PDC Darts players in danger of dropping down the rankings in 2026

PDC Darts players in danger of dropping down the rankings in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . We've reached April on the PDC Darts calendar, and although the major season is a few months away, it's never too early to look at what players are in danger of falling down the rankings.

In terms of ranked events, the Matchplay in July is the first big event to take place next, before a handful of majors take place from September to December. With the Main OoM rankings running on a two-year window, players who placed well at majors in 2024 will start losing big chunks of prize money, which could lead to big changes in the rankings. We'll see players fall out of the seeding for majors, as well as key players who could lose their tour cards.

PDC Darts players in danger of dropping down the rankings in 2026 Let's take a look at some notable players who could be in for a rough year if they don't defend their prize money from 2024. Michael van Gerwen Notable results being defended: 2024 Matchplay runner-up: £100,000 2024 ET #11 title: £30,000 2024 PC 21 title: £15,000 2024 PC 27 title: £15,000 2024 ET #7 semifinalist: £8,500 The most notable player on this list is MVG, as falling to world #4 after this year's WC was already something we hadn't seen in a while. He's set to defend at least £170,000 from notable event results, which puts him in danger of potentially falling out of the top 10 if he doesn't perform well to end the year.

He'll also have to defend £200,000 at the start of 2027, since he was a runner-up at the 2025 PDC WC, which could put him in danger of falling outside the top 16. MORE: 2026 Premier League Darts schedule, scores, results and updated table Stephen Bunting Notable results being defended: 5x PC runner-up in 2024: £50,000 2024 ET #5 semifinalist: £8,500 2x ET event quarterfinalist: £12,000 Bunting is in a unique situation, because in terms of actual events in 2026 left, he doesn't have any big chunks to defend at majors. Most of the money he'll defend is what he accumulated in Pro Tour events, which he very well could defend since he plays in them often and makes runs.