Scott Mitchell lost his Tour Card at the turn of the year and during a recent Twitter exchange with 1983 World Champion, Keith Deller reiterated the importance of the European Tour in the rankings.
Deller tweeted about big names being currently missing from the World Matchplay due to not qualifying or winning at European Tours saying 'if you don't qualify for these and players have a decent run you can get hurt'.
As is evidenced in the article below, the winner of this past weekend's German Darts Grand Prix received £30,000 which is compared to £12,000 on the ProTour. With them being big stages and hosting big crowds, many of the top names prefer them.
In Mitchell's case, he also saw the value of them as a Tour Card holder responding that qualifying mainly through the Last 24 Tour Card Holder Qualifier after a ProTour is a 'must to keep a Tour Card'.
"If you don’t qualify for them at the tail end of rankings, it can cost you your Tour Card. Qualify for European Tour and win a game against local qualifier, it’s 2k on ranking, to win 2k on pro tour against best on the planet is far more difficult, it’s a must to keep your Tour Card," he said.