PDC Development Tour 2026: Calendar, Prize Money, Format, Live on TV, Order of Merit and Predictions - Greaves, Manby, Van der Velde lead Event One line-up

The PDC Development Tour is due to take place over 24 events this year with top talents aged 23 and under taking part in this secondary tour.

Luke Littler, Gian van Veen, Josh Rock among others have all played some part over the years in this tour and Beau Greaves after her stellar run on it last year that saw her seal a Tour Card will return.

As will Charlie Manby, Cam Crabtree, Owen Bates among others with World Darts Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Tour Card spots on the line over the course of the season and joins a compliment of events including the Women's Series and Challenge Tour and the main ProTour.

There are 24 events in total comprising Leicester, Milton Keynes, Wigan and Hildesheim from UK to Germany. Similar to the Challenge Tour, it sees two events a day and then a sole one at the end of the run.

The rules have changed over the years so only those not in the top 64 of the main PDC Order of Merit can play so any player from that 65-128 and anyone within the age limit. E.g Beau Greaves and Charlie Manby as brand new Tour Card Holders can be involved.

So a mix of both PDC Tour Card holders who are 23 and under as of January 2026. The minimum age is 16. Greaves as a result can still play on this tour for instance in the upcoming year but unlike previously where it was top 32 and under, this protection ceases when you are secure in the Tour Card spots.

The prize money sees £3,000 for the winner of each tournament. The runner-up claims £2,000. The semi-finalists seal £1,000.

Quarter-Finals claim £750. Last 16 losers claim £350. Overall there is a total payout per event of £20,000. This is the same as the Challenge Tour also.

There are 24 events in all spread between Milton Keynes, Leicester, Hildesheim and Wigan and there are two tournaments a day on Friday and Saturday with one on Sunday so there are five in all apart from the last weekend where there are only four. The matches are first to four to the Quarter-Finals, then the rest is best of nine.

The top two players on the Development Tour who have not secured their Tour Card through another route win a two-year Tour Card for 2027 and 2028. The top three also qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship if they haven't done through another method already.

While the highest ranked player on the Development Tour Order of Merit receives a spot at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts.

The players in the top 16 of the Order of Merit, who had not obtained a PDC Tour Card before 2027 Qualifying School (Q–School), were granted free entry to the final stage of Q–School. The eight highest ranked players from the Order of Merit, who did not earn a Tour Card for the 2026 season, qualified for the first round of the 2026 UK Open.

The Development Tour is not available to watch. Albeit it potentially will be in the future after DAZN confirmed a deal which sees the events shown in Germany from 2027 so it seems that this could yet be on the horizon in the UK and further afield.

This means that for now only the results on DartConnect are available as well as through our Tournament Centre.

Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com sees Charlie Manby finishing atop the Development Tour Order of Merit.

I think that Beau Greaves is quite often an easy answer but also I don't see her playing every single event either so I don't think she will lead but I'm intrigued to see how she gets on.

While Charlie Manby, Sebastian Bialecki, Owen Bates, Cam Crabtree and Tyler Thorpe for me are other players to watch. Thorpe has settled into main tour life well while the others have either been class of the field in previous Development Tours or are now great as Tour Card holders.

So I see the pool of players sealing World Championship spots and topping the Order of Merit being as thus.

*** Charlie Manby

** Beau Greaves

* Tyler Thorpe, Cam Crabtree, Owen Bates

Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com sees Jurjen van der Velde as a potential winner.

The Development Tour is the perfect breeding ground for talent to develop and qualify for the World Championship or win their Tour Card. In addition, there are always a few established names participating.

One of those names is Beau Greaves, who I expect to do very well here this year. Greaves has already secured her Tour Card and may skip some tournaments due to other commitments, but I still think that with her talent, she is good enough to finish high in the tournaments she does play.

Three other names I expect a lot from are the Dutch players Jamai van den Herik, Owen Roelofs and Jurjen van der Velde. Van der Velde has already made a name for himself at the PDC, and I see him as a serious contender to be at the top of the Order of Merit at the end of the year. Van den Herik and Roelofs are two talents who I think can seriously compete to finish high in the rankings.

Of course, there are also a lot of English players who have the potential to finish high. Think of Cam Crabtree, who already played at the World Darts Championship last december. We also have Charlie Manby, who went on to the last 16 in Ally Pally and Tyler Thorpe, a name to keep in mind.

In addition, there are two Germans to keep an eye on: 18-year-olds Yorick Hofkens and Leon Weber. Hofkens won his tour card in January and is known as a great talent. Weber has already shown what he can do at the PDC on several occasions.

Other names to keep an eye on are Sebastian Bialecki and Dylan Slevin, who both already have experience on the PDC Pro Tour.

***Jurjen van der Velde

**Beau Greaves, Charlie Manby

*Lukas Wenig, Jamai van den Herik, Sebastian Bialecki