"I'm incredibly bummed about this" - Wesley Plaisier upset over adjusted qualifying criteria for European Tour

Since this year, the qualification criteria for the PDC European Tour tournaments have been changed. The biggest change is that now also the top-16 of the world rankings automatically qualify for an event.

In past years, the top-16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit were invited to a Euro Tour tournament. That remains the case, and they will also make up the top-16 seedings list and enter the tournament from the second round.

However, the top-16 of the PDC Order of Merit will also receive an invitation. They will have to start the tournament from the first round. As a result, there are fewer starting spots to be earned in the qualifying tournament for Tour Card holders. This number has been reduced from 24 to only ten qualifying spots. In addition, players who do not hold a Tour Card are no longer allowed to participate in qualifying tournaments. They can only participate in a "Home Nation Qualifier" at a tournament in their own country.

One of the biggest victims of this is Wesley Plaisier, who surprisingly missed out on a PDC Tour Card at Q-School early this year. "I'm incredibly bummed about this," he told Double Top. "A lot of players entered Q-School specifically to be able to throw those qualifying tournaments. That they changed the rules a day before the start of Q-School is not very fair."

"For me it wouldn't have made any difference, I would have gone to Q-School anyway, but obviously find it particularly unfortunate. Now I can only participate in the 'Home Nation Qualifier' for the Dutch Darts Championship at the end of May, where there are still four tickets to be distributed for players who do not have a Tour Card."