2021 PDC Q-School confirmed: New format introduced with two stages in Milton Keynes and Leverkusen

With the PDC World Championship on the horizon, attention will turn to 2021 PDC Q-School in January with information announced including a new format to help stage the event under COVID-safe conditions.

There will be up to ten days of darting action in Milton Keynes and Leverkusen with a First and Final Stage introduced meaning Q-School will be played in two parts.

Players who lose their Tour Card following the 2020 season will be exempt to the Final Stage of Q-School, alongside players who finished in the top 16 of both the 2020 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Order of Merits.

Before that final stage, a three-day Stage One will allow any darts player aged 16 or above to compete for a place in this final stage from January 15-17.

This will be limited so that 128 players per venue in the UK and European Q-School will battle it out for Tour Cards.

The last four players from each day in Stage One will decide this with the Order of Merit utilising remaining spots.

Should entries for Stage One in UK or Europe exceed the amount of 256, this will be split into two in a random draw to reduce the number of players in the venues.

Tour Cards will then be allocated from there in the Final Stage from January 18-21 with the last two players in UK and winner of Europe on each day claiming it.

Further Tour Cards will then be allocated based off the overall Final Stage Order of Merit with four days of action set.

As usual, players from the UK, Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar will play UK Q-School. Players from all other European nations will play European Q-School and those from other countries may decide whether to play in Milton Keynes or Leverkusen.