PDC Order of Merit#Previous World Number Ones

The Professional Darts Corporation adopted an Order of Merit system in 2007, which is based on prize money won over two years for the main Order of Merit and separate one-year rankings for other PDC Pro Tour events.

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=text-align:center;background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#CE1126 3px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 3px solid;|title=Click "show" to view players ranked outside top 64}}

In addition to the main two-year Order of Merit, the PDC also operates secondary Orders of Merit for their different tours. These include the:

• ProTour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in Players Championships and European Tour events over a 12-month rolling period. In addition to qualification for televised tournaments, this ranking determines the seedings for Pro Tour events.{{cite web |title=ProTour Order of Merit |url=https://www.pdc.tv/order-of-merit/protour-order-of-merit |website=PDC |access-date=7 January 2021}}
• European Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in European Tour events during the calendar year. The top 32 on this ranking list comprise the qualifiers for the European Championship, all seeded, at the end of the year.{{cite web |title=2020 European Tour Order of Merit |url=https://www.pdc.tv/2020-european-tour-order-merit |website=PDC |access-date=7 January 2021}}
• Players Championship Order of Merit, which counts money earned in Player Championship events during the calendar year. The top 64 on this ranking list are the seeded qualifiers to the Players Championship Finals.{{cite web |title=Players Championship Order of Merit |url=https://www.pdc.tv/order-of-merit/players-championship-order-of-merit |website=PDC |access-date=7 January 2021}}
• Challenge Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned on the Challenge Tour (by non Tour Card holders that participated in Q-School) during the calendar year. The top players at the end of the year qualify for the World Championship, UK Open, and receive Tour Cards.{{cite web |title=Challenge Tour Order of Merit |url=https://www.pdc.tv/order-of-merit/challenge-tour-order-merit |website=PDC |access-date=7 January 2021}}
• Development Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned on the Development Tour (by Tour Card holders and non Tour Card holders alike, aged 16–23) during the calendar year. The top players at the end of the year qualify for the World Championship, UK Open, and receive Tour Cards.{{cite web |title=Development Tour Order of Merit |url=https://www.pdc.tv/order-of-merit/development-tour-order-of-merit |website=PDC |access-date=7 January 2021}}
• Women's Series Order of Merit, which was introduced in 2021 after the first women's series events were introduced in 2020. The tournament series qualifies two women to the Grand Slam, and World Championship.{{cite web |title=2024 PDC Women's Series Order of Merit |url=https://www.pdc.tv/WomensSeriesOOM |access-date=15 October 2023}}

The PDC rankings from all orders of merit determine exemptions from the qualifying competitions and seedings for all televised events. Additionally, the orders of merit are used to offer tour cards for the following year.

{{reflist|group=nb}}

{{note list}}

The PDC holds a variety of ranked and unranked televised tournaments throughout the year. There are an additional selection of ranked floor and streamed tournaments that comprise the PDC Pro Tour, as well as unranked secondary tours and events such as the Challenge Tour, Development Tour, and event qualifiers. Money earned in all ranking events counts toward the Order of Merit, with none counting from the unranked events.{{cite web |title=PDC Order of Merit Rules |url=https://www.pdc.tv/pdc-order-merit-rules |website=PDC |access-date=23 October 2020}}

{{notelist-ua|refs=

{{efn-ua|name=GS| The Grand Slam pays an additional £3,500 to the 8 group winners.}}

{{efn-ua|name=GS32| The Grand Slam pays £8,000 and £5,000 for third and fourth place finishers respectively in the group stage, which comprise the top 32.}}

{{efn-ua|name=pro2020| The 2020 PDC Pro Tour was reduced to 4 European Tour events and 23 Players Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.}}

{{efn-ua|name=euro32| The 16 seeded players at a European Tour event do not receive money toward OoM for a top 32 finish.}}

{{efn-ua|name=euro48| European Tour events pay out to 48 players (the complete field).}}

}}

The PDC operates additional unranked tournaments for tour card holders and occasional qualifiers throughout the year. This includes three televised premier invitational events comprising the Premier League, World Series of Darts Finals, and the World Cup of Darts pairs event.{{cite news|title=Champions League of Darts: BBC to broadcast inaugural tournament|work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/35532372|access-date=9 February 2016}}{{cite web|title=2015 Masters held in Milton Keynes|url=http://www.pdc.tv/the-masters|publisher=PDC|access-date=16 January 2015|archive-date=18 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118032833/http://www.pdc.tv/the-masters|url-status=dead}} Although none of these events count toward the Order of Merit, they all award some number of tournament spots based on Order of Merit position. Additionally there are usually five to seven World Series of Darts events scheduled across the globe each year with eight top PDC players seeded over eight local qualifiers.

The PDC also offers secondary tours that do not count toward the main Order of Merit, but do each include their own confined orders of merit. The Challenge Tour is open to any players who played at the most recent Q-School but failed to earn a tour card. Throughout the year, the top players on the Challenge Tour OoM are invited to fill openings on the Pro Tour, receive invitations to the World Championship and UK Open, and at the end of the year receive tour cards for the next two years.

The Development Tour is open to players outside of the top 32 on the main Order of Merit who are between the ages of 16 and 23. Similarly to the Challenge Tour, the top players on the Development Tour order of merit receive tour cards and invitations to the UK Open and World Championship. Additionally, 96 players - comprising 16 invitations, tour card holders of the appropriate age, and Development Tour competitors - partake in the World Youth Championship. Although this championship does not count toward any order of merit, there is a £60,000 payout, and the finalists receive tour cards as well as berths in the Grand Slam and World Championship.

{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}

Under the previous ranking points system, Colin Lloyd was the world number one player in the PDC for most of 2005 and 2006, despite most of the major titles being shared between Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and John Part. Although Lloyd also won two major titles, he often accumulated ranking points in the less prestigious non-televised events, in which Taylor did not always compete. Similarly, Alan Warriner was world number one on four occasions before ever winning his first and only PDC major, the 2001 Grand Prix, while Taylor won eight world championships and a host of other titles during that period.

13 players have held the position of World Number One since the World Darts Council started new rankings in 1993. Seven different players held the position in the old points system, and seven players have held the position since the PDC switched to the two-year earnings based Order of Merit system in 2007, with Phil Taylor being the only player to have been number one in both eras.

| Incarnation of the WDC

|{{age in days|1 Jan 1993|6 November 1994}} days{{efn-ua|name=unk}}

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|02|2}}

|{{PDCFlag|Dennis Priestley}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|1994|November|06}}

|1994 Lada UK Masters

|{{age in days|6 Nov 1994|10 Apr 1995}}

|{{cite web |title=Darts Database Player Stats |url=https://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/PlayerStats.aspx |website=Darts Database |access-date=14 November 2020}}

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|03|3}}

|{{PDCFlag|Rod Harrington}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|1995|April|10}}

| 1995 UK Matchplay

|{{age in days|10 Apr 1995|1 Aug 1996}} days{{efn-ua|name=unk}}

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|04|4}}

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|1996|August|}}

|

|{{age in days|1 Aug 1996|1 Sep 1996}} days{{efn-ua|name=unk}}

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Alan Warriner}} (2)

|{{dts|format=dmy|1996|September|}}

|

|{{age in days|1 Sep 1996|1 Aug 1998}} days{{efn-ua|name=unk}}

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Rod Harrington}} (2)

|{{dts|format=dmy|1998|August|1}}

| 1998 World Matchplay

|{{age in days|1 Aug 1998|29 Jul 2000}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}} (2)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2000|July|29}}

| 2000 World Matchplay

|{{age in days|29 Jul 2000|24 Sep 2000}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|05|5}}

|{{PDCFlag|Peter Manley}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2000|September|24}}

| 2000 Windy City Open

|{{age in days|24 Sep 2000|28 Oct 2001}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Alan Warriner}} (3)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2001|October|28}}

| 2001 World Grand Prix

|{{age in days|28 Oct 2001|5 Jan 2002}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{flagdeco|ENG}} {{sortname|Alan|Warriner-Little}} (4) and {{sortname|Phil|Taylor|Phil Taylor (darts player)}} (3)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2002|January|5}}

| 2002 World Championship

|{{age in days|5 Jan 2002|2 Feb 2002}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Alan Warriner}} (5)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2002|February|02}}

| 2002 Eastbourne Open

|{{age in days|2 Feb 2002|1 May 2002}} days{{efn-ua|name=unk}}

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}} (4)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2002|May|}}

|

|{{age in days|1 May 2002|4 Jan 2003}} days{{efn-ua|name=unk}}

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|06|6}}

|{{PDCFlag|John Part}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2003|January|4}}

| 2003 World Championship

|{{age in days|4 Jan 2003|26 Jul 2003}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}} (5)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2003|July|26}}

| 2003 Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy

|{{age in days|26 Jul 2003|27 Feb 2005}} days

|

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|07|7}}

|{{PDCFlag|Colin Lloyd}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2005|February|27}}

| 2005 West Tyrone Open

|{{age in days|27 Feb 2005|11 June 2006}} days

|{{cite web |title=Lloydy on top of the World |url=https://www.pdc.tv/news/lloydy-on-top-of-the-world |website=PDC |date=3 August 2005 |access-date=13 November 2020}}

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}} (6)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2006|June|11}}

| 2006 UK Open

|{{age in days|11 June 2006|18 June 2006}} days

|{{cite web |title=Taylor Regains Number One Spot |url=https://www.pdc.tv/news/taylor-regains-number-one-spot |website=PDC |access-date=13 November 2020 |date=12 June 2006}}

|-style="background:#FFFFCC;"

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Colin Lloyd}} (2)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2006|June|18}}

| 2006 Players Championship 3

|{{age in days|18 June 2006|1 Jan 2007}} days

|{{cite web |title=Lloyd Confirmed As Number One |url=https://www.pdc.tv/news/lloyd-confirmed-as-number-one |website=PDC|date=20 June 2006 }}

|-

|text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}} (7)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2007|January|01}}

| 2007 World Championship

|{{age in days|1 Jan 2007|1 Jan 2008}} days

|

|-

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|08|8}}

|{{PDCFlag|Raymond van Barneveld}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2008|January|1}}

| 2008 World Championship

|{{age in days|1 Jan 2008|8 June 2008}} days

|

|-

|text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Phil Taylor}} (8)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2008|June|8}}

| 2008 UK Open

|{{age in days nts|8 June 2008|1 Jan 2014}} days

|{{cite web |title=Taylor Back on Top |url=https://www.pdc.tv/news/taylor-back-on-top |website=PDC |access-date=13 November 2020 |date=9 June 2008}}

|-

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|09|9}}

|{{PDCFlag|Michael van Gerwen}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2014|January|01}}

| 2014 World Championship

|{{age in days nts|1 Jan 2014|3 Jan 2021}} days

| {{cite web |last1=Walters |first1=Mike |title=Michael van Gerwen is Ladbrokes PDC World Darts Champion after beating Peter Wright |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/darts/ladbrokes-pdc-world-championships-michael-2979439 |website=Mirror |access-date=13 November 2020 |date=1 January 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Dave |title=A number one hit! Price joins exclusive list to top rankings |url=https://www.pdc.tv/news/2021/01/04/number-one-hit-price-joins-exclusive-list-top-rankings |website=PDC |date=4 January 2021}}

|-

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|10|10}}

|{{PDCFlag|Gerwyn Price}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2021|January|03}}

| 2021 World Championship

|{{age in days|3 Jan 2021|6 Mar 2022}} days

|

|-

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|11|11}}

|{{PDCFlag|Peter Wright}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2022|March|06}}

| 2022 UK Open

|{{age in days|6 Mar 2022|24 July 2022}} days

|{{cite web |title=Peter Wright is world number one darts player after Gerwyn Price fails to reach UK Open final |url=https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news/peter-wright-is-world-number-one-darts-player-after-gerwyn-price-fails-to-reach-uk-open-final/198961 |website=Sporting Life |access-date=6 March 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Gorton |first1=Josh |title=Price denies De Sousa in Winter Gardens thriller to seal semi-final spot |date=22 July 2022 |url=https://www.pdc.tv/news/2022/07/22/price-denies-de-sousa-winter-gardens-thriller-seal-semi-final-spot |publisher=PDC |access-date=24 July 2022}}

|-

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Gerwyn Price}} (2)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2022|July|24}}

| 2022 World Matchplay

|{{age in days|24 July 2022|9 Oct 2022 }} days

|

|-

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Peter Wright}} (2)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2022|October|9}}

| 2022 World Grand Prix

|{{age in days|9 Oct 2022|30 Oct 2022}} days

|{{cite web |date=31 October 2022 |last=Gill |first=Samuel |title=Price regains World Number One spot, Ross Smith into top 20 after maiden major win in updated PDC Order of Merit after European Championship |url=https://dartsnews.com/pdc/price-regains-world-number-one-spot-ross-smith-into-top-20-after-maiden-major-win-in-updated-pdc-order-of-merit-after-european-championship |website=Darts News |access-date=13 January 2023}}

|-

|style="text-align: center;" |

|{{PDCFlag|Gerwyn Price}} (3)

|{{dts|format=dmy|2022|October|30}}

| 2022 European Championship

|{{age in days|30 Oct 2022|03 January 2023 }} days

|{{cite web |title=Michael Smith beats Michael van Gerwen to win first world title with 'best leg of darts ever' |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/35376632/michael-smith-beats-michael-van-gerwen-win-first-world-title-best-leg-darts-ever |website=ESPN |date=4 January 2023 |access-date=13 January 2023}}

|- #

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|12|12}}

|{{PDCFlag|Michael Smith}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2023|January|3}}

| {{nowrap|2023 World Championship}}

|{{age in days|03 January 2023 |03 January 2024}} days

|

|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#DDFFFF;"

|style="text-align: center;" | {{sort|13|13}}

|{{PDCFlag|Luke Humphries}}

|{{dts|format=dmy|2024|January|3}}

| {{nowrap|2024 World Championship}}

|{{age in days |03 January 2024}} days

|{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Kieran |title=Luke Humphries the new world number one after World Darts Championships |date=3 January 2024 |url=https://dartsnews.com/pdc/luke-humphries-the-new-world-number-one-after-world-darts-championships |publisher=Darts News |access-date=5 January 2025}}{{cite web |last=Gill |first=Samuel |date=4 January 2025 |title=PDC Order of Merit Update: Luke Littler passes Michael van Gerwen but World Number One out of reach for now |url=https://dartsnews.com/pdc/pdc-order-of-merit-update-luke-littler-passes-michael-van-gerwen-but-world-number-one-out-of-reach-for-now |work=Darts News |access-date=5 January 2025}}

|}

{{notelist-ua|refs=

{{efn-ua|name=unk|Uses 1st of month where exact date unknown.}}

}}

;Key

{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}

Following the World Darts Council split from the British Darts Organisation between 1992 and 1994, the WDC drew up its first ranking list in the run-up to its inaugural 1994 World Championship. Mike Gregory and Chris Johns later went back to the BDO set up, and Bobby George and many of the non-UK players never competed in the early days of the WDC.{{citation needed|date=August 2010}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.pdc.tv/pdc-order-of-merit Official PDC Order of Merit]

{{PDC Top 20}}

{{PDC Darts}}

{{Darts}}

{{Sport world rankings}}

Category:Darts

Category:Professional Darts Corporation

Category:Lists of darts players

Darts