"I’ve just got to do it on the freaking tour now" - Rhys Griffin indicates Q-School is the 'toughest tournament' after clinching Tour Card

Rhys Griffin was one of the two players to clinch a tour card in the opening day of the final stage at Q-School, with him now confident and motivated that he can stay on the tour for good this time.

The Welshman had previously boasted a Tour Card but lost it at the end of 2025. He did not waste any time in regaining it after a perfect day out in Milton Keynes.

He was up against it at the start, just about defeating Kelvin O’Keefe (6-4), former BDO World Champion Shane McGuirk (6-5), Steve Lennon (6-4), Harry Ward (6-5) before averaging 103.89 against fellow Welshman Derek Coulson to confirm himself a tie against Waites.

After sprinting into a 5-0 lead, he left 80 for the match. The treble 20 was found, and so was double 10 the second time of asking. The passion was clear to see after he pinned his intended target, absolutely over the moon with delight and relief to have his tour card back.

He disclosed these feelings in his interview after securing his Tour Card. When asked what it meant, he replied: "Everything. Everything. The last two years have been absolutely shocking, and I can admit that I’ve been poor. But I’ve shown today what I can do, and I just need to take that into the next two years on tour."

Q-School is notorious for being very brutal and harsh, with a whole host of players battling it out for just a handful of precious tour cards. Griffin was one of the fortunate ones who have got through the process without a scratch, but that has not lowered the tournament in his estimations.

"Honestly, I stand by this — it’s the toughest tournament of the year for anyone playing in it," he stated. "It’s rough. You see the players who haven’t got through today; you’ve got, what, three world champions who haven’t made it through. It’s mental. It’s the hardest graft you have all year."

This is even compared to the PDC World Darts Championship, an event that he has previously played at. To feature at Ally Pally one more was a huge motivation for Griffin's return to the tour. "Oh yeah, by a mile. By a mile," he admitted. "The last two years I’ve been at Q-School, I’ve really shown what I can do — I just didn’t do it consistently for two years. I had spells and glimpses, qualifying for the World Series and the World Championship, but it just wasn’t good enough. I can admit that, and I’m a better man for it."

With this second chance, he believes that this will be a knew reincarnation of himself on the oche. "If I can just carry my game onto the tour like I have done here — and like I know I can play — the sky’s the limit for me, honestly."

He was in some very tense matches at the start of the day but vastly improved throughout with some big scorelines and averages at the business end of the tournament.

"Yeah, it just showed the battle in me," the Welshman said. "The first couple of games I just didn’t wake up early. Then towards the end, you see the finish line and think, “Wow, what am I doing?” I sort of woke up then. I took out some clutch finishes — against Harry I left 36 after nine and took out 132. Against Shane at 5–5, I went 180, 140, 140 and took it out in 11. I’ve shown I’ve got the bottle to do it. I’ve just got to do it on the freaking tour now."

The final stage of Q-School will be continuing over the next three days, with the rest of the Tour Cards set to be handed out in Milton Keynes and Kalkar.