Bradley Brooks has shared a remarkable tale about his successful run at
Q-School in 2025. The Englishman secured another PDC
Tour Card and, after three outstanding days, thought the job was done. That felt like the perfect excuse for a big night out, Brooks figured. One problem: the next morning he still had to report to the oche.
Brooks delivered a rock-solid
Q-School and ultimately amassed a record 16 points on the UK Order of Merit. That put him top of the standings and sealed his return to the PDC
ProTour.
The now 26-year-old had effectively wrapped up his Tour Card after three days. With two finals and a quarter-final on the board, his name appeared in dark green across various darts rankings. For Brooks the conclusion was straightforward: mission accomplished.
“When you go on the darts rankings I went dark green,” Brooks said on the
Tops & Tales podcast. "So, I won my card. I thought happy days lets celebrate. So, we went back to the hotel and got changed.
What Brooks didn’t know at the time was that Q-School’s rules had changed. Even players who were mathematically safe still had to play on the fourth and final day. That news reached Brooks at a particularly awkward moment.
“You didn’t read the players’ briefing, did you?”
Brooks and his group had ended up in Popworld, a nightclub chain known for party anthems and a lively atmosphere. The former World Youth Champion did not hold back.
“We went out and got back at silly o’clock. I didn’t realise they changed the rules and no matter what you had to play on the last day.”
At that point Brooks still assumed he could enjoy a lie-in the next morning. Until one of his friends filled him in mid-celebration. "So, I woke up in not the best condition. I was in the middle of Popworld singing my heart to One Direction.
“One of the lads came over and said, ‘You don’t mind having a beer, do you, because you are through anyway?’
Brooks was thinking exactly the same. “I was like, yeah, because I don’t have to play tomorrow. I’ve gone dark green, I don’t have to.
The briefing was produced and Brooks saw in black and white that he had to report back to Milton Keynes the following day. "He went, ‘You have not read the players brief, have you?’ He pulled it up. ‘You have to play all four days.’ He got the players brief and showed me in the middle of Popworld."
As if that wasn’t problematic enough, his manager had other plans by then.“As I found this out, my manager had just bought a booth in Popworld, came over with a bottle of vodka and started tipping it in my mouth!”
Brooks currently sits 65th on the PDC Order of Merit, just £2,250 behind Nick Kenny in the coveted 64th spot.
Hangover doesn’t stop Brooks
The next morning, Brooks paid the price by his own account. In far-from-ideal condition, ‘Bam Bam’ had to get set for the fourth and final day of Q-School.
To make matters worse, the draw handed him Graham Usher in round one. Brooks decided to make the best of it. His Tour Card was already secured and, given his preparation, expectations for the day were modest.
“Then the draw came out and I got Graham Usher. I was like, just plod along, you won’t win it but you can come and go. He went, ‘You having a practice?’ I went, no, we’ll just go."
What followed was as surprising to Brooks as anyone. There was little sign of a heavy hangover at the board early on. In fact, he flew out of the blocks. "First leg I got a 167 for a 12-darter. Next leg I hit a 161 for a 12. I was thinking I should do this more often.
Where Brooks had planned merely to fulfil the obligation, he grew stronger as the day wore on. He eventually reached the quarter-finals again. That was where his eventful Q-School campaign ended, against Adam Lipscombe. By then his Tour Card had long since been secured.
"As the day went on I got better. Then I got in the quarter-finals again and lost to Adam Lipscombe. The Monday when I got back I didn’t move.”