Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld were two of the biggest movers on the PDC Order of Merit following the conclusion of last weekend’s Grand Slam of Darts, as world number one Michael van Gerwen extended his lead over world champion Gary Anderson.
Peter Wright has risen to a career high of third in the world after his run to the last four in Wolverhampton. Snakebite performed superbly throughout the week and produced a majestic display to defeat Phil Taylor 16-10 in the quarter-finals, subsequently leapfrogging ‘The Power’ in the world rankings.
Wright was highly-fancied by many to claim his maiden PDC major title in Wolverhampton, although he eventually suffered semi-final defeat against an imperious Michael van Gerwen. The Scot averaged 102.13 but it wasn’t enough to overcome ‘The Green Machine’ who posted an astonishing 111.17 average to triumph 16-10.
Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld has moved up to 12th in the world following his run to the quarter-finals at the Wolverhampton Civic. Van Barneveld was in magnificent form throughout the week, finishing with a tournament average of over 100.
The Dutchman topped Group F with victories over Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert and Mensur Suljovic, before he saw off BDO world number one Glen Durrant in the last 16. However, Van Barneveld was edged out by world champion Gary Anderson in a quarter-final epic, with Anderson prevailing 16-13.
Despite this, Barney has risen from 14th to 12th on the Order of Merit and is just £23,000 away from breaking back into the world’s top ten, having leapfrogged both Kim Huybrechts and Ian White in the world rankings. Huybrechts failed to qualify for this year’s Grand Slam, whilst White suffered a chastening group-stage exit.
Adrian Lewis has slipped to fifth in the world after enduring a miserable Grand Slam campaign. Despite finishing with a tournament average of 102, Jackpot suffered three straight group-stage defeats against Scott Mitchell, Chris Dobey and Benito van de Pas respectively.
The two-time world champion was ranked third in the world prior to last week, although he has an opportunity to make amends at the Players Championship Finals, particularly in Phil Taylor’s absence. Nevertheless Lewis is defending £35,000 in prize money, having reached the final in Minehead two years ago.
Michael van Gerwen has extended his lead at the top of the PDC Order of Merit after retaining his Grand Slam crown in comprehensive fashion. Van Gerwen has now accrued a total of £1,474,000 in ranking prize money over the last two years, and he leads world number two Gary Anderson by £583,500.
James Wade has cemented his position as world number six by virtue of reaching his first PDC major ranking final for over 18 months at the Grand Slam. ‘The Machine’ was typically tenacious in Wolverhampton, edging out Gary Anderson in the last four before losing out to MvG in the final.
Elsewhere, Brendan Dolan and Chris Dobey have also made strides up the world rankings following their quarter-final appearances in Wolverhampton. Dolan is up to 23rd in the world, whilst Dobey has catapulted up to 48th after reaching his very first TV ranking quarter-final.
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
PDC Order of Merit- As at November 22nd 2016
| Pos | Name | Prize Money |
| 1 | Gerwen, Michael van | £1,474,000 |
| 2 | Anderson, Gary | £890,500 |
| 3 | Wright, Peter | £454,250 |
| 3 | Taylor, Phil | £454,250 |
| 5 | Lewis, Adrian | £449,500 |
| 6 | Wade, James | £365,750 |
| 7 | Suljovic, Mensur | £313,250 |
| 8 | Thornton, Robert | £306,750 |
| 9 | Chisnall, Dave | £297,500 |
| 10 | Klaasen, Jelle | £296,000 |
| 11 | Smith, Michael | £285,250 |
| 12 | Barneveld, Raymond van | £272,000 |
| 13 | Huybrechts, Kim | £256,500 |
| 14 | White, Ian | £253,000 |
| 15 | Pas, Benito van de | £246,500 |
| 16 | Bunting, Stephen | £215,250 |
| 17 | Jenkins, Terry | £202,500 |
| 18 | Whitlock, Simon | £198,750 |
| 19 | Voort, Vincent van der | £190,750 |
| 20 | Price, Gerwyn | £178,000 |
| 21 | King, Mervyn | £167,750 |
| 22 | Norris, Alan | £166,250 |
| 23 | Dolan, Brendan | £151,250 |
| 24 | Webster, Mark | £147,500 |
| 25 | Gurney, Daryl | £144,750 |
| 26 | Pipe, Justin | £137,500 |
| 27 | Beaton, Steve | £134,250 |
| 28 | Caven, Jamie | £131,500 |
| 29 | Anderson, Kyle | £130,750 |
| 30 | Cullen, Joe | £115,500 |
| 31 | Henderson, John | £100,750 |
| 32 | Gilding, Andrew | £100,250 |
| 33 | Reyes, Cristo | £99,750 |
| 34 | Lewis, Jamie | £99,250 |
| 35 | Wilson, James | £84,250 |
| 36 | Brown, Keegan | £80,250 |
| 37 | Hopp, Max | £79,500 |
| 38 | Webster, Darren | £78,250 |
| 39 | Murnan, Joe | £76,750 |
| 40 | Hamilton, Andy | £73,500 |
| 41 | Kist, Christian | £72,000 |
| 42 | Rodriguez, Rowby-John | £70,500 |
| 43 | Huybrechts, Ronny | £67,250 |
| 44 | Painter, Kevin | £65,250 |
| 45 | West, Steve | £63,750 |
| 46 | Newton, Wes | £62,750 |
| 47 | Green, Robbie | £59,500 |
| 48 | Dobey, Chris | £57,000 |
| 49 | Winstanley, Dean | £55,250 |
| 50 | Pallett, David | £54,500 |
| 51 | Evans, Ricky | £53,000 |
| 52 | Petersen, Devon | £51,500 |
| 53 | Payne, Josh | £50,250 |
| 54 | Wattimena, Jermaine | £49,500 |
| 55 | Bergh, Dimitri Van Den | £45,750 |
| 56 | Duijvenbode, Dirk van | £41,500 |
| 57 | Boulton, Andy | £39,000 |
| 57 | Zwaan, Jeffrey de | £39,000 |
| 59 | Smith, Andy | £37,750 |
| 60 | Baxter, Ronnie | £37,000 |
| 61 | Dekker, Jan | £36,500 |
| 62 | Clayton, Jonny | £35,250 |
| 63 | Jones, Wayne | £33,500 |
| 64 | Artut, Jyhan | £33,000 |
| 65 | Mansell, Mickey | £32,250 |
| 66 | Kellett, Stuart | £31,500 |
| 67 | Jenkins, Andy | £30,500 |
| 68 | O’Connor, William | £30,250 |
| 69 | Richardson, James | £25,500 |
| 70 | Nicholson, Paul | £24,000 |
| 71 | Aspinall, Nathan | £21,750 |
| 72 | Johnson, Darren | £20,250 |
| 73 | Frost, Mark | £20,000 |
| 74 | Graaf, Jeffrey de | £19,750 |
| 75 | Derry, Nathan | £19,250 |
| 76 | Edgar, Matthew | £17,750 |
| 77 | McGowan, Mick | £17,500 |
| 78 | Caris, Magnus | £17,000 |
| 79 | Heydon, Nigel | £16,750 |
| 80 | Robinson, Jamie | £14,750 |
| 81 | Walsh, Mark | £14,500 |
| 81 | Stevenson, Simon | £14,500 |
| 83 | Meulenkamp, Ron | £14,250 |
| 84 | Part, John | £14,000 |
| 85 | Peer, Berry van | £12,750 |
| 85 | Zuydwijk, Mike | £12,750 |
| 87 | Walker, Jim | £11,750 |
| 87 | Wilson, Jason | £11,750 |
| 89 | Kamphuis, Vincent | £11,500 |
| 89 | Meeuwisse, Yordi | £11,500 |
| 91 | Haines, Johnny | £11,000 |
| 92 | Clark, Matt | £10,750 |
| 92 | Decker, Mike De | £10,750 |
| 92 | Newell, Tony | £10,750 |
| 95 | Lovett, Jason | £10,500 |
| 96 | Hudson, Peter | £10,250 |
| 97 | Evetts, Ted | £9,750 |
| 98 | Brown, Steve | £9,250 |
| 99 | Meikle, Ryan | £9,000 |
| 99 | Tabern, Alan | £9,000 |
| 101 | Corner, Richie | £8,750 |
Leave a Reply