Seven players who have lost their Tour Card after abrupt ends to their 2026 PDC World Darts Championship

The PDC World Darts Championship is a tournament where dreams can come true for some darters, nailing the jackpot in the most luxurious competition of the year. However, it can also end in despair with a whole host on the line. This includes tour cards, with seven darters losing theirs for 2026.

The PDC Tour is brutal. If you do not get the results needed, you will be swallowed up by the savage competition. Failure to qualify for big events and earn a sufficient amount of money can lead to players dropping outside of the top 64.

Tour cards can be earned from rising inside the coveted 64 rankings in the Order of Merit, or through gaining one at Q-School. This will reward you with a two-year card where you can participate in Players Championship events while offering up qualification opportunities for European Tour tournament along with other major events such as the World Championship and Grand Slam of Darts. This is something that these seven players will no longer receive.

The biggest name on this list has to be the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts champion Jose de Sousa. He has suffered a steady decline over the past few years, with losing his tour card becoming an inevitable threat with a barren spell on the oche. The former Premier League Darts finalist has faield to qualify for such events such as the Players Championship Finals, World Matchplay and European Championship for the prior two years, representing a down-turn in form which has seen him lose his tour card. The 51-year-old is expected to return to Q-School and try and retrieve it.

Andy Baetens was one of the many Belgian darters who suffered terribly at Ally Pally. He was pegged back by Dirk van Duijvenbode after taking a 2-1 lead, dashing any hopes of the former WDF World Championship had of staying on the tour.

A trio of darters from the British Isles were also on the receiving end of this painful process. After dumping out Dimitri Van den Bergh with a convincing performance, it looked like 'Ice Cold' Darren Beveridge had a chance of keeping his tour card, but his hopes were extinguished after a damaging loss to Madars Razma sent him home. Owen Bates also could not produce the goods needed, losing out to Ryan Joyce with just one leg to his name. Steve Lennon also had an uphill task, with it proving too much to do after losing in the first round to Damon Heta.

In a damaging turn of events for American darts, Matt Campbell has also dropped out of the top 64 by the barest of margins. He could not get the better of fellow North American Adam Sevada who went on to produce a dismal display against Charlie Manby in the next round, probably infuriating him more. To conclude this list, Haupai Puha has also been unable to retain his tour card. This was confirmed for the New Zealander after a 3-0 defeat to Niels Zonnelevd.

These seven players, if they choose, can make a trip to Q-School from January 5-11 as they attempt to get their tour card back straight away.