Michael van Gerwen heads into the World Grand Prix with a place in darts’ top ten under threat, a position he has maintained since 2012. The three-time world champion faces Ryan Joyce in Leicester on Monday, September 28, after a painful defeat at the World Series of Darts Finals raised fresh questions about his form. Another early exit would leave him exposed as other players collect ranking prize money, according to SPORTbible.

The Amsterdam loss was stark. Van Gerwen, the defending champion, missed six darts to beat Daryl Gurney before losing their first-round match 6–5. The result denied him a chance to defend his title, but the World Series Finals is a non-ranking event. The defeat therefore did not itself subtract money from his main PDC Order of Merit total.

The ranking pressure comes in Leicester

The World Grand Prix is a different matter. Results there affect the prize-money ranking, and Van Gerwen is close enough to the players behind him for their performances to matter as well as his own. A live Order of Merit table showed him around ninth place on September 23 as midweek results continued to change positions. Any claim that one specific defeat will automatically take him out of the top ten would be premature.

The six-time World Grand Prix champion meets Joyce at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena. The tournament uses a demanding double-start format: players must hit a double to begin each leg as well as to finish it. That makes the opening round a test of both Van Gerwen’s scoring and the finishing that deserted him in Amsterdam. The PDC confirmed the tournament field earlier this month.

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A slide with wider consequences

Van Gerwen dominated the sport for much of the previous decade, but his 2026 results have left little room for another poor ranking event. Rivals near him on the Order of Merit can move ahead by winning prize money even if he remains still. His exact position will depend on the full set of results, not just his match with Joyce.

His prospects for the 2027 Premier League have also drawn attention. Falling in the rankings could weaken his case, although a place in that competition is not decided solely by whether a player finishes inside the top ten. For now, the immediate question is whether the Dutchman can turn a difficult week in Amsterdam into a convincing start in Leicester.

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