When is PDC UK and European Q-School? How many Tour Cards are available? Key Dates, Costs, Locations, Format and How to Enter

From Monday, January 5 to Sunday, January 11, 2026, the sixteenth edition of the PDC Q-School will take place. At venues in Kalkar (Germany) and Milton Keynes (England), nearly nine hundred participants will compete for a PDC Tour Card.

The number of Tour Cards per venue has been determined based on the number of entries split through the European Q-School and UK Q-School. It immediately follows the PDC World Darts Championship.

1. How Q-School is divided?
2. Who can enter UK and European Q-School and what are the costs?
3. How Tour Cards are distributed at UK and European Q-School?
4. How many Tour Cards are available at UK and European Q-School?
5. What can you do with a Tour Card?
6. Notable players who have come through Q-School
7. What happens if you fail at Q-School?
8. Without a Tour Card, can you still play on the PDC circuit?

As in the past two years, the Q-School is divided into two phases. The first phase will take place from January 5 to 7, followed by the final phase from January 8 to 11.

Players who lost their PDC Tour Card last season or finished in the top eight on the Challenge Tour and Development Tour are immediately qualified for the final stage.

All remaining participants must go through the First Stage. Direct qualification for the Final Stage is achieved by reaching the Last 16 on one of the three matchdays in Kalkar or Milton Keynes. If that is not achieved, every match win counts. From 2026 onwards, each victory in a full round will be worth one point. Additional players will qualify for the Final Stage via the Q-School Order of Merit from the First Stage.

The PDC Qualifying School is open to any darts player aged 16 and above on January 4 2026 when it begins. This gives players an opportunity to win a PDC Tour Card and compete alongside the sport's biggest stars on the professional circuit.

This is for both the First Stage and Final Stage with Luke Littler for instance emerging as a youth prodigy and he initially couldn't play at Q-School and sealed it when he turned 16. The same can be said for Mitchell Lawrie, the WDF sensation who is only 15 so cannot yet play it until the 2027 edition.

The entry fee is £475+VAT for the UK and £475 solely for the European edition which takes place at Arena MK in Milton Keynes and Wunderland in Kalkar.

The amount of Tour Cards available is done on pro rata basis. In the UK and Europe, there are four automatic cards available for instance at the 2025 edition. While in Europe there are three more cards which are given out through the Order of Merit system.

This means that 16 in all ordinarily are given out to European players and 13 to the UK with 29 in total but this often depends on players handing Tour Cards back for instance. Steve Beaton for instance did so which increased the amount of Tour Cards on offer and so the number changes year on year.

Tour Cards are awarded exclusively during the Final Stage. Of the 29 available cards, 16 are initially allocated directly to the finalists on each day of play. This represents a significant change compared to previous years: in the past, only the daily winners received a Tour Card. As announced by the PDC in early January, losing finalists at Q-School 2026 will now also receive a coveted spot.

This means that both the UK Q-School and the European Q-School will feature four matchdays during the Final Stage. All finalists from these tournaments will automatically receive a Tour Card.

The remaining 13 Tour Cards are awarded via the Q-School Order of Merit. At both events, players earn points for each match win (preliminary rounds excluded, editor’s note).

Through consistent performances over several days, players can therefore secure a Tour Card even without winning a daily event. At the European Q-School, 12 cards are awarded via the ranking list, while at the UK Q-School in Milton Keynes, nine are awarded.

Players who hold a Tour Card can enter Pro Tour tournaments. They are guaranteed participation in all 34 Players Championship tournaments in 2026. In addition, you may participate in the qualifying tournaments for the Euro Tour events, the qualifiers for the Grand Slam of Darts and World Series of Darts Finals and the very last World Championship qualifying tournament.

They cannot play though in streamed events outside the PDC bracket e.g the MODUS Super Series, ADC or WDF with only those who fail and only play the Challenge Tour able to

Gerwyn Price - 'The Iceman' is one of Q-School's finest exponents who entered as a relative unknown in 2014 and secured a Tour Card. He rose through the ranks to become World Number One and won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2021.

Lisa Ashton - the multiple time Women's World Champion became the first ever woman to win through Q-School by right holding her Tour Card in 2020 and 2021 and remains the only one to do so. Beau Greaves and Anastasia Dobromyslova have previously held Tour Cards but have either won through secondary affiliate tours or been given said Tour Card.

Ross Smith - Now a major champion, Smith came through Q-School back in 2012 after a stint in the BDO. He has since become European Champion and a mainstay in the top table of world darts.

Dave Chisnall - a winner in the first ever Q-School back in 2011, he sealed his Tour Card defeating Terry Temple in the final. He had transitioned after losing in the 2010 World Final.

Danny Noppert - touted perhaps for next year's Premier League, a major champion and one of the top players now in the PDC, 'Noppie' after great success in the BDO won through in 2018 topping the European Order of Merit.

Jonny Clayton - Winning through in 2015, he qualified alongside Nathan Derry, Jamie Robinson and Magnus Caris marking his entry onto the ProTour where eventually he became a multi major winner including the Premier League. From plasterer with a dream to a darting force.

Josh Rock - Perhaps the true embodiment of Q-School, Rock was an unknown apart from a few WDF tournament runs when he entered in 2022 after working in a chicken factory winning through first time and stunning those watching on with his darting prowess. He is now a top 10 star and a World Youth Champion. The true showcase of taking your chance.

Nathan Aspinall - the true rags to riches story which is often harped on about in the top table of darting folklore is the one of Nathan Aspinall who had little money to his name and has changed the life of his family forever. But he had to go to Q-School twice. He won through in 2015 but only held on to the top honour until 2018 when he had to return when he broke out as one of darts leading lights.

Glen Durrant - A 2019 winner through Q-School albeit after Matty Dennant famously missed match darts against him, 'Duzza' was a popular winner through and despite since retiring from the sport, his ultimate rise saw him become Premier League champion and bring his class from the BDO over to the PDC for a short period.

If you fail at Q-School, the routes don't end for top darting stars. You can play on the Challenge Tour with the potential to win your Tour Card through that route at the end of the two year cycle. For instance Rob Cross, Ryan Searle, Luke Humphries among others didn't play the event to win their Tour Card and are victors through secondary routes.

Beau Greaves for instance too has sealed her Tour Card through the Development Tour route so will not need to seal her Tour Card in January.

The door isn't closed either via other routes with the WDF offering players chances to play Lakeside through their regular tour. For instance Jimmy van Schie the current champion and Shane McGuirk have long tried to make it onto the PDC Tour but have instead settled for glory elsewhere when their bid has failed. While Andy Baetens became World Champion and immediately won through.

Also the MODUS Super Series is there which has often produced some of the top darting stars we know now. Luke Littler played MODUS before joining the PDC and many players who have previously been involved in the event are now either on the tour or will be among the favourites for the 2026 edition. A good way to get stage practice and ready players for the bright lights.

Especially for players who have missed out on a Tour Card, the PDC Challenge Tour has been set up. Those are 24 tournaments, each with a top prize of 2,500 pounds. Even outside the PDC circuit, there are then still plenty of opportunities to play tournaments. For example, the organization Amateur Darts Circuit (ADC) has set up a whole ranking system with various tournaments, where one can also qualify for the MODUS Super Series. There is also the WDF circuit with Lakeside on offer as an opportunity. Albeit with the increase in players for the PDC World Darts Championship there are more opportunities to qualify.