Michael van Gerwen falls to lowest ranking in 14 years and withdraws from tournament

Michael van Gerwen’s alarming slide has continued.

The three-time world champion slipped from fourth to seventh in the latest round of the PDC Order of Merit.

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Van Gerwen fell in the rankings after he was sent packing from this year’s World Matchplay in round two by eventual semi-finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Given Van Gerwen reached the final at the Winter Gardens two years ago, it means he failed to defend a significant amount of prize money.

The Dutchman’s descent down the PDC Order of Merit means he now finds himself outside of the top six for the first time since 2012.

Following his rankings dip, Van Gerwen was omitted from the final draw for Players Championship 26.

Van Gerwen was set to be in the field but elected to withdraw only a day after he’d reached the last 16 at Players Championship 25.

Van Gerwen’s difficult few months

The latest rankings update continued what has been a turbulent year on and off the oche for Van Gerwen.

In April, footage of an altercation involving Van Gerwen went viral.

The clip showed a man throwing a punch at Van Gerwen, who attempted to pursue him but was apprehended by security.

Van Gerwen was cleared of any wrongdoing by the PDC, who acknowledged the Dutchman ‘did not provoke the situation and was not at fault.’

In another video, which was shared across social media last September, Van Gerwen was involved in a scuffle at a kebab shop.

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Explaining what had happened, Van Gerwen claimed he ‘ended up in a situation you’d rather avoid.’

“The man came at me from the kitchen, not the other way round, following a verbal exchange,” Van Gerwen said.

“People are making it sound more dramatic than it actually was, which is a shame.”

Van Gerwen added he ‘cleared the air’ before he left the shop.

It’s the Littler things in life

Although the latest updates to the PDC’s Order of Merit spelt bad news for ‘Mighty Mike’, it was very much a different story for Luke Littler.

The teenager successfully defended his World Matchplay crown, thrashing Gerwyn Price 18-9 in the final.

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Littler’s triumph at the Winter Gardens banked him a further £225,000 in prize money.

Even before the final, ‘The Nuke’ became the first darts player in history to crack the £3m mark in the PDC Order of Merit.