The PDC World Rankings or PDC Order of Merit, known for sponsorship purposes as the Werner Rankings Ladder, is the world ranking system for professional darts players used by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), which ranks players according to the prize money won in PDC ranking tournaments. These world rankings are used to determine qualification and seeding for the televised ranking tournaments as well as the awarding of PDC Tour Cards at the end of the season. The format has been used since the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, superseding the original PDC World Ranking system established in 1993, where points were awarded for performances in tournaments according to their relative prestige. Upon the introduction of the rankings, the first player to hold the number one rank was Alan Warriner. Since 1993, thirteen other players have held the top spot, including Luke Littler, the current world number one. Alongside the main ranking, the PDC also operates several secondary rankings which count prize money won on specific PDC Tours and may also offer qualification to specific televised events.
Methodology
The Professional Darts Corporation adopted the current Order of Merit system in 2007. In this system, the total prize money won in PDC ranking events over the eligibility period is counted. For PDC Tour Card holders, this eligibility period is either the previous two years or since the player was awarded a tour card, whichever is shorter. The PDC World Darts Championship is considered last event of the season, after which the year-end Order of Merit is calculated and players in the top 64 offered a Tour Card for the following year. New Tour Card holders start on £0, even if they held a Tour Card in the previous season but failed to make the top 64, resulting in them having to regain their Tour Card through the qualifying tournament, Q School. Players without Tour Cards who earn money in ranking tournaments (such as Luke Littler in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship) are eligible to be ranked during the season, though if they fail to reach the top 64 at the end of the year, their ranking money is reset to £0. If two players are tied and need separating for seeding or event qualification, the tie is broken by the player with the highest total earnings across the previous four ranking tournaments. If this fails to break the tie, players' prize money is counted back from the most recent event until a tie can be broken, with the possibility of a play-off if this cannot break the tie.
Ranking tournaments The PDC holds ranked and unranked tournaments. Ranking tournaments are those which all PDC Tour Card holders are eligible to participate in or qualify for, while unranked tournaments are invitational and do not count toward the Order of Merit. Currently, the Premier League, World Series of Darts events and the World Cup of Darts are the only unranked PDC tournaments with Tour Card Holder participation outside of the secondary tours.
+ Prize money awarded towards 2026 PDC Order of Merit in ranking tournaments (£1000s) Tournament Total Winner Finalist Top 4 Top 8 Top 16 Top 32 Top 48 Top 64 Top 96 Top 128 Prelim. Top 16 Prelim. Top 32 Prelim. Top 64 2026 Prize MoneyPDC Premier Events (2026) 5,000 1,000 400 200 100 60 35 25 15 colspan=3 World Masters500100503017.5105 colspan=4 2.510.75 750 120 60 35 20 12.5 7.5 3 2 1.25 colspan=3 1,000 225 125 65 35 22.5 12.5 colspan=6 750 150 80 50 35 20 7.5 colspan=7 750 150 80 50 35 20 7.5 colspan=7 1,000 200 100 60 35 20 5 colspan=6 750 130 70 40 27.5 15 7 4 colspan=5 PDC Pro Tour 230 35 15 10 8 5 3.5 2 colspan=5 150 15 10 6.5 4 3 2 1.25 colspan=5 Total 2026 payouts 19,484 3,110 1,530 1,802 2,244 2,856 3,240 752 2,533 64 1,000 40 16 12 2025 Prize MoneyPDC Premier Events (2025) 2,500 500 200 100 50 35 25 15 7.5 colspan=3 500100503012.5105colspan=4 2.510.75 600 110 50 30 15 10 5 2.5 1.5 1 colspan=3 800 200 100 50 30 15 10 colspan=7 600 120 60 40 25 15 7.5 colspan=7 600 120 60 40 25 15 7.5 colspan=7 650 150 70 50 25 12 5 colspan=7 600 120 60 30 20 10 6.5 3 colspan=5 PDC Pro Tour 175 30 12 8.5 6 4 2.51.25 colspan=6 125 15 10 5 3.5 2.5 1.5 1.0 colspan=5 Total 2025 payouts 14,625 2,670 1,246 1,401 1,682 2,102 2,448 17.5 2,064 48 992 20 16 24Prize money from the 2024 season still contributing to the Order of Merit, where differing from 2025 prize money 2,500 500 200 100 50 35 25 15 7.5 colspan=4
Rankings
Other PDC rankings
In addition to the main two-year ranking, the PDC also operates three rankings for subsets of the PDC Tour and four rankings for secondary tours. These rankings offer qualification to televised events and are the basis for seeding in tournaments. Additionally, some secondary tours offer Tour Cards. These are secondary Orders of Merit are the: Pro Tour 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 Players Championship events. European Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in European Tour events during the calendar year. The top 32 on this ranking list qualify for the European Championship at the end of the year, where all players are seeded according to their European Tour ranking. Players Championship Order of Merit, which counts money earned in Player Championship events during the calendar year. The top 64 on this ranking qualify for the Players Championship Finals. Similarly to the European Championship, all players are seeded according to their rank. World Series Order of Merit, which counts points earned in a calendar year in the world series. The top 8 on this ranking are seeded for the World Series of Darts Finals. Challenge Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in a calendar year on the Challenge Tour, a secondary tour open to players without Tour Cards that participated in the most recent Q-School. Top ranked players at the end of the year may qualify for televised tournaments and receive Tour Cards, depending on their rank. The Challenge Tour Order of Merit also acts as a reserve list for Pro Tour events. Development Tour Order of Merit, which counts money earned in a calendar year on the Development Tour, a secondary open to some Tour Card holders and players without Tour Card aged 16–23. Top ranked players at the end of the year may qualify for televised tournaments and receive Tour Cards, depending on their rank. Women's Series Order of Merit, which counts money earned in a calendar year on the Women's Series, a secondary tour for female players. Top ranked players at the end of the year may qualify for televised tournaments, depending on their rank. Women's World Matchplay Order of Merit, which counts money earned on the Women's Series earned over an approximately 12-month period prior to the Women's World Matchplay, to which the top 8 players are invited.
+ Qualification and seedings to PDC events via PDC Orders of Merit Tournament Qualifiers By Order of Merit Other Main Ranked televised events World Championship 40 40 colspan=3 3 3 3 39 World Masters 24 colspan=4 8 UK Open colspan=4 8 8 16 World Matchplay 16 16 colspan=7 World Grand Prix 16 16 colspan=7 European Championship colspan=2 32 colspan=6 0 colspan=4 1 1 1 21 colspan=3 64 colspan=5 PDC Pro Tour 16 16 colspan=6 16 0 colspan=7 Non-ranked televised events Premier League Darts 4 colspan=7 4 World Series of Darts Finals colspan=4 8 colspan=3 24 World Cup of Darts colspan=7 Tour Cards 64 colspan=4 2 2 60
Previous world ranking system Prior to 2007, a ranking point system was used where ranking points were awarded according to the stage reached in a tournament and the relative prestige of the tournament. There was no limit on the number of tournaments which counted to the tally, which meant that the top-ranked players were not necessarily the best-performing in the major tournaments. For instance, 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. +PDC World Rankings Points System, 2003Tournament CategoryWinnerRunner-upTop 4Top 8Top 16Top 32Top 40Top 64World Championship50403530241612Premier Event30242016128Category One161210864Category Two864321colspan=2 Category Three54321colspan=3
Previous world number ones PDC Ranking Leaders Timeline 14 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 eight 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.
Notable players not to be ranked world number one in the PDC include: Two-time back-to-back PDC World Champions Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson, 11-time major title winner James Wade and 2018 world champion Rob Cross.
PlayerYears in which player stood Number 1 Phil Taylor13 Michael van Gerwen7 Alan Warriner6 Rod Harrington5 Colin Lloyd3 Dennis Priestley2 Peter Manley2 Gerwyn Price2 Luke Humphries2 Luke Littler2 Raymond van Barneveld12008 John Part12003 Peter Wright12022 Michael Smith12023Italic indicates the player was reigning world champion that yearBold indicates the player stood number one at the conclusion of that year's world championship
Periods No. Player(s) From Length Incarnation of the WDC days 1994 Lada UK Masters days 1995 UK Matchplay days days (2) days (2) 1998 World Matchplay days (2) 2000 World Matchplay days 2000 Windy City Open days (3) 2001 World Grand Prix days (4) and (3) 2002 World Championship days (5) 2002 Eastbourne Open days (4) days 2003 World Championship days (5) 2003 Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy days 2005 West Tyrone Open days (6) 2006 UK Open days (2) 2006 Players Championship 3 days (7) 2007 World Championship days 2008 World Championship days (8) 2008 UK Open days 2014 World Championship days 2021 World Championship days 2022 UK Open days (2) 2022 World Matchplay days (2) 2022 World Grand Prix days (3) 2022 European Championship days days days days
Key Before January 2007Used old points systemCurrent Reigning number one on Order of Merit
Total days at number one Sources: No.PlayerTotal Days at No 1Longest Consecutive Run1 Phil Taylor 3323 20332 Michael van Gerwen 2559 25593 Alan Warriner-Little 1558 6994 Rod Harrington 1207 7285 Luke Humphries 683 6836 Colin Lloyd 666 4697 Gerwyn Price 569 4278 Peter Manley 399 3999 Michael Smith 365 36510 Luke Littler 11 John Part 203 20312 Peter Wright 161 14013 Raymond van Barneveld 159 15914 Dennis Priestley 155 155Active players in bold.
First WDC/PDC rankings
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.
Ranking Player Ranking Player1 Alan Warriner16 Jann Hoffmann2 Rod Harrington= Chris Johns3 Phil Taylor= Roland Scholten4 John Lowe19 Raymond van Barneveld5 Mike Gregory= Keith Deller6 Peter Evison21 Bobby George7 Kevin Spiolek22 Per Skau= Dennis Priestley23 Bernd Hebecker9 Bob Anderson= Andree Welge10 Jocky Wilson= Pascal Rabau11 Jamie Harvey26 Leo Laurens12 Eric Bristow= Bert Vlaardingerbroek13 Cliff Lazarenko= Tom Kirby14 Magnus Caris= Wayne Weening= Steve Beaton= Mauro Levy
References
External links PDC website - Rankings