After 20 of the 24 tournaments on the PDC Development Tour, the tension at the top of the standings is beginning to rise.
The ranking is currently led by Gian van Veen, who has already won five tournaments on the Development Tour in 2023. The number one gets to compete at the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship and also receives a Tour Card for the next two seasons. However, the latter two prizes also apply to the number two on the Development Tour Order of Merit.
However, Van Veen seems to have already qualified for the World Darts Championship via the Pro Tour and already has a Tour Card in his pocket, so the Dutchman is only playing for a spot at the Grand Slam of Darts. The World Championship starting ticket and Tour Card thus shifts to the number three.
Luke Littler is shortly behind Van Veen in second place, while Dutchman Wessel Nijman currently holds the third spot. Nijman may therefore dream of competing at Alexandra Palace later this year. The final four tournaments of the PDC Development Tour 2023 will be played on 18 and 19 August.
What is the PDC Development Tour?
The PDC Development Tour is considered the training institute of the PDC. Talented players have the opportunity to further develop their gift on this circuit.
Players may enter as soon as they reach the age of 16. They may then compete up to and including the season in which they turn 24.
Today, the Development Tour circuit consists of 24 tournaments. These are spread over five weekends. One of those five weekends is played in Hildesheim, Germany, the other four in the United Kingdom.
What are the follow-up opportunities through the PDC Development Tour?
A PDC Youth World Championship is organised every year. This season, it will take place on 20 August. The best players from the Development Tour are allowed to compete in it. They play a tournament until two players remain. The final is traditionally on the final night of the Players Championship Finals on 26 November.
The reward for the youth world champion is a £10,000 cheque, entry to the World Darts Championship and qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts the following season. By the way, the latter also applies to the runner-up of the PDC World Youth Championship.
But there are even more rewards to be earned through the Development Tour. The numbers one and two of the final ranking get to compete in the World Darts Championship and receive a PDC Tour Card for the following two years. The number one on the Development Tour Order of Merit is also allowed to compete at the Grand Slam of Darts in the current season.
If one or more players from the top-2 of the PDC Development Tour Order of Merit have already secured placement for a specific TV tournament, they will advance to the next player on the ranking list. The same applies to the distribution of Tour Cards.
PDC Development Tour Order of Merit after 20/24 tournaments
Position | Name | Prize Money |
1 | Gian van Veen | £17,500 |
2 | Luke Littler | £15,975 |
3 | Wessel Nijman | £12,750 |
4 | Nathan Rafferty | £9,425 |
5 | Dylan Slevin | £7,225 |
6 | Bradley Brooks | £7,000 |
7 | Jurjen van der Velde | £6,750 |
8 | Bradly Roes | £6,675 |
9 | Jarred Cole | £6,650 |
10 | Sebastian Bialecki | £5,950 |
11 | Cam Crabtree | £5,725 |
12 | Adam Gawlas | £5,550 |
13 | Rusty-Jake Rodriguez | £5,425 |
14 | Christopher Toonders | £5,400 |
15 | Owen Roelofs | £4,725 |
16 | Ciaran Teehan | £4,275 |
17 | Lewis Gurney | £3,825 |
18 | James Beeton | £3,625 |
19 | Nathan Girvan | £3,475 |
20 | Kevin Troppmann | £3,425 |
21 | Owen Bates | £3,300 |
22 | Jitse Van der Wal | £3,150 |
22 | David Schlichting | £3,150 |
24 | Dominik Gruellich | £3,100 |
25 | Reece Colley | £2,900 |
26 | Jim Moston | £2,875 |
27 | Harry Gregory | £2,825 |
28 | Leighton Bennett | £2,725 |
29 | Adam Paxton | £2,650 |
29 | Levy Frauenfelder | £2,650 |
31 | Keelan Kay | £2,450 |
32 | Marvin Kraft | £2,300 |
33 | Jack Male | £2,225 |
34 | Keane Barry | £2,175 |
35 | Justin Hewitt | £2,125 |
36 | Charlie Manby | £2,025 |
37 | Thomas Banks | £2,000 |
38 | Connor Hopkins | £1,975 |
39 | Roman Benecky | £1,950 |
39 | Tavis Dudeney | £1,950 |
41 | Daniel Perry | £1,925 |
42 | Henry Coates | £1,900 |
43 | Jacob Gwynne | £1,850 |
44 | Rune Van Damme | £1,825 |
44 | Jack Vincent | £1,825 |
46 | Jamai van den Herik | £1,775 |
46 | Owen Maiden | £1,775 |
48 | Connor Arberry | £1,750 |
49 | Damian Vetjens | £1,700 |
50 | Jordan Sharpe | £1,675 |
51 | Robert Kef | £1,625 |
52 | Youri Brouwer | £1,600 |
53 | Lewis Williams | £1,550 |
53 | Pascal Rupprecht | £1,550 |
55 | Moreno Blom | £1,525 |
56 | Stefan Dees | £1,500 |
56 | Danny Jansen | £1,500 |
58 | Craig Galliano | £1,400 |
59 | Fred Box | £1,350 |
60 | Sam Cromwell | £1,325 |
61 | Riley Rees-Tucker | £1,300 |
62 | Lukas Fraulob | £1,275 |
63 | Bradley Aldous | £1,250 |
63 | Oliver King | £1,250 |
65 | Filip Ljubenko | £1,200 |
65 | Tomas Houdek | £1,200 |
67 | Byron Garner | £1,150 |
67 | Bram van Dijk | £1,150 |
69 | Ruben Mesters | £1,125 |
69 | Daan Bastiaansen | £1,125 |
71 | Oliver Madge | £1,050 |
72 | Pim Van Bijnen | £1,025 |
73 | Jarno Bottenberg | £1,000 |
74 | Kalem Marsh | £975 |
74 | Marc Petermann | £975 |
76 | Jimmy Bristow | £950 |
76 | Charlie Large | £950 |
76 | Travis Baur | £950 |
79 | Jaikob Selby-Rivas | £925 |
80 | Alfie Thompson | £900 |
80 | Llew Bevan | £900 |
82 | Jannes Bremermann | £875 |
82 | Damien Moore | £875 |
84 | Dylan Quinn | £850 |
84 | Johnny Stewart | £850 |
86 | Niclas Menz | £800 |
86 | Jenson Walker | £800 |
86 | Marvin Koch | £800 |
89 | Finn Chudziak | £775 |
89 | Luke Cottrell | £775 |
91 | Mark Tabak | £750 |
92 | Robbe Dasseville | £725 |
92 | Dylan Tuite | £725 |
92 | Viani Van den Bergh | £725 |
95 | Jamie Tilley | £700 |
95 | Dylan Dowling | £700 |
95 | Sam Aitkens | £700 |
98 | Wesley Veenstra | £675 |
99 | Rohan Brouwers | £650 |
99 | Xanti Van den Bergh | £650 |
99 | Marvin van Velzen | £650 |
102 | Cole Davey | £600 |
103 | Jake Neale | £575 |
103 | Charlie Stocks | £575 |
103 | Mark Connolly | £575 |
103 | Ieuan Halsall | £575 |
103 | Laszlo Ancsin | £575 |
103 | Enrico Frank | £575 |
103 | Jordan Boyce | £575 |
110 | Ondrej Frystacky | £500 |
110 | Keenan Thomas | £500 |
110 | Fabian Schmutzler | £500 |
110 | Joshua Hermann | £500 |
110 | Niclas Wierling | £500 |
110 | Nathan Care | £500 |
116 | Bailey White | £475 |
116 | Lewis Mayes | £475 |
116 | Tom Garfield | £475 |
116 | Matteo Ognibeni | £475 |
120 | Lloyd Walker | £450 |
120 | Coby Jones-Swanson | £450 |
120 | Declan Cox | £450 |
123 | Mitchell Leeming | £425 |
123 | Keaton Williams | £425 |
123 | Zac Griffiths | £425 |
126 | Cameron Anderson | £400 |
126 | Jan Schmidt | £400 |
126 | Killian Heffernan | £400 |
129 | Jakub Janaszkiewicz | £375 |
129 | Maikel Mossou | £375 |
129 | Ciaran Forde | £375 |
129 | Sascha Stuhlemmer | £375 |
129 | Robin Radloff | £375 |
129 | Luke Van der Kwast | £375 |
135 | Danny Goddard | £350 |
135 | Reiss Markley | £350 |
135 | Dominik Nebe | £350 |
135 | Sydnee De Vries | £350 |
135 | Alexander Steinmetz | £350 |
135 | Sem Devoght | £350 |
135 | Adam Dee | £350 |
142 | Ben Davies | £300 |
142 | Shane Weeks | £300 |
142 | Harry Jake Robinson | £300 |
142 | Colinn Haverkate | £300 |
146 | Harrison Firmager | £275 |
146 | Joe Higgins | £275 |
146 | Lewis Bell | £275 |
146 | Janek Hill | £275 |
146 | Sean Negrette | £275 |
146 | Pascal Lausch | £275 |
146 | Jack Howarth | £275 |
146 | Matthew Chegwin | £275 |
146 | Dieter Van Ham | £275 |
146 | Andras Borbely | £275 |
146 | Charlie Wiles | £275 |
146 | Samuel Palmer | £275 |
146 | Seppe Dasseville | £275 |
146 | Anna Votavova | £275 |
146 | Marius Brink | £275 |
146 | Nathan Potter | £275 |
146 | Keanen Norris | £275 |
163 | Julian Zwergel | £225 |
163 | Tom Kloppmann | £225 |
163 | Kishan Prakash Jiwa | £225 |
163 | Jonathan Parvaneh | £225 |
163 | Lennon Cradock | £225 |
163 | Kevin van der Voort | £225 |
163 | Dylan Van Lierop | £225 |
163 | Alan Halfmouw | £225 |
163 | Angelo Balsamo | £225 |
163 | Jamie Gardner | £225 |
163 | Angelo Van Deventer | £225 |
163 | Sean Cummins | £225 |
163 | Cayden Smith | £225 |
176 | Kilian Hohnstedt | £200 |
176 | Tyler Mantle | £200 |
176 | Joshua Adriaanse | £200 |
176 | Meinte Hibma | £200 |
176 | Luca Pfaff | £200 |
176 | Jeffrey Keen | £200 |
176 | Paul Vogt | £200 |
176 | Louis Hornig | £200 |
176 | Keith Zahner | £200 |
176 | John Wightman | £200 |
176 | Cameron Lee | £200 |
176 | Sam Coenders | £200 |
176 | Cian Fitzpatrick | £200 |
189 | Felix Bollmann | £150 |
189 | Almos Kovacs | £150 |
189 | Keanu van Velzen | £150 |
189 | Billy Warriner | £150 |
189 | Matthew Gordon | £150 |
189 | Scott Smith | £150 |
189 | Philip Want | £150 |
189 | Leon Ellerington | £150 |
189 | Ben Phillips | £150 |
189 | Carl van Mens | £150 |
189 | Djowy Verhagen | £150 |
189 | David Drewanz | £150 |
189 | Laurenz Kelm | £150 |
189 | Jeremy Jendrzejewski | £150 |
189 | Nic Mueller | £150 |
189 | Derek Barry | £150 |
189 | Nando Engelen | £150 |
189 | Justin van Tergouw | £150 |
189 | Robbie Chalmers | £150 |
189 | Patrik Williams | £150 |
189 | Jake Fewell | £150 |
210 | Owen Sherriff | £75 |
210 | Pacey Large | £75 |
210 | Tinus van Tiel | £75 |
210 | Eleanor Cairns | £75 |
210 | Jake Rigney | £75 |
210 | Roman Korsunov | £75 |
210 | Mason Whitlock | £75 |
210 | Alfie Busby | £75 |
210 | Alex Gurr | £75 |
210 | Oisin Furlong | £75 |
210 | Timm Gothier | £75 |
210 | Vilem Sedivy | £75 |
210 | Nicolas Roehre | £75 |
210 | Lukas Holtewert | £75 |
210 | Oliver Mueller (Dorzbach) | £75 |
210 | Max Pauly | £75 |
210 | Jurre Begard | £75 |
210 | Miro Seemann | £75 |
210 | Oliver Ufer | £75 |
210 | Patrick Schroeder | £75 |
210 | Mika Niems | £75 |
210 | Sebastian Keine | £75 |
210 | Mattia Pinelli | £75 |
210 | Jan Zagel | £75 |
210 | Daan Beernink | £75 |
210 | Leon Remde | £75 |
210 | Maurice Junker | £75 |
210 | Marvin Fink | £75 |
210 | Jan Luca Limburg | £75 |
210 | Massimo Balsamo | £75 |
210 | Leonard Ingles | £75 |
210 | Louis Rödamer | £75 |
210 | Mike Verschuur | £75 |
210 | Hendrik Riechel | £75 |
210 | Bram Jongejeugd | £75 |
210 | Noah Weller | £75 |
210 | Noah Hanfland | £75 |
210 | Marco Jungwirth | £75 |
210 | Luke Rutter | £75 |
210 | Charlie Bubb | £75 |
210 | Lleyton Molyneux | £75 |
210 | Jonas Aplowski | £75 |
210 | Jack Hook | £75 |
210 | Antony Richardson | £75 |
210 | Dean Fitch Jnr | £75 |
210 | Aaron Colley | £75 |
210 | George Lynch | £75 |
210 | Chris Birch | £75 |
210 | Harrison McMullen | £75 |
210 | Joseph Lynaugh | £75 |
210 | Matyas Rejhon | £75 |
210 | Egor Tvorogov | £75 |
210 | Daniel Coates | £75 |
210 | Noah Roeschlein | £75 |
210 | Sebastian Bech | £75 |
210 | Cameron Christie | £75 |
210 | Tyler Radlett | £75 |
210 | Rene Molendijk | £75 |
210 | Joshua Bean | £75 |
210 | Jack McNeilly | £75 |
210 | Bradley Timlin | £75 |
210 | Lars Plaisier | £75 |
210 | Liam Fowkes | £75 |
210 | Connor Woodcock Colk | £75 |
210 | Andrew Ingman | £75 |
210 | Mitchell Koster | £75 |