PDC darts players to soar up rankings in 2026

Only the best of the best PDC darts players are ranked in the top 32 in the world.

Being in the top 32 or top 16 comes with many perks and gives players a better chance of qualifying for major events.

There are several players just outside these groups; however, there are a handful who are bound to be part of these exclusive groups at some point in 2026.

PDC darts players to soar up rankings in 2026

Here are some of the names to look out for in 2026.

Wessel Nijman

Nijman's special talent has been evident over the past couple of years, and he's bound to move rapidly up the rankings.

He's defending little money from his 2024 earnings and is playing much better than he did two years ago.

He finished 2025 ranked #29 on the Main OoM, and is already up to #20.

Nijman has a Euro Tour title and a PC event title in 2026 so far, and will certainly be in the running to add to that collection in the next nine months.

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Luke Woodhouse

Woodhouse is currently ranked #21 in the world.

He has yet to win a senior PDC title of any sort, which is a strong indicator of how high his ceiling can be, ranking-wise, once he starts to inevitably win some on the Pro Tour.

He's had strong performances at the WC in the past couple of years and is in the best form of his career.

He'll look to break into the top-16 this year, which is a very attainable goal, especially with a few players above him bound to fall in the rankings.

Krzysztof Ratajski

Ratajski is currently ranked #26 in the world, and the top-20 is a realistic spot for him to get to.

He's been in the top-16 before, but he found some impressive form in recent months that suggests he could make a surge back towards how he played five years ago.

He's already made two quarterfinal runs this year at major events, at the WC and the UK Open.

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Kevin Doets

Doets showed once again at the recent WC how great he can be, making a second consecutive appearance in the fourth round.

With Doets, it will be a matter of qualifying for major events, as he has little to no money to defend at most of them.

He's already set to move up the rankings, as he's three spots out of the top-32, with several out-of-form players ahead of him.

As long as he can play well at PC events and make some Euro Tour events, he'll be able to qualify for events like the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, which will help him move up the rankings, even if he loses in the first round.

Niels Zonneveld

The Dutch arguably have one of the best pools of young talent in the PDC right now.

Zonneveld is a bit of an under-the-radar name, but he has been starting to make a bigger name for himself in recent months.

He's ranked #39 in the world and is already looking to be in a great spot to qualify for the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

Zonneveld just made semifinal runs on the Euro Tour in back-to-back weeks and has produced incredible performances to eliminate some of the sport's best players (Littler and van Gerwen).

Even at the WC, we almost saw him take down Jonny Clayton in the third round, so look for Zonneveld to make a run towards the top-32 this year.

William O'Connor

The Irish #1 has been around for a long time, but hasn't made it into the top-32.

He's ranked #41 in the world, but has been in solid form recently, and is playing well on the Pro Tour.

He's already in a great position to make events like the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, so a push towards the top-32 isn't out of the picture.

Even if he doesn't crack the top-32, expect to see him move up several spots in the coming months.

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Niko Springer

The 25-year-old just wrapped up his first year with a tour card and is currently ranked #50 in the world.

He made his mark on the Euro Tour last year, winning an event title and making an additional final.

Springer is quite literally defending zero money this year, so he'll have a huge advantage in the rankings, as he'll be adding to his total, while many other players will be losing prize money or defending it.

Being in the top-40 seems like almost a certainty for Springer by the end of the year, but if he picks up any wins/make runs at majors, he could go even further.

Sebastian Bialecki

Bialecki is in line to return to the World Cup this summer and pair up with Krzysztof Ratajski.

He's ranked #68 in the world right now, with a ways to go to join many of the other players on this list, but he should be able to move up the rankings throughout the year.

The Pro Tour will be a place he'll have to take advantage of, especially at PC events.

If he does well at those events, he could make his debut at some of the major tournaments happening in the second half of 2026.

Cristo Reyes

Reyes' story is one of the coolest in PDC darts at the moment.

He's ranked #89 in the world, but fans who have watched him know he's a much better player than his ranking position suggests.

Reyes was in the PDC from 2015-2020, and just made his return at the 2026 WC.

He then got a tour card at Q-School a few months ago and has been impressive in his appearances so far.

He's made a couple of Sundays at Euro Tour events already, showing signs of consistency, which will help him make sizeable jumps on the rankings in 2026.

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