Nathan Aspinall climbed to 14th in the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder after claiming his maiden German Darts Grand Prix in Munich. Aspinall produced a string of power-scoring displays to blitz to his fourth European Tour title over the weekend, scooping the £35,000 top prize and moving ahead of Ross Smith in the world rankings. The […]
Nathan Aspinall climbed to 14th in the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder after claiming his maiden German Darts Grand Prix in Munich.
Aspinall produced a string of power-scoring displays to blitz to his fourth European Tour title over the weekend, scooping the £35,000 top prize and moving ahead of Ross Smith in the world rankings.
The Stockport star has had a moderate start to the year, aside from finishing runner-up at Players Championship Event One and reaching the last 16 of the Poland Darts Open, but picked up his first ranking title since October last year to reinvigorate his season.
The former World Matchplay champion now sits above the £500,000 mark, and has a £70,000+ buffer from dropping out of the world’s top 16.
Josh Rock dropped to ninth in the world despite reaching the last 16 in Munich, with Stephen Bunting and Gerwyn Price moving up to seventh and eighth respectively.
A mere £12,500 separates five players positioned between seventh and 11th, with only £1,500 separating Rock in ninth and Bunting in seventh.
Danny Noppert’s run to the final in Munich did not see him gain any places in the world rankings from 11th, although he would have moved up to world number seven if he defeated Aspinall.
Nevertheless, the Dutchman widened the gap above Ryan Searle in 12th to almost £30,000 and is just £1,000 short of Gary Anderson, who sits in tenth.
Noppert’s steady start to the year, including runs to the quarter-finals at the UK Open and the Belgian Darts Open, put the 35-year-old in good stead for the year ahead to make a return into the world’s top ten.
Niels Zonneveld is another Dutch star making inroads, making a third straight European Tour quarter-final this year to move up to 38th.
The 27-year-old has moved up four spots since the turn of the year, thanks to two runs to the semi-finals at the European Darts Trophy and Belgian Darts Open, putting up a serious push for the world’s top 32.
Kim Huybrechts’ strong 2026 continued at the German Darts Grand Prix, reaching the last 16 for a second consecutive European Tour to move up two spots into 57th.
The Belgian defeated Peter Wright and Luke Woodhouse before bowing out to Jonny Clayton in Munich, recording two ton-plus averages to consolidate a solid start to the year.
There will be more opportunity for movement in the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder across April, as four Players Championship events and the European Darts Grand Prix take place.