What is the PDC ranking system based on when calculating a darts player's Order of Merit?
Answer
Prize money won over two years
The PDC Order of Merit is based on prize money won over a two-year period.
The ranking totals a player’s prize money from ranking events during the rolling previous two years. It is not a points table based directly on wins, averages or tournament titles. As older results pass beyond the two-year window, they are removed and replaced by newer eligible earnings.
The system replaced the PDC world rankings in 2007. It is used for seeding and qualification across major Professional Darts Corporation events, so a player’s position has practical consequences beyond a published list.
A common misunderstanding is that the Order of Merit measures a player’s lifetime success. It does not: the rolling period means current form and recent major earnings can change a position significantly.