William O’Connor Only Irish Player Not To Fall Down PDC Order of Merit Following 2026 World Darts Championship

William O’Connor was the only Irish darts player not to fall down the PDC Order of Merit following the 2026 World Darts Championship.

‘The Magpie’ has maintained his world ranking of 42, whilst Keane Barry, Steve Lennon and Dylan Slevin all fell down the pecking order.

William O’Connor Maintains World Darts Rankings Of 42nd

Following the 2026 World Darts Championship which saw Luke Littler go back-to-back and successfully defend the Sid Waddell Trophy thanks to an emphatic 7-1 win over world number three Gian van Veen in Saturday’s final, there have been some major changes in the PDC Order of Merit.

The likes of Gary Anderson, Ryan Searle and van Veen have climbed the latest rankings, with Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert and James Wade some of the major players to slip down the rankings too.

There was plenty of movement elsewhere too, but not for Ireland’s number one William O’Connor.

Despite losing to Michael van Gerwen in Round 2 of the tournament and even suffering an eye injury in the process, O’Connor has maintained his world ranking.

‘The Magpie’ originally looked like he could be slipping one spot down the rankings, but has officially stood firm and has remained at no.42 in the latest PDC Order of Merit.

WILLIE WALLOPS KCIUK!

Statement display from William O'Connor! 👏

The Irishman produces the performance of the tournament so far, averaging 102.36 to complete an emphatic 3-0 win over Krzysztof Kciuk!

📺 https://t.co/59TualjgND#WCDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/XxQ1kGND9z

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 19, 2025

The Limerick man has £182,250 to his name in earnings from prize money over the past two years, meaning he is one of very few players to exit in the early stages at Ally Pally but not make a negative move in the latest rankings.

This is thanks to Scott Williams dropping eight spots in the rankings, with Ricky Evans also dropping a few.

Although the stats showed O’Connor would beat van Gerwen in their Round 2 meeting, he was unable to do so. That being said, O’Connor’s early exit has had no effect on his world rankings whatsoever.

All it does mean is he will have to replicate his performances in other tournaments and on the Pro Tour from the past two years if he wants to stay at 42nd in the world, or perhaps even climb higher.

As good as tonight’s was..

Nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever top the Willie O’Connor walk on from Dublin when he was a contender in the Premier League

UNREAL!!!! 🤩

pic.twitter.com/QvDfZbWe4P

— Josh (@joshpearson180) December 23, 2025

Two Irish Darts Players Fall Down PDC Order of Merit

It originally looked like three Irish darts stars would fall in the PDC Order of Merit, but that figure is now only two.

William O’Connor maintained his spot at no.42 in the world, with Steve Lennon also staying put at 76th. Despite his Round 1 exit to Damon Heta, Lennon hasn’t fallen down the rankings whatsoever.

The same can’t be said for two of Ireland’s other darting stars, who have both suffered and fallen down the latest PDC Liver Order of Merit.

Despite reaching Round 2, Keane Barry has fallen three places in the world rankings from 55th to 58th. ‘Dynamite’ was tipped as Ireland’s strongest hope prior to the 2026 World Darts Championship, but ended up exiting at the same stage as O’Connor.

SLEVIN ADVANCES!

Dylan Slevin wins the all Irish battle, as he beats compatriot William O'Connor 3-1 and sets up a tie with Dimitri Van den Bergh in the second round!

📺 https://t.co/pIQvhqYxEj #WCDarts pic.twitter.com/CxBjCNGOeu

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 20, 2024

Dylan Slevin is the other Irish darts player who has massively dropped down the PDC Order of Merit. Slevin failed to qualify for the Worlds this year, meaning his fall in the rankings comes as no real surprise.

The 23-year-old has gone from Ireland’s third ranked player to fourth after dropping from no.69 to no.79 in the latest PDC Order of Merit.

This means Slevin now trails fellow Irishman Lennon by three spots in the rankings, and is a whole 37 spots behind Ireland’s leading performer in O’Connor.

The irony is that Slevin, who is now on paper Ireland’s weakest player, actually defeated ‘The Magpie’ in the first round of the 2025 World Darts Championship a year ago.