Why Premier League Darts win would not make Littler number one
Should Luke Littler successfully defend his Premier League Darts title this week, he will not go top of the Professional Darts Corporation's Order of Merit.
That is because the Premier League is not classed as a ranking event, meaning prize money is not counted in the two-year period which is used to determine the Order of Merit.
Littler, 18, heads into Thursday's play-off night as defending champion and the most recent winner of the World Darts Championship.
He is second in PDC's Order of Merit - behind only Luke Humphries, who he has faced in the past two World Championship finals.
Littler is yet to play a full two-year cycle of ranking events, and in the second half of 2023 alone, Humphries earned £563,250 in prize money from ranked events.
Humphries is £573,750 ahead of Littler in the PDC Order of Merit.
There are still five of the sport's major events to take place in this year prior to the 2026 World Darts Championship, which starts in December.
In 2023 alone, the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals helped Humphries earn a combined total of £468,500.
Given how clear Humphries and Littler are in prize money compared to the rest of the PDC's Order of Merit, it is unlikely either player will be caught until the next World Championship.
The winner of 2026's top darts prize will receive £1,000,000 - double the amount Littler received this year.
Humphries has prize money of £1,873,750 from PDC ranked events in the past two years. Littler's total is £1,300,500. Michael van Gerwen is third on £734,750.
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