Gerwyn Price Overtakes Luke Littler as PDC Form #1

Gerwyn Price has knocked Luke Littler off the top of the PDC’s form guide. It is the first time in six months anyone else has held that spot. Price now leads for both scoring average and Overall Checkout Efficiency ahead of the World Grand Prix. The shift in the Gerwyn Price Luke Littler form battle comes straight after Littler’s defeat at the World Series of Darts Finals, where Ross Smith lifted the title.

Price Reclaims Top Spot as Littler Form Streak Ends

Littler had held the PDC’s form #1 spot for half a year. That run made him the benchmark every rival was chasing. It is now over. His streak ended at the World Series of Darts Finals, where Ross Smith beat him to the trophy.

Price has stepped straight into the vacancy. He now sits above Littler in both averages and Overall Checkout Efficiency, the two metrics the PDC uses to define form heading into a major. It is worth stressing that this is a form guide shift, not a change in the official Order of Merit, where prize money still decides the rankings.

Inside the Form Guide: OChE and Double-Start Shifts

Overall Checkout Efficiency, or OChE, measures how often a player converts the chances they create at the doubles. It is not about how big those chances are. It rewards consistency under pressure rather than raw scoring power, which is why it carries real weight going into a double-start event.

That distinction matters at the World Grand Prix. Every leg starts and finishes on a double, a format explained in full in our double-start tournament format guide. Players who scrape into legs with weak scoring can still be punished if they cannot find the outer ring when it counts. That is exactly where Price’s numbers now edge ahead of Littler.

Littler’s slip is not a collapse. It reflects one bad week at a big event rather than a sustained dip. Form guides are read closely by fans and bookmakers alike, so six months at #1 ending in Marbella is still a significant moment.

Statistical Breakdown of PDC Scoring and Checkout Leaders

Price’s rise to the top of both categories is the headline. But the wider form guide tells a fuller story about where the game’s leading players currently stand. Jonny Clayton is the standout name away from the top of the averages list. He is currently ranked #1 in the PDC for doubles hitting.

Clayton’s checkout precision has long been one of his trademarks. Topping that particular chart ahead of a double-start major only strengthens his case as a dark horse in Leicester. He does not lead the overall form standings, but no player in the field currently hits their doubles more reliably.

Further down the same list sit two former world champions whose absence says as much as any name at the top. Dirk van Duijvenbode and Michael van Gerwen are both currently outside the top 32 in the PDC’s official averages. That is a striking drop for two players with major titles to their name.

World Grand Prix Outlook and the Top-32 Exclusions

Van Duijvenbode and van Gerwen’s places outside the top 32 raise real questions about seeding and momentum. The World Grand Prix is built entirely around double checkouts, and form guides do not decide brackets. But they do shape expectation, and both players now arrive as outsiders rather than favourites by that measure.

For Price, the challenge is converting a form guide lead into results on the stage where it matters most. He built plenty of his recent momentum during the World Series of Darts schedule. Smith’s win over Littler in the Finals showed the field is far from settled behind the leaders.

Littler remains the man to beat over a longer stretch. Our look at the rivals who can challenge Littler lays out who else fancies unseating him beyond Price. For now, the Gerwyn Price Luke Littler swap at the top of the form guide, confirmed in the PDC form guide report, gives the World Grand Prix a genuine narrative before a dart is thrown.

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