Nathan Aspinall leads the way on the Players Championship Order of Merit following the opening weekend of action in Barnsley, which saw ‘The Asp’ produce a nine-dart finish and land a fourth PDC title.
Aspinall has enjoyed a meteoric rise since lifting his first senior ranking title in September 2018, reaching back-to-back World Championship semi-finals whilst also lifting the UK Open and the U.S Masters to establish himself within the world’s top eight.
The 28-year-old’s exploits were rewarded with a spot in this year’s Premier League and following a comfortable 7-3 win over ‘challenger’ John Henderson on Thursday, Aspinall maintained his fine form on Sunday to scoop the £10,000 top prize.
The Stockport star averaged 102 across the event – although his last eight display against world champion Peter Wright generated most headlines. He posted a nine-darter in the penultimate leg of their clash, averaging a whopping 117.50 before sweeping aside Gerwyn Price in the final.
Aspinall is closely followed on the Order of Merit by fellow Premier League star Gary Anderson, who clinched his first PDC title since September 2018 with victory at Players Championship One on Saturday.
‘The Flying Scotsman’ rolled back the years to kick off his 2020 season in style, posting four ton-plus averages and defeating Simon Whitlock, Price, Rob Cross, Joe Cullen and Adrian Lewis en route to claiming a 49th PDC title.
Anderson defeated Jeff Smith in Saturday’s showpiece and the Canadian occupies third spot following his impressive return to the PDC circuit. ‘The Silencer’ was featuring in his first Players Championship event since 2013 and he defeated four top ten stars throughout the weekend.
Smith saw off Dave Chisnall, Aspinall and Wright to reach the first PDC Pro Tour final of his career and the former BDO World Championship finalist also claimed the scalp of world No 7 Daryl Gurney en route to reaching the last 16 on Sunday.
World No 3 Gerwyn Price was denied a sixth Players Championship crown on Sunday although he sits in fourth spot, whilst world champion Wright is fifth following his back-to-back quarter-final appearances, which saw him average 113.70 in defeat to Aspinall in a contest littered with quality.
Two-time world champion Adrian Lewis is tied on £4,000 with Saturday’s semi-finalist Brendan Dolan and Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode, who performed superbly to reach his first PDC ranking semi-final on Sunday.
Mickey Mansell was one of five players to land nine-dart finishes throughout the weekend and he makes up the top ten alongside Ross Smith, and they’re closely followed by Sunday’s semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens, Jamie Hughes, Maik Kuivenhoven and the veteran Steve Beaton.
Michael van Gerwen’s wait for a ranking title in 2020 continues after the world No 1 suffered last 32 and last 16 exits in Barnsley and ‘The Green Machine’ is languishing in 15th position alongside his Premier League colleague Michael Smith.
Former Grand Slam winner Scott Waites enjoyed a solid start to life in the PDC after claiming a Tour Card at Qualifying School last month and he’s joined in the top 20 by three-time BDO world champion and Premier League debutant Glen Durrant.
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
| Position | Name | Total Prize Money |
| 1 | Nathan Aspinall | £11,500 |
| 2 | Gary Anderson | £10,000 |
| 3 | Jeff Smith | £7,500 |
| 4 | Gerwyn Price | £7,000 |
| 5 | Peter Wright | £4,500 |
| 6 | Dirk van Duijvenbode | £4,000 |
| 6 | Adrian Lewis | £4,000 |
| 6 | Brendan Dolan | £4,000 |
| 9 | Mickey Mansell | £3,750 |
| 9 | Ross Smith | £3,750 |
| 11 | Gabriel Clemens | £3,500 |
| 12 | Jamie Hughes | £3,250 |
| 12 | Maik Kuivenhoven | £3,250 |
| 12 | Steve Beaton | £3,250 |
| 15 | Michael Smith | £2,500 |
| 15 | Michael van Gerwen | £2,500 |
| 17 | Joe Cullen | £2,250 |
| 18 | Scott Waites | £2,000 |
| 18 | Darius Labanauskas | £2,000 |
| 18 | Glen Durrant | £2,000 |
| 18 | Conan Whitehead | £2,000 |
| 18 | Nick Kenny | £2,000 |
| 18 | Steve Brown | £2,000 |
| 24 | Darren Webster | £1,500 |
| 24 | Rob Cross | £1,500 |
| 24 | James Wade | £1,500 |
| 24 | Jason Lowe | £1,500 |
| 24 | Jose de Sousa | £1,500 |
| 24 | Kirk Shepherd | £1,500 |
| 24 | Danny Noppert | £1,500 |
| 24 | Keegan Brown | £1,500 |
| 24 | Ryan Searle | £1,500 |
| 24 | Adam Hunt | £1,500 |
| 24 | Derk Telnekes | £1,500 |
| 24 | John Henderson | £1,500 |
| 24 | Martijn Kleermaker | £1,500 |
| 24 | Mike van Duivenbode | £1,500 |
| 24 | Wayne Jones | £1,500 |
| 39 | Ciaran Teehan | £1,000 |
| 39 | Karel Sedlacek | £1,000 |
| 39 | Ryan Meikle | £1,000 |
| 39 | Dave Chisnall | £1,000 |
| 39 | Ian White | £1,000 |
| 39 | Jermaine Wattimena | £1,000 |
| 39 | Jonny Clayton | £1,000 |
| 39 | Niels Zonneveld | £1,000 |
| 39 | Ryan Joyce | £1,000 |
| 39 | Steve West | £1,000 |
| 39 | Barrie Bates | £1,000 |
| 39 | Daryl Gurney | £1,000 |
| 39 | John Michael | £1,000 |
| 39 | Luke Woodhouse | £1,000 |
| 39 | Matt Clark | £1,000 |
| 39 | Mervyn King | £1,000 |
| 39 | Ricky Evans | £1,000 |
| 39 | Stephen Bunting | £1,000 |
| 39 | Wesley Harms | £1,000 |
| 58 | Adrian Gray | £500 |
| 58 | Alan Tabern | £500 |
| 58 | Damon Heta | £500 |
| 58 | Daniel Larsson | £500 |
| 58 | Darren Penhall | £500 |
| 58 | Gary Blades | £500 |
| 58 | Jeffrey de Zwaan | £500 |
| 58 | Josh Payne | £500 |
| 58 | Matthew Edgar | £500 |
| 58 | Reece Robinson | £500 |
| 58 | Richard North | £500 |
| 58 | Robert Thornton | £500 |
| 58 | Ron Meulenkamp | £500 |
| 58 | Rowby-John Rodriguez | £500 |
| 58 | Simon Stevenson | £500 |
| 58 | Simon Whitlock | £500 |
| 58 | Ted Evetts | £500 |
| 58 | William Borland | £500 |
| 58 | Andy Hamilton | £500 |
| 58 | Geert Nentjes | £500 |
| 58 | Justin Pipe | £500 |
| 58 | Kai Fan Leung | £500 |
| 58 | Krzysztof Ratajski | £500 |
| 58 | Lisa Ashton | £500 |
| 58 | Martin Atkins (Wigan) | £500 |
| 58 | Martin Schindler | £500 |
| 58 | Mensur Suljovic | £500 |
| 58 | Mike De Decker | £500 |
| 58 | Peter Jacques | £500 |
| 58 | Ryan Murray | £500 |
| 58 | William O’Connor | £500 |
| 58 | Yordi Meeuwisse | £500 |
| 90 | Aaron Beeney | £0 |
| 90 | Andy Boulton | £0 |
| 90 | Benito van de Pas | £0 |
| 90 | Boris Krcmar | £0 |
| 90 | Bradley Brooks | £0 |
| 90 | Callan Rydz | £0 |
| 90 | Carl Wilkinson | £0 |
| 90 | Chris Dobey | £0 |
| 90 | Christian Bunse | £0 |
| 90 | Cristo Reyes | £0 |
| 90 | David Pallett | £0 |
| 90 | Devon Petersen | £0 |
| 90 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | £0 |
| 90 | Gavin Carlin | £0 |
| 90 | Harald Leitinger | £0 |
| 90 | Harry Ward | £0 |
| 90 | James Wilson | £0 |
| 90 | Jamie Lewis | £0 |
| 90 | Jan Dekker | £0 |
| 90 | Jelle Klaasen | £0 |
| 90 | Jesus Noguera | £0 |
| 90 | Joe Murnan | £0 |
| 90 | Jonathan Worsley | £0 |
| 90 | Kim Huybrechts | £0 |
| 90 | Krzysztof Kciuk | £0 |
| 90 | Luke Humphries | £0 |
| 90 | Madars Razma | £0 |
| 90 | Mark McGeeney | £0 |
| 90 | Marko Kantele | £0 |
| 90 | Max Hopp | £0 |
| 90 | Michael Barnard | £0 |
| 90 | Nathan Derry | £0 |
| 90 | Scott Baker | £0 |
| 90 | Steffen Siepmann | £0 |
| 90 | Steve Lennon | £0 |
| 90 | Toni Alcinas | £0 |
| 90 | Vincent van der Meer | £0 |
| 90 | Vincent van der Voort | £0 |
| 90 | Robert Collins | £0 |
| 90 | Scott Mitchell | £0 |
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