Gerwyn Price has dramatically closed the gap on European Tour Order of Merit leader Wessel Nijman after clinching the European Darts Grand Prix title in Sindelfingen, Germany last weekend. Price defeated Ross Smith 8-6 in the final, a victory that propelled him from 17th to second place in the rankings. Nijman, who won the European Darts Trophy earlier this year, reached the semi-finals in Sindelfingen, where he lost 7-4 to Price, and currently leads with £53,000 in prize money. Price now sits just £3,000 behind with £50,000, having cashed in £15,000 from his win.
The top five sees Nathan Aspinall in third with £48,000, followed by Luke Humphries in fourth with £45,000 and Luke Littler in fifth with £40,000. Both Humphries and Littler did not compete in Germany last weekend. Other notable movers include Ross Smith, who rose from 11th to seventh after reaching the final, and Krzysztof Ratajski, who climbed from 13th to 11th. Meanwhile, Niels Zonneveld dropped to ninth after an early exit, Chris Dobey fell from eighth to 10th, Michael Smith slipped to 13th from 10th, and Michael van Gerwen improved to 18th from 27th despite a loss to Nijman.
Concerns are mounting for several big names outside the top 32, with James Wade ranked 52nd, Mike De Decker 67th, and Rob Cross 83rd. Gary Anderson does not feature on the Order of Merit at all after crashing out in the first round at the European Darts Grand Prix, his first European Tour event of the year. Gian van Veen, the defending champion, has dropped to 20th from 12th, and with only the top 32 qualifying, further poor results could spell disaster for him.
The European Tour now takes a short break before resuming on the weekend of 08/05/2026, 09/05/2026, and 10/05/2026 with the Austrian Darts Open in Graz. Martin Schindler will start that event as the defending champion after beating Ross Smith 8-4 in last year's final.
