“I literally had to hear it from other people” – Tyler Thorpe secures a PDC Tour Card at Q-School to his own surprise

After days of uncertainty, early exits, and above all a lot of waiting, Tyler Thorpe has still secured a PDC Tour Card at Q-School 2026. The Englishman didn’t even hear the news directly himself.

“I literally had to hear it from other people,” he said with a broad smile. “I said to myself not to look at anything today: no draws, no Order of Merit, nothing at all. Just do what I need to do. And if I get told, then I get told."

That moment came sooner than expected. “I didn’t think it would be this early,” Thorpe admitted. “It’s gone in my favour, clearly, but I did what I had to do, and I’m absolutely buzzing. I’m so happy.”

The road to that Tour Card was anything but easy. On the first day the Englishman came agonisingly close to success, followed by two early exits without new points. The feeling that came with it was familiar to anyone who has ever experienced Q-School. “I kept saying to myself: if it comes, it comes. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” he explained. “That second day I struggled a little bit.”

It even showed physically. “I went back to the hotel early, fell asleep straight away, woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t get a wink after that,” he said. “I was even dozing off in the taxi here. I already thought: this isn’t going to be it.” With a Red Bull in hand he started hopeful, but the focus was completely missing. “That's on me. Next match.”

That came against Tommy Morris, who, according to Thorpe, played an almost flawless game. “He played absolutely unbelievable. That match was just crazy,” he said honestly. “This tournament is cut-throat. Favorites or not, if someone suddenly throws like a brick wall, that’s it. Fair play to them.”

Still, he stuck to his own plan. “I came in today thinking: if I play like yesterday, I'll crack on.” And that’s exactly what happened.

Away from the stage, Thorpe is a level-headed lad from Norwich who works in a dart shop: Arrowheads. “They do me a lot of favours,” he emphasised. “I get time off for darts, can sometimes practice when it’s quiet, and the people I work with are solid people. They’ll be absolutely buzzing as well.” That support was crucial, as was the guidance he received over the past two years. “Two years ago Jack Main took me under his wing and said: ‘Give him two years.’ Well, those two years are up now. This is my first Q-School and then this happens.”

The absolute elite awaits over the next two seasons, with clashes against players like Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Gary Anderson, and Michael van Gerwen. “First and foremost, it's an absolute pleasure,” Thorpe concluded. “Just to stand there. But I also know what I can do. If I can take them on, then I definitely will. Hopefully I can do some damage over the next two years. We’ll see how it goes.”