"I've finally done it... I'm back!" - Former darting prodigy Max Hopp secures stunning return to PDC Pro Tour on final day of Q-School 2025
PDC
Max Hopp is back! After three losing his PDC Tour Card in 2022, former darting prodigy Hopp has spent a couple of years in the wilderness battling injuries and a complete loss of form. At PDC European Q-School 2025 however, the 28-year-old German has regained his place on the Pro Tour.
Finishing 10th in the European Q-School Order of Merit with 6 points, Hopp secured his PDC return on the final day of Q-School 2025 with a solid run to the last 16 in Kalkar on Sunday afternoon. "I was with my back to the wall and somehow I scraped through it," Hopp reflected afterwards in conversation with the PDC, referencing the fact he started the final day outside of the Tour Card spots. "I just believed in myself, believed I can do it and I've finally done it! Even though I had tough opponents. But yeah, I'm back on tour, that's what matters. So I can prepare myself now for the upcoming events."
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Once the big hope of German darts, Hopp seemed earmarked for a long and successful career at the top when he first broke into the top 64 of the world rankings as a teenager in 2015. Although he won a PDC World Youth Championship in 2015 and claimed both a Pro Tour and a Euro Tour event in 2018, Hopp never quite managed to really hit the heights expected though. With this second chance on the Pro Tour secured, can Hopp reignite his darting career?
"I was working for the German TV but it's true, it's got a bit quiet. I didn't have the results as I expected to. But now I'm back and I think the main thing is, doesn't matter how I play currently, I want it," he says determinedly. "I really wanted to be back. I was in the Ally Pally for the whole World Championships and I was chatting to Jamie Banks and Dave Allen from the PDC. They said it would be great to have me back and I said: 'Yeah I'll do my very best and I'll give it my best shot.' And today, it just all worked out for me, so come on! The Maximizer is back!"
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