The 21st tournament of the PDC Challenge Tour 2024 was won by Alexander Merkx on Saturday afternoon. For the Dutchman, it is his second Challenge Tour title of the season.
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Merkx consecutively defeated Colin Tyrer (5-0), Martin Thomas (5-2), Simon Perkins (5-2), Darren Armstrong (5-0), Thomas Lovely (5-4) and Franz Roetzsch (5-1), before being too strong for Darryl Pilgrim in the final, 5-3.
The Challenge Tour circuit is open to players who participated in the Q-School but did not win a Tour Card. On this tour, starting tickets for the 2024 Pro Tour and Tour Cards for 2025 and 2026 can be earned.
The highest-ranked players on the PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit qualify for the reserve spots at the Players Championship tournaments.
Results PDC Challenge Tour 21
Final
Alexander Merkx (92.83) 5 | 3 (85.88) Darryl Pilgrim
Semi-final
Alexander Merkx (87.62) 5 | 1 (75.70) Franz Roetzsch
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Darryl Pilgrim (93.94) 5 | 0 (80.04) Dragutin Horvat
Quarterfinals
Alexander Merkx (96.13) 5 | 4 (85.76) Thomas Lovely
Franz Roetzsch (84.86) 5 | 4 (91.74) Justin Hood
Darryl Pilgrim (84.92) 5 | 2 (80.16) Stefan Bellmont
Dragutin Horvat (83.48) 5 | 1 (82.36) Shane McGuirk
Last 16
Thomas Lovely (87.77) 5 | 4 (82.16) Nathan Potter
Alexander Merkx (97.60) 5 | 0 (83.96) Darren Armstrong
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Franz Roetzsch (85.00) 5 | 3 (87.30) Martin Grearson
Justin Hood (88.81) 5 | 4 (87.96) Andreas Harrysson
Darryl Pilgrim (89.81) 5 | 2 (82.64) Adam Mould
Stefan Bellmont (94.01) 5 | 2 (91.37) Connor Scutt
Shane McGuirk (92.22) 5 | 2 (85.06) Nick Fullwell
Dragutin Horvat (92.58) 5 | 4 (91.48) Sean Fisher
Last 32
Thomas Lovely (92.69) 5 | 1 (87.74) Jamie Atkins
Nathan Potter (100.33) 5 | 2 (79.53) Jacob Gwynne
Alexander Merkx (93.53) 5 | 2 (85.75) Simon Perkins
Darren Armstrong (93.19) 5 | 2 (82.82) Sebastian Bialecki
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Franz Roetzsch (94.05) 5 | 3 (87.44) Andy Hamilton
Martin Grearson (88.68) 5 | 3 (89.00) Stu Wilson
Andreas Harrysson (99.00) 5 | 1 (85.41) Wayne Jones
Justin Hood (85.66) 5 | 1 (79.88) Kevin Leadenham
Adam Mould (84.17) 5 | 3 (80.65) Kevin Burness
Darryl Pilgrim (87.88) 5 | 1 (81.77) Darius Labanauskas
Connor Scutt (89.19) 5 | 3 (78.25) Charlie Symons
Stefan Bellmont (94.27) 5 | 2 (90.91) Colin Osborne
Shane McGuirk (91.46) 5 | 2 (92.83) Alan Norris
Nick Fullwell (98.90) 5 | 1 (84.79) John Henderson
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Dragutin Horvat (88.59) 5 | 3 (87.21) Daniel Ayres
Sean Fisher (86.97) 5 | 1 (78.06) Joe Croft
Last 64
Jamie Atkins (98.31) 5 | 1 (92.63) Ted Evetts
Thomas Lovely (80.59) 5 | 1 (67.93) Calvin Nicolai
Nathan Potter (102.95) 5 | 0 (88.91) Michael Flynn
Jacob Gwynne (82.58) 5 | 0 (78.00) Steven Inkpen
Simon Perkins (80.05) 5 | 2 (79.54) Peter Burgoyne
Alexander Merkx (93.95) 5 | 2 (93.84) Martin Thomas
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Sebastian Bialecki (93.77) 5 | 1 (93.51) James Beeton
Darren Armstrong (76.93) 5 | 2 (76.29) Liam Goyne
Andy Hamilton (86.81) 5 | 2 (88.94) Ron Meulenkamp
Franz Roetzsch (92.31) 5 | 2 (83.51) Robert Ellis-Brown
Martin Grearson (80.50) 5 | 4 (82.96) Rene Eidams
Stu Wilson (82.23) 5 | 3 (84.93) Scott Waites
Andreas Harrysson (97.42) 5 | 3 (92.19) Jenson Walker
Wayne Jones (89.70) 5 | 1 (78.77) Trevor Burkhill
Justin Hood (85.90) 5 | 4 (79.28) Carl Wilson
Kevin Leadenham (87.38) 5 | 0 (70.59) Kristian Barker
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Kevin Burness (89.71) 5 | 2 (87.06) Steve Haggerty
Adam Mould (91.78) 5 | 2 (80.08) Kamil Janowicz
Darius Labanauskas (93.94) 5 | 0 (79.84) Jim Moston
Darryl Pilgrim (98.88) 5 | 0 (93.67) Bradley Brooks
Charlie Symons (82.46) 5 | 4 (81.82) Christian Kist
Connor Scutt (83.38) 5 | 1 (83.09) Noa-Lynn van Leuven
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Stefan Bellmont (87.21) 5 | 2 (78.08) Raymond Mulvey
Colin Osborne (94.77) 5 | 1 (79.01) Owen Maiden
Alan Norris (92.09) 5 | 4 (77.98) Lewis Pride
Shane McGuirk (83.14) 5 | 2 (83.56) Charlie Martin
John Henderson (115.62) 5 | 0 (86.52) Richie Burnett
Nick Fullwell (88.39) 5 | 2 (83.15) Nathan Care
Daniel Ayres (81.62) 5 | 4 (79.84) Derek Maclean
Dragutin Horvat (92.54) 5 | 3 (90.96) Patrick Quinn
Joe Croft (102.45) 5 | 2 (93.18) Jimmy van Schie
Sean Fisher (93.94) 5 | 0 (77.15) Ryan Furness
Last 128
Jamie Atkins (84.44) 5 | 0 (71.26) Josh Phillips
Ted Evetts (87.02) 5 | 4 (84.47) Aden Kirk
Calvin Nicolai (78.60) 5 | 3 (79.88) Keelan Kay
Thomas Lovely (87.88) 5 | 4 (80.44) Reece Colley
Michael Flynn (90.43) 5 | 2 (77.41) Dylan Dowling
Nathan Potter (86.52) 5 | 4 (85.36) David Evans
Jacob Gwynne (76.99) 5 | 4 (81.00) Pal Szekely
Steven Inkpen (80.00) 5 | 4 (82.33) Thomas Cromwell
Simon Perkins (80.19) 5 | 4 (75.57) Kevin Mills
Peter Burgoyne (88.32) 5 | 2 (74.58) Jim Walker
Alexander Merkx (79.95) 5 | 0 (66.90) Colin Tyrer
Martin Thomas (85.81) 5 | 1 (80.68) Sean Ryan
James Beeton (88.41) 5 | 0 (78.26) Mike Warburton
Sebastian Bialecki (88.57) 5 | 3 (86.69) Conan Whitehead
Darren Armstrong (90.79) 5 | 1 (87.89) Jack Vincent
Liam Goyne (82.31) 5 | 4 (83.09) Oskar Lukasiak
Ron Meulenkamp (95.57) 5 | 3 (87.23) Neil Parry
Andy Hamilton (86.58) 5 | 2 (75.32) Niall Culleton
Robert Ellis-Brown (84.55) 5 | 2 (88.83) Patrick Lynskey
Franz Roetzsch (91.71) 5 | 1 (80.40) James Parkin
Rene Eidams (76.69) 5 | 1 (66.80) Matthew Gallivan-Piles
Martin Grearson (72.96) 5 | 0 (64.03) Jaikob Selby-Rivas
Stu Wilson (82.18) 5 | 4 (81.37) Jan Dueckers
Scott Waites (88.56) 5 | 4 (84.45) David Davies
Jenson Walker (90.87) 5 | 1 (79.36) Nicolas Thuillier
Andreas Harrysson (106.33) 5 | 2 (95.25) Kevin McDine
Wayne Jones (81.55) 5 | 1 (60.11) Steven Harbert
Trevor Burkhill (79.87) 5 | 3 (78.62) Jarred Cole
Carl Wilson (88.68) 5 | 4 (76.82) Dale Gadsby
Justin Hood (87.00) 5 | 4 (79.13) Dustin Straver
Kristian Barker (72.47) 5 | 4 (73.39) Tony Procter
Kevin Leadenham (76.47) 5 | 3 (67.71) Patrick Schwab
Steve Haggerty (75.76) 5 | 1 (72.16) Eddie Lovely
Kevin Burness (82.36) 5 | 1 (77.94) Ryan O'Connor
Adam Mould (88.78) 5 | 2 (82.79) Adrian Gray
Kamil Janowicz (73.78) 5 | 2 (73.76) Scott Mitchell
Darius Labanauskas (81.49) 5 | 4 (80.32) John Bowles
Jim Moston (76.96) 5 | 4 (80.65) Adam Paxton
Darryl Pilgrim (90.87) 5 | 2 (78.42) Paul Redfern
Bradley Brooks (92.20) 5 | 1 (84.74) Cam Crabtree
Charlie Symons (69.24) 5 | 4 (58.45) Ben Phillips
Christian Kist (90.93) 5 | 2 (84.27) Daniel Astbury
Noa-Lynn van Leuven (86.52) 5 | 3 (76.43) Craig Watkins
Connor Scutt (90.69) 5 | 3 (85.20) Joseph Bridle
Stefan Bellmont (104.96) 5 | 1 (98.29) Wesley Plaisier
Raymond Mulvey (95.87) 5 | 1 (69.13) Ciaran Teehan
Colin Osborne (74.41) 5 | 0 (62.19) Derek Barry
Owen Maiden (87.24) 5 | 1 (86.30) Andy Boulton
Lewis Pride (90.90) 5 | 4 (91.17) Kai Gotthardt
Alan Norris (84.28) 5 | 2 (83.48) Lee Budgen
Charlie Martin (90.17) 5 | 4 (85.83) Grant Brown
Shane McGuirk (92.75) 5 | 2 (87.87) Ben Quenby
John Henderson (95.86) 5 | 2 (84.46) Mat Caste
Richie Burnett (81.82) 5 | 4 (88.72) Sam Spivey
Nick Fullwell (80.27) 5 | 1 (56.06) Alexander Elia
Nathan Care (81.93) 5 | 4 (78.34) Robert Nelson
Daniel Ayres (85.99) 5 | 1 (53.32) Ulrich Coussaert
Derek Maclean (84.09) 5 | 3 (69.02) Max Baulcomb
Dragutin Horvat (82.58) 5 | 0 (71.14) Brandon Western
Patrick Quinn (98.13) 5 | 2 (87.06) Henry Coates
Joe Croft (75.91) 5 | 0 (58.06) Josh Newton
Jimmy van Schie (97.92) 5 | 2 (93.06) Tommy Morris
Ryan Furness (87.73) 5 | 2 (85.62) Paul Mitchell
Sean Fisher (80.06) 5 | 4 (76.82) Geoffrey Heath
Last 256
Aden Kirk (80.16) 5 | 1 (64.33) Brian Verhelst
Thomas Lovely (86.88) 5 | 4 (80.32) Sergio Krassen
David Evans (80.81) 5 | 0 (42.03) Jamie Foster
Thomas Cromwell (83.85) 5 | 2 (80.47) Roemer Mooijman
Peter Burgoyne (78.25) 5 | 4 (78.06) Callum Francis
Martin Thomas (89.46) 5 | 0 (69.93) Joshua Wise
Conan Whitehead (92.58) 5 | 3 (88.93) Danny Jansen
Liam Goyne (81.31) 5 | 4 (82.45) Adam Lipscombe
Oskar Lukasiak (83.41) 5 | 2 (78.58) Harry Lane
Niall Culleton (82.53) 5 | 3 (83.63) Reece Robinson
Franz Roetzsch (93.94) 5 | 1 (80.86) Lee Grace
Martin Grearson (80.85) 5 | 2 (81.41) John O'Shea
David Davies (83.18) 5 | 3 (86.33) Ultan McDyer
Scott Waites (83.93) 5 | 2 (76.54) Tom Riding
Andreas Harrysson (91.37) 5 | 4 (88.78) Lee Cocks
Jarred Cole (76.71) 5 | 3 (73.31) Michael Barnard
Dustin Straver (76.32) 5 | 1 (61.01) Stephen Fanning
Kevin Leadenham (81.14) 5 | 2 (76.67) Bhav Patel
Patrick Schwab (76.10) 5 | 3 (75.48) Patrick Peters
Kevin Burness (87.20) 5 | 3 (86.20) Ashley Coleman
Kamil Janowicz (84.17) 5 | 1 (66.65) Coni Singh Nagi
Adam Paxton (83.50) 5 | 0 (76.25) James Welding
Cam Crabtree (93.94) 5 | 0 (82.32) Kevin Lankhuizen
Bradley Brooks (85.04) 5 | 1 (68.13) Adam Serpell
Daniel Astbury (85.40) 5 | 0 (68.50) Kevin Garcia
Joseph Bridle (72.96) 5 | 0 (58.85) Michael Baker
Raymond Mulvey (83.50) 5 | 0 (65.72) Ian Lever
Andy Boulton (97.60) 5 | 0 (73.46) Dean Croshaw
Owen Maiden (95.13) 5 | 0 (75.36) Gary Blades
Lee Budgen (78.42) 5 | 1 (61.30) Justin Giles
Shane McGuirk (119.29) 5 | 0 (95.62) Stefaan Henderyck
Sam Spivey (86.50) 5 | 3 (85.94) Kevin Lane
Nathan Care (80.58) 5 | 4 (83.52) Tom Lonsdale
Robert Nelson (82.45) 5 | 4 (79.80) Lee Barrow
Derek Maclean (87.26) 5 | 4 (86.14) Darren Brown
Patrick Quinn (87.88) 5 | 1 (81.62) Chris Hurds
Tommy Morris (83.48) 5 | 1 (78.06) Simon Stothart
Geoffrey Heath (90.31) 5 | 1 (77.91) Ryan Harrington
Sean Fisher (84.95) 5 | 2 (79.16) Patrick Dekker
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026