PDC Order of Merit following the 2022 UK Open | Wright becomes world number one
Peter Wright has become PDC world number one for the first time in his career following the 2022 UK Open in Minehead.
Wright, the reigning World Champion and World Matchplay winner, has ended Gerwyn Price’s 14-month reign at the top of the PDC Order of Merit.
Price needed to reach the final of the UK Open and better Wright’s run in order to maintain top spot, but his Quarter-Final defeat to Michael Smith saw the crowning of a new world number one.
Wright, who lost out to William O’Connor in the Last 16 in Minehead, becomes the 11th different number one since the formation of the WDC/PDC in 1992.
The colourful Scot holds a slender £21,000 lead over Price on the Order of Merit and the pair are expected to become embroiled in a tussle for top spot throughout the season, before the Welshman heads to Ally Pally to defend his £500,000 winner’s prize money from 2021.
A significant weekend of change at the top end of the world rankings also saw Michael van Gerwen drop two places to fifth – his lowest position in a decade.
Van Gerwen was initially leapfrogged by James Wade – who moves up to third, before Smith’s run to the final saw him climb into fourth spot.
Meanwhile, Danny Noppert’s fairy-tale triumph sees him climb seven places to 12th, entering the world’s top 16 for the second time after picking up his first PDC major ranking title.
Noppert becomes the second highest ranked Dutchman and is now in pole position to partner MVG at the World Cup of Darts for the second time.
Noppert’s rise means former UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall drops out of the world’s top 16, falling two places to 17th.
Damon Heta’s run to the Quarter-Finals in Minehead sees him climb four places to 23rd, moving above Simon Whitlock to become the highest ranked Australian in the PDC.
O’Connor, who reached his first major ranking Semi-Final at the weekend, is up three places to 34th, while fellow Irishman Keane Barry surges 14 places to 52nd after also reaching his first televised ranking Semi-Final.
Croatia’s Boris Krcmar is up six places to 53rd after reaching the Last 16, while Andy Boulton and Steve West drop four and five places to 57th and 60th respectively.
Martin Schinder climbs back into the world’s top 64 at the expense of Max Hopp and Mike De Decker, while Sebastian Bialecki’s dream run to the Quarter-Finals sees him enter the PDC Order of Merit as world number 81 despite not holding a Tour Card.
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PDC Order of Merit following the 2022 UK Open
| Position | Name | Prize Money |
| 1 | Peter Wright | £1,190,250 |
| 2 | Gerwyn Price | £1,169,000 |
| 3 | James Wade | £571,000 |
| 4 | Michael Smith | £569,750 |
| 5 | Michael van Gerwen | £550,250 |
| 6 | Gary Anderson | £472,500 |
| 7 | Jose de Sousa | £435,500 |
| 8 | Jonny Clayton | £411,750 |
| 9 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | £411,250 |
| 10 | Rob Cross | £347,000 |
| 11 | Joe Cullen | £336,500 |
| 12 | Danny Noppert | £325,500 |
| 13 | Krzysztof Ratajski | £297,000 |
| 14 | Dave Chisnall | £294,250 |
| 15 | Dirk van Duijvenbode | £268,250 |
| 16 | Ryan Searle | £262,750 |
| 17 | Nathan Aspinall | £260,500 |
| 18 | Mervyn King | £238,250 |
| 19 | Luke Humphries | £238,000 |
| 20 | Stephen Bunting | £220,750 |
| 21 | Gabriel Clemens | £206,750 |
| 22 | Daryl Gurney | £204,500 |
| 23 | Damon Heta | £202,000 |
| 24 | Simon Whitlock | £199,250 |
| 25 | Brendan Dolan | £198,500 |
| 26 | Devon Petersen | £194,000 |
| 27 | Ian White | £190,500 |
| 28 | Mensur Suljovic | £185,750 |
| 29 | Callan Rydz | £182,250 |
| 30 | Vincent van der Voort | £180,000 |
| 31 | Glen Durrant | £160,500 |
| 32 | Chris Dobey | £150,250 |
| 33 | Ross Smith | £140,250 |
| 34 | William O’Connor | £127,500 |
| 35 | Ryan Joyce | £126,750 |
| 36 | Kim Huybrechts | £126,500 |
| 37 | Jermaine Wattimena | £115,750 |
| 38 | Ricky Evans | £106,000 |
| 39 | Martijn Kleermaker | £101,500 |
| 40 | Adrian Lewis | £100,000 |
| 41 | Jamie Hughes | £96,250 |
| 42 | Adam Hunt | £86,000 |
| 43 | Darius Labanauskas | £84,500 |
| 44 | Steve Lennon | £80,250 |
| 45 | Jason Lowe | £78,000 |
| 46 | Madars Razma | £75,250 |
| 47 | Jeffrey de Zwaan | £75,250 |
| 48 | Luke Woodhouse | £73,000 |
| 49 | Alan Soutar | £71,500 |
| 50 | Maik Kuivenhoven | £68,250 |
| 51 | Ron Meulenkamp | £68,000 |
| 52 | Keane Barry | £67,250 |
| 53 | Boris Krcmar | £62,000 |
| 54 | Steve Beaton | £61,750 |
| 55 | Ryan Meikle | £58,000 |
| 56 | Raymond van Barneveld | £58,000 |
| 57 | Andy Boulton | £57,500 |
| 58 | William Borland | £56,250 |
| 59 | Jeff Smith | £55,500 |
| 60 | Steve West | £54,250 |
| 61 | Keegan Brown | £54,000 |
| 62 | Florian Hempel | £53,500 |
| 63 | Martin Schindler | £53,000 |
| 64 | Ritchie Edhouse | £52,000 |
| 65 | Max Hopp | £50,500 |
| 66 | Mike De Decker | £49,750 |
| 67 | John Henderson | £44,750 |
| 68 | Lewy Williams | £41,750 |
| 69 | Scott Mitchell | £39,500 |
| 70 | Joe Murnan | £38,750 |
| 71 | Jason Heaver | £35,750 |
| 72 | Adam Gawlas | £23,250 |
| 73 | Boris Koltsov | £23,000 |
| 74 | Niels Zonneveld | £21,750 |
| 75 | Gordon Mathers | £21,500 |
| 76 | Martin Lukeman | £15,750 |
| 77 | Eddie Lovely | £14,250 |
| 78 | Peter Hudson | £14,250 |
| 79 | John Michael | £14,250 |
| 80 | Geert Nentjes | £13,500 |
| 81 | Sebastian Bialecki | £12,500 |
| 82 | Geert De Vos | £11,250 |
| 83 | Danny Baggish | £9,750 |
| 84 | Andrew Gilding | £9,500 |
| 85 | Berry van Peer | £9,000 |
| 86 | Jon Worsley | £8,500 |
| 87 | Jack Main | £8,500 |
| 88 | John Brown | £8,000 |
| 89 | Connor Scutt | £7,000 |
| 90 | Zoran Lerchbacher | £7,000 |
| 91 | Brian Raman | £6,000 |
| 92 | Lee Evans | £6,000 |
| 93 | David Evans | £6,000 |
| 94 | Brett Claydon | £5,750 |
| 95 | Krzysztof Kciuk | £5,500 |
| 96 | Kevin Doets | £5,000 |
| 97 | Scott Waites | £4,750 |
| 98 | Scott Williams | £4,750 |
| 99 | Jake Jones | £4,250 |
| 100 | Jim Williams | £4,000 |
| 101 | Cameron Menzies | £4,000 |
| 102 | Danny Jansen | £3,750 |
| 103 | Stephen Burton | £3,750 |
| 104 | George Killington | £3,250 |
| 105 | Niko Springer | £3,000 |
| 106 | John O’Shea | £3,000 |
| 107 | Ross Montgomery | £3,000 |
| 108 | Radek Szaganski | £2,750 |
| 109 | Jamie Clark | £2,750 |
| 110 | Luc Peters | £2,500 |
| 111 | Damian Mol | £2,250 |
| 112 | Jose Justicia | £2,250 |
| 113 | Mario Vandenbogaerde | £2,250 |
| 114 | Rowby-John Rodriguez | £2,250 |
| 115 | Graham Hall | £2,000 |
| 116 | Jelle Klaasen | £2,000 |
| 117 | Fabian Schmutzler | £2,000 |
| 118 | Nico Kurz | £2,000 |
| 119 | Jim McEwan | £2,000 |
| 120 | Jimmy Hendriks | £2,000 |
| 121 | Richie Burnett | £2,000 |
| 122 | Ted Evetts | £1,750 |
| 123 | Darren Webster | £1,500 |
| 124 | Nathan Rafferty | £1,500 |
| 125 | Ricardo Pietreczko | £1,500 |
| 126 | Michael Unterbuchner | £1,500 |
| 127 | Danny Lauby | £1,000 |
| 128 | Kenny Neyens | £1,000 |
| 129 | Lukas Wenig | £1,000 |
| 130 | Ryan Harrington | £1,000 |
| 131 | Danny van Trijp | £1,000 |
| 132 | David Schlichting | £1,000 |
| 133 | Dennis Nilsson | £1,000 |
| 134 | Dragutin Horvat | £1,000 |
| 135 | Janos Vegso | £1,000 |
| 136 | Wayne Jones | £1,000 |
| 137 | Bradley Brooks | £750 |
| 138 | Jules van Dongen | £750 |
| 139 | Matt Campbell | £750 |
| 140 | Steve Haggerty | £750 |
| 141 | Tony Martinez | £750 |
| 142 | Nick Fullwell | £750 |
| 143 | Stu Wilson | £750 |
| 144 | Rusty-Jake Rodriguez | £750 |
