The European Championship in Dortmund has caused major changes to the PDC Order of Merit, with Ross Smith the tournament's biggest winner. The Englishman claimed the European title for the second time in his career and climbed to sixth in the world rankings thanks to the £150,000 winner's prize. Smith began the tournament ranked 14th but after winning the title he is the new sixth-ranked player in the PDC Order of Merit. 'Smudger' has reached the highest position of his career, and a place in the 2027 Premier League Darts is now within reach.
Smith enjoyed an excellent run in Dortmund. He beat Karel Sedlacek in the first round, then overcame Damon Heta and Luke Woodhouse. He defeated Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals before beating Martin Schindler in the final. The victory earned Smith his second European title and the third major title of his career, and the £150,000 top prize lifted him eight places in the world rankings and returned him to the top ten. Runner-up Schindler can also look back on his run with satisfaction. 'The Wall' made history as the first German player ever to reach a PDC major final. Although Smith proved too strong in the final, Schindler took home £80,000, which moved him up three places from 23rd to 20th.
There has been little change at the very top, with Luke Littler remaining the undisputed world number one with more than £3.1 million in prize money. 'The Nuke' hoped to add the only major title missing from his collection in Dortmund, but Krzysztof Ratajski stunned him in the quarter-finals. There has, however, been a significant change just behind Littler. Gian van Veen has climbed to second place, moving ahead of Luke Humphries, who withdrew from the European Darts Championship through illness and could not add any prize money to his ranking total. Van Veen was unable to defend his European title, losing 10-6 to Luke Woodhouse in the second round, but despite that early exit he takes second place in the world rankings from Humphries. Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall also gained ground in the top ten. Bunting reached the quarter-finals in Dortmund, where Gerwyn Price beat him 10-3, and his run lifted him four places to world number nine. Aspinall climbed one place to complete the top ten as the new world number ten.
While Van Veen made valuable gains, Michael van Gerwen's position continued to worsen. The three-time world champion began the European Darts Championship ranked tenth but has since slipped to 13th. His early exit in Dortmund had major consequences: Van Gerwen needed to defend the prize money he earned by reaching the semi-finals two years ago, but this time he lost in the first round, dropping three places. His 13th-place ranking is his lowest in the PDC Order of Merit since 2012, and the man who topped the world rankings for years now sits outside the top ten. Danny Noppert also took a significant hit, dropping four places from seventh to 11th after his first-round exit meant a substantial amount came off his ranking total. Gary Anderson is the third major faller among the former top ten; the Scot failed to qualify for the European Darts Championship and therefore could not earn any new prize money, dropping five places from ninth to 14th.
One notable climber outside the top ten is Kim Huybrechts. The Belgian initially looked set to miss the European Championship, having failed to qualify automatically, but after Luke Humphries withdrew, 'The Hurricane' received a last-minute opportunity to compete in Dortmund. He made the most of his chance, causing an upset in the first round by beating Ryan Searle 6-1, though a second surprise proved beyond him as Stephen Bunting won their second-round match 10-3. Even so, the tournament earned Huybrechts £20,000, lifting the 40-year-old Belgian nine places from 55th to 46th. Ritchie Edhouse has suffered the biggest fall in the PDC Order of Merit. The Englishman caused a major upset two years ago by winning the European Championship in Dortmund but failed to qualify for this year's event, so the full £120,000 top prize he earned two years ago has now dropped off his ranking. 'Madhouse' began the tournament in 33rd place but has now fallen to 55th in one stroke, dropping 22 places as the biggest loser of the European Championship weekend.
