World number one Michael van Gerwen has extended his lead at the top of the PDC Order of Merit after storming to his third World Grand Prix title with victory over world champion Gary Anderson at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin, on Saturday evening.
‘The Green Machine’ has now taken his tally on the Order of Merit to a staggering £1, 337,000, after scooping the £100,000 winner’s cheque in Ireland. He now leads world number two Gary Anderson by £462,250, although the world champion added £45,000 to his total, by virtue of reaching his maiden Grand Prix final.
Yet, one of the biggest movers on the Order of Merit was five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld, who climbed up three places to 11th following his fine run to the semi-finals, seeing off Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis and Benito van de Pas without dropping a single set.
Elsewhere, Dave Chisnall has reclaimed his spot in the world’s top eight after also reaching the last four at the Citywest. Chizzy, a finalist back in 2013, overcame Robbie Green, Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney to reach the semi-finals, before he was edged out in a thriller by Michael van Gerwen.
Chisnall has leapfrogged his St Helen’s counterpart Michael Smith on the Order of Merit, after ‘Bully-Boy’ suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of Alan Norris. Smith now sits just £2,500 above Jelle Klaasen in 10th, after the Dutchman was also beaten in round-one by Adrian Lewis.
Benito van de Pas has broken into the world’s top 16 for the very first time, after reaching the quarter-finals. Van de Pas eased past Gerwyn Price and Terry Jenkins before being convincingly beaten by his darting hero Raymond van Barneveld.
Nevertheless, ‘Big Ben’ accrued £15,000 in prize money for reaching the last eight, which saw him leapfrog former Lakeside world champion Stephen Bunting. ‘The Bullet’ defeated reigning champion Robert Thornton in round one before losing out to Kim Huybrechts, but Bunting was defending £23,500 from having reached the semi-finals two years ago.
Simon Whitlock has climbed back into the world’s top 20 after a fine week’s work in Dublin. ‘The Wizard’ won his first PDC ranking title in over two years at Players Championship 18, before going on to reach the quarter-finals at the Grand Prix, scooping £25,000 over the course of the week.
The Australian has subsequently climbed ahead of 2012 Grand Prix finalist Mervyn King. The veteran Norfolk ace was a quarter-finalist in Dublin two years ago, but was beaten at the first hurdle this time around, going down in straight sets to Raymond van Barneveld.
Daryl Gurney has risen to a career high of 26th in the world, following a run to just his second PDC major quarter-final. ‘SuperChin’ made his return from a hand injury in Dublin and performed superbly, defeating Mensur Suljovic and Steve West, before losing 3-1 to Dave Chisnall in the last eight.
Finally, Steve West has broken into the world’s top 50 for the very first time after a dramatic week in Dublin. West only qualified for the Grand Prix by reaching the final of Players Championship 16 in Barnsley, and he continued his impressive floor form by reaching the last four in Players Championship 18.
However, West made the headlines by sensationally dumping out 11-time Grand Prix champion Phil Taylor in the first-round, coming back from a set down to stun ‘The Power’. This earned West £8,500, which sees him jump above Josh Payne and Devon Petersen respectively.
The latest Order of Merit also demonstrates a ground-breaking moment in PDC history. For the first time ever, the entire top 32 have all broken the £100,000 barrier in terms of prize money. This is a testament to the growth of Darts within the PDC, and the strength in depth within the game at present.
The latest PDC Order of Merit table can be viewed below.
| Pos | Name | Prize Money |
| 1 | Gerwen, Michael van | £1,337,000 |
| 2 | Anderson, Gary | £874,750 |
| 3 | Lewis, Adrian | £447,500 |
| 4 | Taylor, Phil | £428,250 |
| 5 | Wright, Peter | £418,750 |
| 6 | Wade, James | £315,000 |
| 7 | Thornton, Robert | £302,750 |
| 8 | Chisnall, Dave | £294,250 |
| 9 | Smith, Michael | £284,500 |
| 10 | Klaasen, Jelle | £282,000 |
| 11 | Barneveld, Raymond van | £269,500 |
| 12 | Suljovic, Mensur | £263,500 |
| 13 | Huybrechts, Kim | £263,000 |
| 14 | White, Ian | £257,500 |
| 15 | Pas, Benito van de | £225,500 |
| 16 | Jenkins, Terry | £221,750 |
| 17 | Bunting, Stephen | £212,500 |
| 18 | Voort, Vincent van der | £198,750 |
| 19 | Whitlock, Simon | £184,500 |
| 20 | King, Mervyn | £171,750 |
| 21 | Price, Gerwyn | £159,000 |
| 22 | Dolan, Brendan | £144,500 |
| 23 | Webster, Mark | £142,500 |
| 24 | Beaton, Steve | £139,000 |
| 25 | Caven, Jamie | £134,750 |
| 26 | Gurney, Daryl | £133,250 |
| 27 | Pipe, Justin | £132,500 |
| 28 | Norris, Alan | £132,250 |
| 29 | Anderson, Kyle | £116,500 |
| 30 | Gilding, Andrew | £101,000 |
| 31 | Henderson, John | £100,750 |
| 32 | Cullen, Joe | £100,500 |
| 33 | Lewis, Jamie | £96,500 |
| 34 | Reyes, Cristo | £85,750 |
| 35 | Brown, Keegan | £80,750 |
| 36 | Hamilton, Andy | £76,250 |
| 37 | Murnan, Joe | £75,750 |
| 38 | Webster, Darren | £74,000 |
| 39 | Huybrechts, Ronny | £73,000 |
| 39 | Kist, Christian | £73,000 |
| 41 | Rodriguez, Rowby-John | £70,500 |
| 42 | Newton, Wes | £67,500 |
| 43 | Painter, Kevin | £64,250 |
| 44 | Hopp, Max | £63,500 |
| 45 | Wilson, James | £61,500 |
| 46 | Winstanley, Dean | £58,750 |
| 47 | Green, Robbie | £55,500 |
| 48 | Evans, Ricky | £54,250 |
| 49 | Pallett, David | £53,750 |
| 50 | West, Steve | £52,750 |
| 51 | Payne, Josh | £48,000 |
| 52 | Petersen, Devon | £46,000 |
| 53 | Wattimena, Jermaine | £44,000 |
| 54 | Duijvenbode, Dirk van | £41,000 |
| 55 | Bergh, Dimitri Van Den | £40,750 |
| 56 | Zwaan, Jeffrey de | £39,000 |
| 56 | Artut, Jyhan | £39,000 |
| 58 | Baxter, Ronnie | £38,000 |
| 59 | Boulton, Andy | £37,500 |
| 60 | Smith, Andy | £37,000 |
| 61 | Dekker, Jan | £35,000 |
| 62 | Clayton, Jonny | £34,250 |
| 63 | Jones, Wayne | £33,500 |
| 64 | Mansell, Mickey | £31,500 |
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