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 Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.

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. 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.

* Plays in 2017 Premier League Darts.

The ProTour Order of Merit counts prize money won in Players Championship events, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events over a 12-month period. It also is a main way to qualify to the major TV tournaments.

The PDC rankings determine exemptions from the qualifying competitions from each major event:

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

European Tour (Ranked)

Un-ranked Tournaments

World Series of Darts (Un-ranked)

Pairs Tournaments (Un-ranked)

Note: Flags are of the nation in which the 2016 event is held.

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 separate 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.

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