Why Wessel Nijman Can Lead the ProTour Without Being World No. 1

In tables checked on 9 October 2026, Wessel Nijman was listed 12th on the PDPA’s PDC world-ranking table, with £577,000, while he led the Darts Rankings ProTour live list with £297,250. They measure different sets of prize money over different periods, so the positions do not contradict each other. (PDPA rankings, ProTour live table)

The ProTour figure needs one qualification: the live page is labelled 11 October 2026, for European Tour event 14. It is a provisional tournament-end table, not confirmation of completed results from that date. Darts Rankings explains that its live rankings anticipate the end of the current tournament, including money due to expire by then. (Live rankings explanation)

What each ranking counts

Both rankings order players by eligible prize money—not three-dart average, checkout percentage or number of titles.

Here is a simple worked example. Suppose a player earns £5,000 of eligible Players Championship prize money and £8,000 on the European Tour. With no older money expiring, that increases both totals by £13,000. Those earnings remain eligible for the ProTour ranking for 52 weeks and the world ranking for 104 weeks. If the player then earns £20,000 at a ranked premier event, that money adds to the world ranking but not the ProTour ranking.

The distinction comes directly from the PDC ranking rules, sections 3.4–3.5:

Ranking	Eligible events	Time window	Nijman’s displayed position and total
PDC world ranking / main Order of Merit	Ranked premier events, European Tour and Players Championships	Rolling 104 weeks	12th — £577,000, PDPA table checked 9 October
ProTour Order of Merit	European Tour and Players Championships only	Rolling 52 weeks	1st — £297,250, provisional live table labelled 11 October

Positions and totals: PDPA and Darts Rankings.

The ProTour Order of Merit is not a calendar-year ranking. The separate European Tour and Players Championship rankings count their respective events within the calendar year. The combined ProTour ranking rolls over 52 weeks.

Why Nijman’s positions are so far apart

Two differences explain how a player can lead the ProTour yet sit outside the world top ten.

First, the world ranking retains an extra year of results. Players ahead of Nijman can still carry money from tournaments that are too old to count on the ProTour list.

Second, the world ranking includes ranked premier-event earnings. Leading the combined European Tour and Players Championship money list does not mean leading the larger pool of ranking money.

Nijman’s recent success illustrates the distinction. After his Slovak Darts Open title, DartsNews reported him at a career-high 14th with £550,250 on the two-year world ranking. It also reported £246,000 earned since the World Masters in early February, behind only Luke Littler’s £260,000 over that stretch. That was a strong recent-earnings comparison—not a claim that Nijman was second in the world or second on the ProTour. (DartsNews ranking update)

A rolling total can also fall despite new earnings. In a hypothetical update, £20,000 added and £35,000 expiring produces a £15,000 net decrease. Under the PDC rules, world-ranking money normally expires after 104 weeks; a ranked premier event cannot count three times. (PDC rules, section 2.5)

Which number should you use?

For “What is Nijman’s world ranking?”, use the main PDC world-ranking table: 12th in the PDPA table checked here.

For “Who leads earnings across the European Tour and Players Championships over the rolling year?”, use the ProTour list: Nijman led the provisional live table checked here.

For qualification or seeding, use the ranking specified by that event’s rules at its cutoff date. For example, the 2026 World Matchplay used the main ranking for its 16 seeds, with the next 16 places going to ProTour players not otherwise qualified. ProTour leadership did not confer the number-one Matchplay seed. (PDC qualification rules)

Neither money table establishes who is throwing best right now. That requires performance data and a defined sample—the same distinction explored in our Price vs Littler OChE ranking guide.