Merkx heads to Q-School full of confidence: "Many people give me a good chance and I believe in that myself"

Next Monday the European Q-School will start in Kalkar, Germany. One of the players looking for a PDC Tour Card there is Dutchman Alexander Merkx.

Merkx has participated in Q-School three times before, last year he narrowly missed out on a Tour Card. The 28-year-old Dutchman indicated then that he needed to become even more consistent. "I managed to do that. I really started throwing a lot more consistently and better last year. I switched from the Eindhoven league to the Tilburg variant. The level is much higher there, so I can play against better darters. I have noticed that you grow as well. That has really helped me forward," Merkx said to ED.nl.

'Alexander The Great,' as his nickname goes, still works in his father's company in daily life. "We sell caravans. Fun to do and it runs well too. But it would be wonderful if one day I could be at the World Championship and earn real money with darts. That is a dream of course."

Merkx was in good form on the WDF Tour last year and even managed to qualify for the World Championship there. "All those experiences, and those from last year's Q-School, I will take with me to this edition. I also hear from other darters that they give me a good chance to win a Tour Card this time. That too does me good of course."

At Q-School, Merkx will face established players such as Max Hopp, Jelle Klaasen and Jeffrey de Zwaan. "Yes, they have a lot of experience. But so do I. I've been playing darts for nineteen years, have thrown against top players several times in the past year. Let them come here."