What are the alternatives for over 800 players missing out on PDC Tour Card at 2023 Q-School?

The Q-School is over after seven long days in Milton Keynes, England, and Kalkar, Germany. The multi-day event produced 27 lucky winners, who get to show what they can do on the lucrative PDC Pro Tour for the next two years.

But the Q-School also provided many losers, players who went home without a PDC Tour Card. A total of 855 players participated in one of the two Q-Schools, over eight hundred thus missed out on the 'Golden Ticket'. But what are the alternatives for them in 2023?

Players who participated in the Q-School but did not win a Tour Card are allowed by the PDC to enter the Challenge Tour. This circuit consists of 24 tournaments. Each tournament has a prize fund of £15,000, with the winner receiving £2,500.

Through the Challenge Tour, two spots for the World Championship can be earned. Indeed, the top two of the final standings get to compete at Alexandra Palace. In addition, they will also receive a PDC Tour Card for 2024 and 2025.

Players who do well on the Challenge Tour will also have a chance to compete in the Pro Tour tournaments. If one or more Tour Card holders opt out of the Players Championship tournaments, the order of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit will be used to add substitutes to the tournaments.

With participation in the Q-School, players are also eligible to play in the Associate Member Qualifiers on the Euro Tour. Thirteen Euro Tour tournaments are scheduled again this year.

For each Euro Tour tournament an Associate Member Qualifier will be played. Two spots will be allocated for the main tournament each time. When participating in a Euro Tour tournament, a player is guaranteed £1,000 in prize money. This can eventually rise to as much as £25,000 with a Euro Tour title.

Players aged 16 to 24 (23 on 1 January 2023), may enter the PDC Development Tour, the youth circuit of the PDC. No participation in the Q-School is required to take part in this circuit.

The Development Tour also consists of 24 tournaments, with each event having a prize fund of £15,000. The winner goes home with £2,500.

Two spots for the World Darts Championship can also be earned on the Development Tour. The top two players at the end of the season will receive an invitation to the World Darts Championship. They will also receive a PDC Tour Card for the following two seasons.

There are also opportunities for the ladies. Since 2020, the PDC has had its own Women's Series. While the circuit then consisted of four tournaments, it has now expanded to now 24 tournaments.

The PDC has set aside a £10,000 prize fund for each tournament. Through the Women's Series, ladies can secure places for the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship.

Players from outside the UK and darts countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium sometimes still have a regional circuit (under the PDC banner) they can fall back on.

For example, there is a Nordic & Baltic circuit for players from the Nordic countries and the Baltic states. Players from Australia can turn to the DPA Tour and darters from New Zealand have the DPNZ circuit. In North America, there is the CDC Tour for darters from the United States and Canada. One or more World Championship spots are available through all these circuits. 

Not only the talents have their own tour, there is also a circuit for the veterans (50+). Although it is not organised by the PDC, but by the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT).

This organisation organises an annual edition of the Seniors World Championship, which includes Phil Taylor, Martin Adams, John Part, Robert Thornton and Kevin Painter as participants.

The WSDT also organises several other tournaments, including its own World Masters and World Matchplay for seniors.

More and more players are also seeking refuge in the MODUS Super Series. A weekly competition in which 12 players compete - by invitation - for the top prize of £5,000.

Moreover, after 12 weeks of play, the 12 weekly winners go up against each other. A cheque for £20,000 awaits the winner of the so-called 'Champions Week'.

Players without a PDC Tour Card do not have to sign a PDC contract, which gives them the space to play tournaments at other federations as well.

This way, they can also enter, for example, the open tournaments covered by the World Darts Federation (WDF). This gives them the opportunity to qualify for the amateur World Cup.