can see from the article, there are different lists. These are sometimes very relevant for the individual players , but in the end only a PDC world ranking counts for the professionals. Namely the PDS Order of Merit.
This is used to determine the world ranking position , which is why professionals only rely on this.
Of course, the same applies to the PDC money rankings. There are actually tournaments here that are not included in any of the various PDC rankings. That's why in this article we've given you a little insight into the different PDC rankings and PDC money rankings so that you know exactly what's going on in the future.
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