Littler moves into world top five with Grand Slam success
Littler moves into world top five with Grand Slam success
Luke Littler moved into the world top five for the first time with a sensational win at the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton on Sunday.
After winning a thrilling semi-final against Gary Anderson earlier in the day, Littler defeated Martin Lukeman 16-3 to claim his first West Midlands TV ratings title. At the age of 17, Kean Barry, Dimitri Van Den Berg, Launse Iragan, Mike de Decker, and Jermaine Wattimena were also broken.
Littler’s victory in WV Active Aldersley was fifth in the order of MERIT PDC. This is a remarkable result for players who have started professional careers until January. Anderson was also a key player after his run to the semi-finals, where he recorded impressive victories over Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting and Jan van Veen.
The two-time world champion was playing in his first TV ratings semi-final since January 2022 and he climbed seven places to 13th, aiming to return to the world’s top 10 in the coming months.
Van Gerwen has overhauled Michael Smith to become the new world number two, after the St Helens star failed defend the £150,000 in prize money that he pocketed following his 2022 Grand Slam success.
Stephen Bunting has broken into the world’s top eight as his impressive 2024 campaign continues, while Dimitri Van den Bergh has regained his place in the top ten courtesy of his run to the last 16. Van den Bergh overtook Nathan Aspinall, dropping seven places to 14th and missing out on a Grand Slam berth for the second time in six years.
Peter Wright has fallen out of the world top 16 for the first time in a decade after being eliminated in the group stage, while Northern Ireland number one Josh Lock has also dropped three places to 18th. Jan van Veen produced a series of sensational performances to reach his second quarter-final in the TV rankings before climbing four places to reach a career-high world ranking of 28.
This put van Veen ahead of compatriot Raymond van Barneveld, who was eliminated in the Tour Card Holders Qualifier, failing to defend the £50,000 he was claiming for the event in 2022. Grand Slam finalist Martin Lukeman is on his way back into the world top 32 after a sensational debut performance which has seen him rise eight places to 37th on the Order of Merit.
Mickey Mansell has also risen 13 places to 46th after reaching his first televised ranking semi-final with wins over James Wade, Danny Noppert and Cameron Menzies. The PDC Order of Merit is made up of prize money won by PDC players over a two-year period.