"They are playing one week on the Q School and they're never playing on the tour": Is Q-School unfair? Young Dutch star voices criticism of system
PDC
Jurjen van der Velde has voiced criticism of the current PDC Q-School system. The Dutchman understands that the tournament offers players a huge opportunity to secure a PDC Tour Card, but also believes that one good week currently carries too much weight. According to Van der Velde, future formats should take performances over a longer period more into account.
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Van der Velde was allowed to enter the most recent Q-School at the Final Stage. That was a key advantage for the Dutchman, as it meant he could skip the first three grueling days of the First Stage.
"Yeah, it's a very hard week because I can start in the final stage because I was playing well in the last few years, so last few months, so that's why I could start in the final stage," said Van der Velde as per Oche.
The gap between the different phases of Q-School is significant. The Final Stage still features 128 players at the start, while during the first three days more than five hundred darters try to qualify for the decisive phase. For Van der Velde, that underscores how fierce the competition is.
"And yeah, it's very hard. In the final stage, there are still 128 players, but in the first three days, there are over 500 or something. But yeah, there are a lot of players and it's very hard and very long days. So yeah, I think for me, it's better than to start in the final stage."
Little certainty
According to Van der Velde, it is striking that results over a full season provide relatively little certainty. "I think it's still a strange system because it's only a week of darts. And if you're playing a whole year good and you're fifth on the Challenge Tour ranking and you're not securing a Tour Card for the next two years, and you're playing one week fantastic, and then you can have a Tour Card. So yeah, maybe they can change something in the future."
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That touches on a debate that has been ongoing within darts. Q-School is designed as a gateway to the professional circuit, but the system can result in a player who performs consistently over an entire season being overtaken by someone who delivers an exceptional week at exactly the right moment.
Van der Velde therefore sees room for adjustments. He does not think it is necessary to immediately hand out a large number of extra Tour Cards via the Challenge Tour or Development Tour, but does believe that consistency should be rewarded more.
"There's now only the three spots on the Dev Tour, two or three spots. So yeah, maybe it's not directly 10 spots, but yeah, maybe they can do it a bit more so because the youth darts is also growing and growing.
The Dutchman points to the development of young players. According to him, several talents are already showing they can handle the level of the PDC ProTour. "And you see with Mitchell Lawrie and some other youth players, they are very good. And if they are playing like that, they are good enough to be on the tour."
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Clear difference
That is precisely why Van der Velde believes there should be a careful look at which players truly aspire to a professional career. He sees a clear difference between players who have one good week at Q-School and those who have been showing for some time that they seriously want to build a career at the highest level.
"But yeah, just like I said, when you're playing one week very good on the Q School, there are also a few people from Germany, they are playing one week on the Q School and they're never playing on the tour because they don't have a plan or something."
Jurjen van der Velde holds a PDC Tour Card
Huge investment
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Van der Velde considers the latter an important point. A Tour Card not only brings the chance to play on the PDC circuit, but also requires a huge investment of time, money, and energy. Traveling to tournaments, accommodation costs, and playing dozens of matches per season present a major challenge. According to Van der Velde, a Tour Card should ideally go to someone who genuinely plans to seize that opportunity.
"Or maybe they have some other reasons. But yeah, give the spots to players who want to be on the tour," he concluded. With that, Van der Velde is not so much calling for Q-School to be scrapped entirely, but rather for a system in which performances over a longer period carry more weight.
Van der Velde’s remarks at the same time illustrate the dilemma the PDC faces. Q-School must remain accessible to new players, as it is precisely there that unknown talents can present themselves and break through in a short time. At the same time, there is a risk that established players or darters who perform strongly over a whole season miss out on a Tour Card due to a poor week at Q-School.
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026