Joe Cullen, Callan Rydz, William O'Connor seal German Darts Championship spots as Michael Smith out of European Championship
PDC
Joe Cullen, Callan Rydz and William O'Connor passed the qualifying tournament for the German Darts Championship on Thursday. That means that they will be involved in the final European Tour tournament of the season from Oct. 17 to 19.
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The Tour Card qualifying tournament was played in Hildesheim on Thursday. The players who had not automatically qualified were allowed to participate in this and there were a total of ten starting spots to be distributed.
Two Dutchman qualified as Wesley Plaisier defeated three compatriots to secure entry to the German Darts Championship. He first won 6-4 over Dennie Olde Kalter, before also beating Jitse van der Wal (6-1) and Jeffrey de Graaf (6-2).
While Christian Kist fought his way past Matthew Dennant 6-5 in his opening round, before recording a handsome 6-4 victory over Brendan Dolan. Then in the final round, "The Lipstick" won 6-3 over James Hurrell.
For William O'Connor, it was his second qualification of the day. There was also double success for Callan Rydz, after 'The Riot' had also previously qualified for the Swiss Darts Trophy. Rydz secured a spot at the German Darts Championship via victories over Owen Bates (6-2), Niko Springer (6-5) and Ricky Evans (6-5).
Joe Cullen picked up a spot in Hildeshiem by winning 6-4 over Dominik Gruellich in the final round, while Tom Bissell managed to advance to the main tournament at the expense of Keane Barry (6-4). Radek Szaganski kept Gabriel Clemens (6-5) from a spot, and Justin Hood won in a leg-decider over Sebastian Bialecki.
While Michael Smith's hopes of making it to the European Championship are all but over after he fell to Patrick Geereats. His poor year continues.
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The world's top 16 and the 16 best players from the Pro Tour rankings were already automatically qualified for the Euro Tour tournament in Germany. So Michael van Gerwen, Mike de Decker, Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson and Josh Rock among other do not have to play a qualifying tournament. Many of which also are qualified to play directly in the second round so don't start until the Saturday.
Results PDC ET14 Tour Card Holder Qualifier
| Player 1 | Average | Score | VS | Score | Average | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 20 | ||||||
| Karel Sedlacek | (88.97) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.64) | Patrick Geeraets |
| Joe Cullen | (94.61) | 6 | VS | 4 | (86.62) | Dominik Gruellich |
| Tom Bissell | (90.59) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.52) | Keane Barry |
| Christian Kist | (93.81) | 6 | VS | 3 | (95.63) | James Hurrell |
| Wesley Plaisier | (93.55) | 6 | VS | 2 | (89.02) | Jeffrey De Graaf |
| Radek Szaganski | (91.63) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.28) | Gabriel Clemens |
| Steve Lennon | (83.63) | 6 | VS | 4 | (82.45) | Robert Grundy |
| Callan Rydz | (92.23) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.99) | Ricky Evans |
| Justin Hood | (98.48) | 6 | VS | 5 | (96.14) | Sebastian Bialecki |
| William O'Connor | (95.13) | 6 | VS | 2 | (88.09) | Maik Kuivenhoven |
| Top 40 | ||||||
| Patrick Geeraets | (92.21) | 6 | VS | 5 | (92.53) | Michael Smith |
| Karel Sedlacek | (101.07) | 6 | VS | 4 | (97.38) | Connor Scutt |
| Joe Cullen | (88.17) | 6 | VS | 5 | (82.61) | Andy Boulton |
| Dominik Gruellich | (93.46) | 6 | VS | 2 | (91.84) | Thibault Tricole |
| Tom Bissell | (93.09) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.87) | Ritchie Edhouse |
| Keane Barry | (89.61) | 6 | VS | 1 | (82.15) | Madars Razma |
| Christian Kist | (91.81) | 6 | VS | 4 | (90.02) | Brendan Dolan |
| James Hurrell | (86.68) | 6 | VS | 1 | (69.44) | Tavis Dudeney |
| Jeffrey De Graaf | (91.27) | 6 | VS | 5 | (90.95) | Martin Lukeman |
| Wesley Plaisier | (95.10) | 6 | VS | 1 | (88.13) | Jitse Van der Wal |
| Gabriel Clemens | (97.63) | 6 | VS | 1 | (91.59) | Rob Owen |
| Radek Szaganski | (90.69) | 6 | VS | 2 | (93.52) | Dom Taylor |
| Robert Grundy | (88.66) | 6 | VS | 5 | (81.36) | Cam Crabtree |
| Steve Lennon | (87.60) | 6 | VS | 3 | (85.73) | Thomas Lovely |
| Callan Rydz | (92.75) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.68) | Niko Springer |
| Ricky Evans | (87.92) | 6 | VS | 4 | (87.10) | Danny Lauby |
| Justin Hood | (96.37) | 6 | VS | 5 | (95.67) | Ian White |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (89.70) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.79) | Mario Vandenbogaerde |
| William O'Connor | (96.37) | 6 | VS | 2 | (86.05) | Jim Long |
| Maik Kuivenhoven | (101.58) | 6 | VS | 1 | (88.59) | Richard Veenstra |
| Top 80 | ||||||
| Michael Smith | (103.85) | 6 | VS | 3 | (83.16) | Berry van Peer |
| Patrick Geeraets | (92.16) | 6 | VS | 4 | (83.05) | Rhys Griffin |
| Karel Sedlacek | (87.68) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.26) | Ryan Meikle |
| Connor Scutt | (89.87) | 6 | VS | 1 | (88.42) | Dylan Slevin |
| Joe Cullen | (84.82) | 6 | VS | 4 | (77.08) | Leon Weber |
| Andy Boulton | (94.00) | 6 | VS | 4 | (91.53) | Lukas Wenig |
| Dominik Gruellich | (85.17) | 6 | VS | 4 | (83.12) | Brett Claydon |
| Thibault Tricole | (88.36) | 6 | VS | 2 | (75.92) | Benjamin Reus |
| Ritchie Edhouse | (93.70) | 6 | VS | 3 | (99.15) | Andy Baetens |
| Tom Bissell | (94.48) | 6 | VS | 2 | (89.12) | Darren Beveridge |
| Madars Razma | (88.65) | 6 | VS | 1 | (86.42) | Viktor Tingstrom |
| Keane Barry | (88.53) | 6 | VS | 3 | (77.23) | Pero Ljubic |
| Brendan Dolan | (89.56) | 6 | VS | 3 | (91.48) | Alan Soutar |
| Christian Kist | (93.64) | 6 | VS | 5 | (95.58) | Matthew Dennant |
| James Hurrell | (106.74) | 6 | VS | 1 | (100.45) | Stephen Burton |
| Tavis Dudeney | (92.23) | 6 | VS | 2 | (87.14) | Chris Landman |
| Martin Lukeman | (83.40) | 6 | VS | 2 | (77.91) | Adam Lipscombe |
| Jeffrey De Graaf | (94.27) | 6 | VS | 3 | (89.34) | Darryl Pilgrim |
| Wesley Plaisier | (89.53) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.51) | Dennie Olde Kalter |
| Jitse Van der Wal | (80.47) | 6 | VS | 4 | (83.69) | Nick Kenny |
| Gabriel Clemens | (94.01) | 6 | VS | 4 | (92.70) | Florian Hempel |
| Rob Owen | (108.91) | 6 | VS | 1 | (92.02) | Kai Gotthardt |
| Dom Taylor | (86.16) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.73) | Cor Dekker |
| Radek Szaganski | (87.84) | 6 | VS | 4 | (80.26) | Kim Huybrechts |
| Robert Grundy | (92.03) | 6 | VS | 2 | (83.88) | Kevin Doets |
| Cam Crabtree | (92.96) | 6 | VS | 4 | (91.80) | Adam Hunt |
| Thomas Lovely | (86.21) | 6 | VS | 2 | (79.15) | Haupai Puha |
| Steve Lennon | (91.72) | 6 | VS | 3 | (94.28) | Mensur Suljovic |
| Callan Rydz | (101.47) | 6 | VS | 2 | (89.46) | Owen Bates |
| Niko Springer | (84.66) | 6 | VS | 1 | (75.97) | Bradley Brooks |
| Danny Lauby | (86.02) | 6 | VS | 4 | (83.54) | Stefaan Henderyck |
| Ricky Evans | (90.68) | 6 | VS | 3 | (91.01) | Jim Williams |
| Justin Hood | (101.29) | 6 | VS | 1 | (95.21) | Mickey Mansell |
| Ian White | (83.46) | 6 | VS | 5 | (81.85) | Marvin van Velzen |
| Mario Vandenbogaerde | (96.97) | 6 | VS | 0 | (88.40) | Oskar Lukasiak |
| Sebastian Bialecki | (82.98) | 6 | VS | 2 | (87.69) | Adam Paxton |
| William O'Connor | (98.76) | 6 | VS | 3 | (87.70) | Martijn Dragt |
| Jim Long | (88.76) | 6 | VS | 5 | (83.22) | Adam Warner |
| Maik Kuivenhoven | (83.95) | 6 | VS | 5 | (80.86) | Tytus Kanik |
| Richard Veenstra | (89.91) | 6 | VS | 2 | (81.75) | Jelle Klaasen |
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
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- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026