Darts
Darts’ world rankings: Profiling the world’s top-five players
As the darts season slowly kicks into motion, we’ve profiled the players who currently sit at the top end of the PDC Order of Merit list.
Gerwyn Price
The ‘Iceman’ enjoyed a stunning 2020, raking in accolades and of course, prize money. The Welshman picked up the Belgian Darts Championship, World Series of Darts Finals, World Grand Prix and the World Cup of Darts as well as multiple floor events.
Price carried that momentum into the William Hill World Darts Championship where he beat Gary Anderson in the final to win his maiden world title. It was that incredible tournament victory that put him in the history books as the first Welshman to win the tournament but, more importantly, made him the number one ranking player in the world.
Michael van Gerwen
‘Mighty Mike’ is arguably the greatest darts player since Phil Taylor. He’s been tipped not just to match Taylor’s World Championship tally of 16, but better it.
Van Gerwen has long been making headlines in the darting world. He became the youngest player to win a major tournament after success in the 2006 BDO World Masters. The world was given a glimpse of what the future held in 2007 when he defeated world number one Taylor and then went on to sink a nine-dart finish against Raymond van Barneveld.
Since then, MVG has dominated the sport and become a household name. He has picked up 56 televised PDC titles, 80 non-televised PDC titles and has even managed an incredible seven televised nine-dart finishes. Van Gerwen also holds the title for the most PDC nine-darters in history.
Unfortunately for MVG, he hasn’t been firing on all cylinders as of late. Last year was hit and miss – he picked up the UK Open and various Players’ Championships but couldn’t make an impact in the major tournaments. He looked resurgent in the World Championships over the winter but was eventually undone in the semi-final against a brilliant Dave Chisnall.
Peter Wright
Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright is undoubtedly the most colourful player in the PDC. With his bold outfits and uplifting walk-ons, Wright has become a true fan favourite.
Since making his debut, Wright has won eight televised titles and 26 non-televised PDC titles, reaching the pinnacle of success when beating Van Gerwen to become the world champion in 2020. He then went on to win the Masters for the first time, making it back-to-back televised titles to complete a glorious start to the year. He also went on to rack up Players Championship and Summer Series events wins that season.
‘Snakebite’ is one of the most consistent darts players on the circuit right now and proved that last season when reaching countless semis and quarter-finals as well as winning seven PDC events, including the World Championship, the Masters, the European Championship and multiple floor events.
James Wade
‘The Machine’ is a player that has won a major in three different decades. It’s incredible what James Wade has achieved in the sport for such a long period. He’s always at the top end of the rankings and puts in solid performances consistently.
Wade has climbed the rankings at a steady pace in recent years but has secured fourth spot after an incredible UK Open win, his third time lifting the title. That win took ‘The Machine’ to 10 televised titles, only the third man to reach double figures, and 27 non-televised titles.
The most successful left-hander in history could have a monstrous 2021 if he continues in this vein of form.
Rob Cross
‘Voltage’ set the world alight with his electrifying run in the 2018 World Championship. He beat Taylor in the final to win on his tournament debut after a fantastic year.
In total, Rob Cross has won four televised and five non-televised PDC events, and while he had a steady start to the 2020 season, he suffered early exits in televised majors which have halted his progress slightly. He did, however, reach the final of the World Series of Darts Finals in September of that year and the final of one of the Summer Series events.
He is yet to reach a final since September 2020 and his last tournament win came in the European Championship back in 2019. ‘Voltage’ will be looking to change that this season to solidify his top-five spot in the rankings.
At his best, Cross is one of the world’s most deadly players and once he returns to some of his previous form there will be plenty of majors to be won in the future.
