Fewer players qualify for Euro Tour via Tour Card qualifying tournament

The change in European Tour qualification criteria met with criticism from some players early this season, and some avid darts followers also disagreed. It would ensure that players outside "the elite" would have even less of an opportunity to play on the Euro Tour.

So what was the biggest change? Until last year, the top-16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit were invited to the Euro Tours. Since this season, not only the top-16 of the Pro Tour ranking are invited, but also the top-16 of the world ranking. So per Euro Tour tournament, 32 out of 48 participants received an automatic invitation. As a result, the number of spots available at the Euro Tour qualifying tournament for Tour Card holders was drastically reduced. Last year there were still 24 starting spots available, this year only ten per qualifier.

Indeed, statistics from Darts Tracker show that a lot fewer players secured a spot for the Euro Tour tournament via the Tour Card qualifying tournament. Last year, 94 players qualified for one or more Euro Tours via the qualification tournament. Now that all Euro Tour qualifying tournaments for this season have been played, the balance for 2024 can also be drawn. One hundred different Tour Card holders participated in the qualifiers, 59 of whom managed to qualify for at least one Euro Tour.

The number of players who qualified for two or more Euro Tour tournaments via qualifiers has also decreased significantly. In 2023, 70 out of 94 players qualified for at least two Euro Tours. This season it was 34 out of 59 players. Mike de Decker and Martin Lukeman managed to survive the qualifiers most often. They qualified for a Euro Tour tournament via this route six times. Lukeman also had the most finishes to his name. He reached the final in eight of the thirteen qualifiers.

Matthew Dennant and Danny Lauby were most often unlucky in the draw. They lost nine times to a player who did eventually qualify. Dennant, James Hurrell, Haupai Puha, Karel Sedlacek and Ian White lost their matches most often in the final round. They all lost their match four times for Euro Tour qualification.