Q-School is a logistical challenge in normal circumstances never mind during a global pandemic but next week sees the start of the yearly event with two Stages before the Final Stage where Tour Cards will be confirmed in Milton Keynes and Niedernhausen.
PDC Tournament Director, Graham Fairhurst spoke on the Weekly Dartscast this past week about how Q-School is going ahead and the new format change.
“We’ve looked at different options for the last couple of years regarding the size of the entry. So coupled with the pandemic, the changes were made this year. We had nothing but good feedback from that and also helped the guys who unfortunately lost their Tour Cards this year, it gives them not a seeding but the straight forward route into Stage Two which is a little bit of a reward,” said Fairhurst to the Weekly Dartscast.
“The guidelines to get the event on, we’ve got to keep numbers low. We’re in constant contact with Milton Keynes local council, the venue and overall the two Stages helps keep the numbers down and fingers crossed it’ll work really well. You never know, maybe it’ll be something we will use in normal circumstances as well.”
“The guidelines are constantly changing, we’re still awaiting what we’re going to be doing with testing for Q-School. Until we’re told exactly how we can do it, we’ve just got to keep players informed as much as we can.”