Gerwyn Price returned to the top four on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder after finishing runner-up at the Betfred World Matchplay on Sunday. The Welshman moved above Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and crucially Jonny Clayton to become world number four and regain the title of Welsh number one from his former World Cup partner. […]
Gerwyn Price returned to the top four on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder after finishing runner-up at the Betfred World Matchplay on Sunday.
The Welshman moved above Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and crucially Jonny Clayton to become world number four and regain the title of Welsh number one from his former World Cup partner.
Price claimed victories over Martin Schindler, Rob Cross, Ross Smith and Gian van Veen to reach his second final at the Winter Gardens, despite falling short to the imperious Luke Littler.
The Welshman pocketed £125,000 for reaching the showpiece, returning the world’s top four for the first time in almost three years in the process, after reaching a first Premier ranking final since the World Grand Prix in 2023.
2024 runner-up Van Gerwen has fallen to seventh in the world rankings after failing to defend his prize money by crashing out to Dirk van Duijvenbode in round two.
The Dutch icon has not been outside the world’s top four since January 2013, but has continued to drop after not reaching a Premier ranking final since the 2024/25 World Championship.
The 37-year-old has only reached beyond the quarter-finals in just two Premier events in the last two years, with his last major triumph coming at the Players Championship Finals in November 2022.
Wessel Nijman’s rapid ascent in darts continued after reaching the last 16 in Blackpool, overtaking Chris Dobey – a first round casualty – to become world number 13.
Smith climbed above Nathan Aspinall to become world number 15, after reaching the World Matchplay quarter-finals for the second time in his career.
Van Duijvenbode rose to 23rd in the world rankings after a splendid run to the semi-finals, where he only fell short to eventual champion Littler.
The Dutchman took the scalps of seeded trio Dobey, Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson to reach the final four, scooping £65,000 to earn the biggest payday of his darting career.
The 34-year-old has now moved up seven spots since the beginning of the year, sitting just over £100,000 away from a return to the world’s top 16.
Notable World Matchplay absentees Mike De Decker and Daryl Gurney suffered falls to 22nd and 29th respectively, with both players at risk of further declines.
Belgium’s number one player is currently set to miss out on the defence of his £120,000 World Grand Prix triumph two years ago, requiring an impressive run on the ProTour to qualify.
Meanwhile, Gurney has fallen six spots since the start of the year after not qualifying for the World Matchplay for the first time since 2015.
The Northern Irishman also needs strong ProTour performances if he is to qualify for the World Grand Prix in September, which he has not missed since 2013.