13/01/2024

Explanation PDC Q-School 2024: What do you have to do to win a PDC Tour Card and what can you do with it?

The fourteenth edition of the PDC Q-School will take place from Monday, January 8 to Sunday, January 14, 2024. At venues in Kalkar (Germany) and Milton Keynes (England), nearly nine hundred participants will compete for a PDC Tour Card.

A total of thirty PDC Tour Cards are on hand for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The number of Tour Cards per venue has been determined based on the number of entries. Seventeen Tour Cards are expected to be distributed through the European Q-School and thirteen through the UK Q-School.

UK Q-School Order of Merit after the first day of play of the final stage

Q-School divided into two phases

The Q-School is divided into two phases as in the past two years. The first phase will occur from January 8 to 10, followed by the final phase from January 11 to 14.

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.

The remaining participants must start in the first stage. Placement for the final stage is possible by reaching the last eight on one of the three playing days in Kalkar or Milton Keynes. Should that fail, players must ensure that as many pots as possible are won. Each win in a full round (without byes) earns one point. Via the Q-School Order of Merit of the first stage, players also advance to the final stage.

Steve Lennon regains PDC Tour Card at the first attempt on opening day of final phase at UK Q-School

Tour Card distribution during final stage

During the final stage, the Tour Cards are actually distributed. Of the thirty available Tour Cards, eight will be distributed immediately. Four days of play will be completed during the final phase at the British and European Q-Schools. The eight direct cards will go to all daily winners at the tournaments.

The remaining 22 Tour Cards can be earned through the Q-School Order of Merit. Each victory (not counting preliminaries, ed.) earns points at both events. Thirteen Tour Cards are available via the European Q-School Order of Merit, and nine via the UK Q-School Order of Merit.

With multiple consistent results, this way players can still get a Tour Card without achieving daily success.

Snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan gives word of warning to Luke Littler: "I’d definitely choose to do things differently"

What can you do with a Tour Card?

Players who hold a Tour Card may enter the Pro Tour tournaments. 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.

Without a Tour Card, can you still play on the PDC circuit?

Especially for players who have missed out on a Tour Card, the PDC Challenge Tour has been set up. That's 24 tournaments, each with a top prize of 2,500 pounds. Players can also participate in Associate Qualifiers for the Euro Tours and, in addition, there is a Development Tour circuit for players under the age of 24.