PDC Order of Merit

The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.

Previous world ranking system

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. Lloyd often accumulated ranking points in the less prestigious non-televised events, in which Taylor did not always compete.

How it works

The Order of Merit is similar to that employed in golf's European Tour. Prize money won during the previous two seasons is calculated and the rankings are determined from this money list.

Player exemptions

The PDC rankings determine exemptions from the qualifying competitions from each major event.
The top 32 on early December get an automatic entry to the first round of the World Championship.
The top 16 on early July get an automatic entry to the first round of the World Matchplay.
The top 16 on early October get an automatic entry to the first round of the European Championship.
The top 16 on early September get an automatic entry to the first round of the World Grand Prix.
The top 6 after the World Championship get an automatic entry to the Premier League.

Televised Ranking Tournaments

There is often a lot of confusion with televised tournaments and knowing which ones count towards the PDC Order of Merit. While a lot of televised tournaments are ranked, some are not, usually due to the tournament in question having restricted places e.g. Premier League.

Ranked Tournaments

Un-ranked Tournaments

Note: Flags are of the nation in which the event is held.
† The European Championship is held in different countries every year.

Current Order of Merit

As of October 11, 2010, following the World Grand Prix in Ireland.^[1]

Ranking	Player	Prize Money	Ranking	Player	Prize Money
1	Phil Taylor	£1,072,388	17 1	Co Stompé	£135,464
2 1	James Wade	£320,100	18 2	Wes Newton	£131,414
3 1	Raymond van Barneveld	£282,087	19 3	Jamie Caven	£124,868
4 5	Adrian Lewis	£198,879	20 3	Robert Thornton	£124,653
5 1	Simon Whitlock	£196,950	21	Vincent van der Voort	£122,987
6 2	Mervyn King	£191,729	22 3	Dennis Priestley	£117,709
7 2	Terry Jenkins	£186,207	23	Alan Tabern	£113,601
8	Ronnie Baxter	£175,417	24	Steve Beaton	£108,785
9 2	Colin Lloyd	£165,629	25	Jelle Klaasen	£106,321
10	Mark Walsh	£160,921	26	Denis Ovens	£102,757
11	Andy Hamilton	£157,230	27	Mark Dudbridge	£101,672
12 1	Gary Anderson	£151,950	28	Andy Smith	£101,358
13	Wayne Jones	£148,847	29	Mark Webster	£96,642
14 2	Colin Osborne	£148,371	30 2	Barrie Bates	£81,771
15	Paul Nicholson	£140,254	31 1	Michael van Gerwen	£78,954
16	Kevin Painter	£135,504	32 1	John Part	£67,386

Previous PDC World Number Ones

The following is a list of players who have held the PDC World Number One ranking.

Jan 1993 to Nov 1994 - Alan Warriner-Little
Nov 1994 to Apr 1995 - Dennis Priestley
Apr 1995 to Aug 1996 - Rod Harrington
Aug 1996 to Sep 1996 - Phil Taylor
Feb 1997 to Aug 1998 - Alan Warriner-Little
Aug 1998 to Aug 2000 - Rod Harrington
Aug 2000 to Sep 2000 - Phil Taylor
Sep 2000 to Oct 2001 - Peter Manley
Oct 2001 to Jan 2002 - Alan Warriner-Little
Jan 2002 to Feb 2002 - Alan Warriner-Little/Phil Taylor (joint)
Feb 2002 to May 2002 - Alan Warriner-Little
May 2002 to Jan 2003 - Phil Taylor
Jan 2003 to Jul 2003 - John Part
Jul 2003 to Feb 2005 - Phil Taylor
Feb 2005 to Mar 2006 - Colin Lloyd
Mar 2006 to May 2006 - Phil Taylor
May 2006 to Jan 2007 - Colin Lloyd
Jan 2007 to Jan 2008 - Phil Taylor
Jan 2008 to Jun 2008 - Raymond van Barneveld
Jun 2008 to present - Phil Taylor

First WDC/PDC rankings

Following the World Darts Council (now PDC) split from the British Darts Organisation during 1992-94 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]}

Ranking	Player	Ranking	Player
1	Alan Warriner	16	Jann Hoffmann
2	Rod Harrington	=	Chris Johns
3	Phil Taylor	=	Roland Scholten
4	John Lowe	19	Raymond van Barneveld
5	Mike Gregory	=	Keith Deller
6	Peter Evison	21	Bobby George
7	Kevin Spiolek	22	Per Skau
=	Dennis Priestley	23	Bernd Hebecker
9	Bob Anderson	=	Andree Welge
10	Jocky Wilson	=	Pascal Rabau
11	Jamie Harvey	26	Leo Laurens
12	Eric Bristow	=	Bert Vlaardingerbroek
13	Cliff Lazarenko	=	Tom Kirby
14	Magnus Caris	=	Wayne Weening
=	Steve Beaton	=	Mauro Levy