James Wade has climbed to sixth place on the PDC Order of Merit after winning the Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp, overtaking Michael van Gerwen, who slips to seventh. The Englishman ended a European Tour drought of more than ten years on Sunday at Antwerp Expo, beating Ross Smith 8-4 in the final to claim the third European Tour title of his career. The £35,000 top prize propelled Wade past Van Gerwen on the world ranking.
The rise of the now 43-year-old left-hander stands out. Wade began 2026 as world number eleven and has since gained five places. His results at the majors have driven that surge. The ten-time TV title winner reached the UK Open final earlier this year and made the World Matchplay quarter-finals. Wade has delivered on the ProTour as well. He won the season’s first Players Championship and now sits among the five top earners in 2026. The gap to Jonny Clayton, the current world number five, is just over £10,000. Wade last ranked as high as fifth in 2022. Thanks to his Antwerp title, he has also all but secured his spot at the European Championship in October.
While Wade keeps climbing, Michael van Gerwen is moving the other way. The three-time world champion drops to seventh after Wade’s win and is expected to slip another two places before the World Grand Prix later this month. That is linked to prize money earned two years ago that will soon drop off his ranking. The Dutchman won Players Championship 21 in 2024 and also took the Hungarian Darts Trophy that year. The £40,000 banked from those two titles will vanish from his two-year tally before the World Grand Prix. Antwerp was disappointing on the board as well for Van Gerwen. He went out immediately to Damon Heta, who went on to reach the semi-finals. Van Gerwen, the European Tour record-holder with 38 titles, did make the Prague semi-finals earlier this month. But a major ranking breakthrough in 2026 is still missing: he has yet to reach a quarter-final at a ranking major this year.
Gary Anderson also lost ground on the Order of Merit. The Scot skipped Antwerp and drops from ninth to eleventh. Anderson was runner-up at the Hungarian Darts Trophy at the end of August but plays relatively few ranking events. Of all players currently in the top 64, only two have entered fewer tournaments over the past two years. Stephen Bunting and Danny Noppert took advantage of Anderson’s slide. Bunting reached the last 16 in Antwerp and rises to ninth. Noppert made the quarter-finals and moves up to tenth. That gives the Netherlands two players in the world’s top ten, with Van Gerwen and Noppert.
Further down the list, Niels Zonneveld also made gains. The Dutchman rises one spot to 35th. William O'Connor likewise climbs one place to 33rd. Both players won a match at the Flanders Darts Trophy. O'Connor has been notably consistent in recent months. Ireland’s number one has earned at least £2,000 at eight of his last eleven ProTour events. His past 12 months have also earned him a World Grand Prix return. He will be back on that stage for the first time since 2015. Zonneveld also heads to Leicester. It will be his World Grand Prix debut. The Dutchman has reached three quarter-finals and two semi-finals on the ProTour this year.
Beau Greaves continues her rapid ascent on the Order of Merit. The Women’s World Matchplay champion won her Tour Card in January and has already climbed to 74th in the world. Greaves played a third straight European Tour event in Antwerp. She lost in round one to Damon Heta, but because she qualified via the Tour Card Holder Qualifier, she still banked £2,000 in ranking money. That was enough to move past Tom Bissell and Darryl Pilgrim on the Order of Merit. Of all players who claimed a new Tour Card in January, only Spain’s number one Cristo Reyes has outperformed Greaves so far.
