World number one Michael van Gerwen has extended his lead at the top of the Pro Tour Order of Merit after retaining his German Darts Masters title in Jena on Monday evening. ‘The Green Machine’ defeated his arch nemesis Jelle Klaasen in the final, to scoop the £25,000 winner’s prize and move to £217,000 on the Pro Tour standings.
Peter Wright remains in second after his quarter-final loss to James Wade in Jena. Snakebite has won six PDC titles in 2017, including last month’s German Darts Championship and his maiden TV title at the UK Open, but his first defeat in nine matches against Wade denied him back-to-back European Tour successes.
Mensur Suljovic has consolidated third position despite losing out to Kyle Anderson in the last 16 of the German Darts Masters, whilst Simon Whitlock has extended his lead over Dave Chisnall- who was absent in Germany this weekend, after reaching his first European Tour semi-final since September 2014.
James Wade has climbed two places to sixth after also reaching the last four in Jena. ‘The Machine’ pocketed £5,000 after beating Robert Thornton, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright, before losing out to Jelle Klaasen in the last four. He sits on £79,000; just £500 above Kim Huybrechts, who was beaten in round-three by Raymond van Barneveld.
Benito van de Pas has slipped to eighth after losing out in his opening match to Rowby-John Rodriguez. Van de Pas, a three-time Players Championship winner in 2016, has failed to reach a semi-final in any PDC ranking event so far this year; his best showing coming at last month’s German Darts Championship.
Gerwyn Price has leapfrogged 2016 German Darts Champion Alan Norris into ninth. ‘The Iceman’ was beaten in the third-round of this weekend’s event by James Wade, whilst Norris was edged out by Van Barneveld in Sunday’s second-round.
However, Norris is closely trailed by Jelle Klaasen, who collected £10,000 after reaching his first PDC final since the pair faced off in October’s German Darts Championship. Klaasen’s ongoing wrist injury saw him suffer Premier League elimination, but since then he’s reached a semi-final and final on the European Tour.
Ian White remains in twelfth after losing in his opening match to Jeffrey de Graaf this weekend, whilst German Darts Masters quarter-finalist Michael Smith has climbed above recent Players Championship winner Joe Cullen into 13th, after ‘The Rockstar’ suffered a shock opening-game defeat to German qualifier Stefan Siepmann.
Daryl Gurney has secured a place in the top 16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit. The Northern Irishman followed up his Players Championship Seven title with victory over Adrian Lewis in Jena, before losing to eventual finalist Klaasen. However, ‘Super-Chin’ will now be seeded in European Tour events if he can maintain his top 16 spot.
World number two Gary Anderson occupies 16th position on the Pro Tour Order of Merit but the Scot’s position could soon be under threat, particularly given his reluctance to compete on the European Tour. ‘The Flying Scotsman’ is just £4,000 above Stephen Bunting and Cristo Reyes in joint 17th.
Mervyn King is just £4,500 away from a place in the top 16, whilst Steve West has slipped to 20th following his early exit in Germany at the hands of Aussie ace Kyle Anderson, who is just £2,000 behind him in 21st.
Three of the following four places are occupied by former world champions, with 1996 Lakeside world champion Steve Beaton in 22nd position on £39,500. Elsewhere, former BDO world number one James Wilson is 23rd, having failed to qualify for the opening two European Tour events in 2017.
Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld continues his march up the Pro Tour Order of Merit after reaching the German Darts Masters quarter-finals. Van Barneveld defeated Michael Plooy, Alan Norris and Kim Huybrechts by 6-4 scorelines, before succumbing to an inspired MvG in the last eight.
Van Barneveld’s run to the last eight was his fourth Pro Tour quarter-final of the year so far, along with six further last 16 appearances. This has seen the legendary Dutchman climb from 52nd at the start of the year to 24th, where he is now tied alongside two-time world champion Adrian Lewis.
Terry Jenkins is £1,250 behind the multiple world champions in 26th, although Jenkins’ ranking is unlikely to improve as he’s claimed that he will scale down his Pro Tour commitments and simply play in TV events he’s qualified for. ‘The Raging Bull’ has yet to compete in any Players Championship or European Tour events so far this year.
2016 Grand Slam quarter-finalist Chris Dobey is 27th, £250 ahead of two-time PDC major winner Robert Thornton; who hasn’t gone beyond the quarter-finals of a PDC ranking event since winning the 2015 World Grand Prix over 18 months ago.
Former Lakeside world champion Christian Kist is 29th, whilst the trio of Darren Webster, Justin Pipe and Ronny Huybrechts make up the top 32. Nevertheless, there are a number of big-names stars currently outside the top 32, including the most successful player in darting history.
Phil Taylor is 38th on the Pro Tour of Merit, although this is due to his sporadic participation on the Pro Tour. The 16-time world champion is set to retire from competitive darts after the 2018 World Championship and he isn’t expected to compete in any Pro Tour events for the remainder of his career.
Former Lakeside world champion Mark Webster is £1,000 outside the top 32 in 34th position, whilst former major finalist Vincent van der Voort is 36th. Seven-time PDC ranking winner Jamie Caven is in 40th place, whilst former Players Championship winner Kevin Painter occupies 42nd position.
Elsewhere, former Premier League stars Andy Hamilton and Wes Newton are 71st and 77th respectively, whilst another former PDC major winner Paul Nicholson is 83rd, having regained his PDC tour-card at Qualifying School in January.
| Pos | Name | Prize Money |
| 1 | Gerwen, Michael van | £217,000 |
| 2 | Wright, Peter | £141,000 |
| 3 | Suljovic, Mensur | £100,250 |
| 4 | Whitlock, Simon | £91,250 |
| 5 | Chisnall, Dave | £84,250 |
| 6 | Wade, James | £79,000 |
| 7 | Huybrechts, Kim | £78,500 |
| 8 | Pas, Benito van de | £74,750 |
| 9 | Price, Gerwyn | £72,500 |
| 10 | Norris, Alan | £71,500 |
| 11 | Klaasen, Jelle | £69,750 |
| 12 | White, Ian | £64,750 |
| 13 | Smith, Michael | £55,500 |
| 14 | Cullen, Joe | £53,750 |
| 15 | Gurney, Daryl | £52,500 |
| 16 | Anderson, Gary | £48,500 |
| 17 | Reyes, Cristo | £44,500 |
| 17 | Bunting, Stephen | £44,500 |
| 19 | King, Mervyn | £44,000 |
| 20 | West, Steve | £41,750 |
| 21 | Anderson, Kyle | £39,750 |
| 22 | Beaton, Steve | £39,500 |
| 23 | Wilson, James | £33,750 |
| 24 | Barneveld, Raymond van | £32,750 |
| 24 | Lewis, Adrian | £32,750 |
| 26 | Jenkins, Terry | £31,500 |
| 27 | Dobey, Chris | £30,750 |
| 28 | Thornton, Robert | £30,500 |
| 29 | Kist, Christian | £29,750 |
| 30 | Webster, Darren | £28,000 |
| 31 | Pipe, Justin | £27,750 |
| 32 | Huybrechts, Ronny | £27,000 |
| 33 | Wattimena, Jermaine | £26,250 |
| 34 | Webster, Mark | £26,000 |
| 34 | Payne, Josh | £26,000 |
| 36 | Voort, Vincent van der | £25,500 |
| 37 | Henderson, John | £25,250 |
| 38 | Green, Robbie | £25,000 |
| 38 | Taylor, Phil | £25,000 |
| 40 | Caven, Jamie | £24,250 |
| 41 | Clayton, Jonny | £23,000 |
| 42 | Painter, Kevin | £22,000 |
| 43 | Cross, Rob | £21,750 |
| 44 | Murnan, Joe | £21,500 |
| 45 | Rodriguez, Rowby-John | £21,000 |
| 46 | Dekker, Jan | £19,750 |
| 47 | Evans, Ricky | £19,250 |
| 48 | Graaf, Jeffrey de | £18,250 |
| 48 | Dolan, Brendan | £18,250 |
| 50 | Hopp, Max | £18,000 |
| 51 | Lewis, Jamie | £17,750 |
| 52 | Jenkins, Andy | £17,500 |
| 52 | Petersen, Devon | £17,500 |
| 54 | Bergh, Dimitri Van Den | £17,000 |
| 55 | McGowan, Mick | £16,250 |
| 55 | Gilding, Andrew | £16,250 |
| 55 | Stevenson, Simon | £16,250 |
| 58 | Richardson, James | £15,000 |
| 58 | Pallett, David | £15,000 |
| 60 | Meulenkamp, Ron | £14,500 |
| 61 | Boulton, Andy | £13,250 |
| 62 | Kamphuis, Vincent | £13,000 |
| 63 | Meikle, Ryan | £12,750 |
| 63 | Duijvenbode, Dirk van | £12,750 |
| 65 | Walsh, Mark | £12,250 |
| 66 | Evetts, Ted | £12,000 |
| 66 | Johnson, Darren | £12,000 |
| 68 | Meeuwisse, Yordi | £11,500 |
| 69 | O’Connor, William | £11,000 |
| 70 | Peer, Berry van | £10,750 |
| 71 | Hamilton, Andy | £10,500 |
| 71 | Brown, Keegan | £10,500 |
| 73 | Michael, John | £10,250 |
| 73 | Corner, Richie | £10,250 |
| 73 | Decker, Mike De | £10,250 |
| 76 | North, Richard | £10,000 |
| 77 | Newton, Wes | £9,750 |
| 78 | Clark, Matt | £8,500 |
| 78 | Newell, Tony | £8,500 |
| 80 | Owen, Robert | £8,250 |
| 80 | Bowles, John | £8,250 |
| 82 | Jacques, Peter | £8,000 |
| 83 | Lerchbacher, Zoran | £7,500 |
| 83 | Hudson, Peter | £7,500 |
| 83 | Nicholson, Paul | £7,500 |
| 86 | Todd, Mick | £7,250 |
| 86 | Barilli, Mark | £7,250 |
| 88 | Bain, Jamie | £6,750 |
| 88 | Worsley, Jonathan | £6,750 |
| 90 | Hendriks, Jimmy | £6,500 |
| 90 | Lennon, Steve | £6,500 |
| 90 | Kellett, Stuart | £6,500 |
| 90 | Dennant, Matthew | £6,500 |
| 90 | Zwaan, Jeffrey de | £6,500 |
| 95 | Quantock, Chris | £6,250 |
| 96 | Hine, Steve | £5,750 |
| 96 | Griffiths, Shaun | £5,750 |
| 98 | Smith, Dennis | £5,500 |
| 98 | Palmer, Ryan | £5,500 |
| 100 | Taylor, Scott | £5,250 |
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