Luke Littler extended his buffer over Michael van Gerwen on the PDC Order of Merit after celebrating his maiden Ladbrokes UK Open crown on Sunday.
World number two Littler stormed to victory in imperious style at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, producing a tournament average of 104.35 across six matches and crashing in a record-high 47 180s to secure the £110,000 top prize.
The World Champion overcame Peter Wright, Jermaine Wattimena, Krzysztof Ratajski, Gian van Veen, Jonny Clayton and James Wade on his way to glory, as he clinched his fifth Premier TV title in the space of ten months.
Littler’s latest triumph sees him move up to £1,248,500 on the two-year Order of Merit, with world number one Luke Humphries still boasting a lead of over £600,000 at the summit.
Australian number one Damon Heta was the big mover in the top ten, despite succumbing to an inspired Gian van Veen in the last 16.
Heta saw off Kim Huybrechts and Connor Scutt before losing out to a 109.9 average from Van Veen, although he still climbed two places to reach a career-high of world number seven.
Clayton leapfrogged Stephen Bunting into fifth spot on the PDC Order of Merit after progressing to his second UK Open semi-final, with Bunting crashing out in round four against his Premier League rival Chris Dobey.
Dobey occupies eighth spot above Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall, while Wade has risen to world number 12 after just falling short in his bid to lift a fourth UK Open title.
Josh Rock solidified his place in the world’s top 16 with a run to the last four in Minehead, as Northern Ireland’s number one broke new ground by advancing to a first televised ranking semi-final.
Michael Smith also enjoyed a positive weekend, defeating Kevin Doets, Madars Razma and defending champion Dimitri Van den Bergh to end his winless run and close in on a top 16 return.
Van den Bergh slipped four places to 20th on the PDC Order of Merit following his defeat to Smith, but it was 2023 champion Andrew Gilding who suffered the biggest slump.
Gilding was beaten by Ryan Joyce in Friday’s fourth round, and the Suffolk star has subsequently fallen to world number 27 – his lowest ranking position since he was crowned UK Open champion.
Despite his fourth round exit, World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker has moved up to a career-high of 21st, while Van Veen climbed two places to 25th after featuring in his third TV ranking quarter-final last weekend.
The PDC Order of Merit comprises prize money won over a two-year period by players in PDC ranking events - click here to view the full PDC Order of Merit.
The PDC Order of Merit will next be open to change this weekend, when the Lecot Belgian Darts Open (ET1) takes place in Wieze from March 7-9 - watch live on PDCTV.
