Who are the top five newcomers to the PDC Tour so far in 2024?

At the beginning of this year, 36 players started their (new) Tour Card period. Of this number, 31 players managed to secure a Tour Card through the Q-School, two through the Challenge Tour and two through the Development Tour. Furthermore, Luke Littler also received a Tour Card because his performance at the World Darts Championship put him inside the top-64 of the PDC Order of Merit in one fell swoop.

The season is now about halfway through, so this is a great opportunity to review the newcomers. In this article, we name the five best newcomers on the PDC Tour.

Luke Littler

Was his final spot at the World Darts Championship a fluke, or the unburdening of an absolute growth brilliant? That was the big question after the then 16-year-old Littler unleashed a huge media storm with his performance at Alexandra Palace.

With wins over Christian Kist (3-0), Andrew Gilding (3-1), Matt Campbell (4-1), Raymond van Barneveld (4-1), Brendan Dolan (5-1) and Rob Cross (6-2), 'The Nuke' made it to the final of the World Darts Championship in sensational fashion. The ultimate end to this fairy tale was missing, as the world title went 7-4 to Luke Humphries.

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Littler set a number of records in Ally Pally that will probably never and at least not soon be broken. The highest average by a rookie, the youngest player with a 100+ average, the youngest winner of a match in the first round and the youngest player in the World Darts Championship final.... These records all now stand in Littler's name.

After the World Darts Championship, Littler continued to hit the ground running. Just two weeks later, the teenage sensation won the Bahrain Darts Masters by defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final. En route to the final, Littler also threw a nine-darter, also becoming the youngest player ever with a nine-darter at a television tournament.

Subsequently, the now 17-year-old Littler also won the first Players Championship tournament and the first Euro Tour tournament of the season. At both tournaments, Littler was again good for a nine-darter. At the end of April, Littler recorded his second Euro Tour final victory. His biggest success, however, came in the month of May. 'The Nuke' brilliantly qualified for the playoffs of the Premier League Darts and during the final night Littler struck hard by winning the Premier League final and taking his first major. And you guessed it; Littler also threw a nine darter in this final.

So the counter already stands at five titles in 2024, and we are only halfway through the season. 'The Nuke' is no doubt going to add a few more titles to his already impressive list in the coming months.

Dom Taylor

A number of times Dom Taylor has been very close to winning a PDC Tour Card, but this year the 26-year-old dart player from Bristol, England, finally hit the ground running. Taylor, no relation to darts legend Phil Taylor, was already allowed to compete on the PDC Pro Tour a few times last year when he was asked to take part in a number of Players Championship tournaments as a substitute via Challenge Tour.

Even then he did not do a bad job, because in his nine substitute appearances Taylor did not lose a single time in the first round and once the Englishman even reached the semifinals. This year, "The Tower" apparently needed some time to get going, because during the first five Players Championship tournaments of the season, Taylor lost four times in the first round. In the last nine Players Championship tournaments, this happened only once.

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He also managed to advance four times and has already played three Euro Tour tournaments, with Taylor making it past the first round each time. With already 25,250 pounds in his pocket, things will have to get very strange if he does not make his debut at Alexandra Palace later this year.

Jeffrey de Graaf

We had lost track of Jeffrey de Graaf a bit in recent years, but by now it's safe to say that De Graaf is better than ever. He returned to the World Darts Championship after a four-year absence and, after six consecutive first-round defeats, finally managed to record his first World Cup victory. After fine victories over Ritchie Edhouse (3-2) and Jose de Sousa (3-1), the Swedish Dutchman had to acknowledge his superiority to Rob Cross (4-2) at the last 32, which is absolutely no shame.

It did not earn him a Tour Card and it looked like De Graaf was not going to win one at the Q-School. However, after a thrilling final day in Hildesheim, he picked up a Tour Card by winning the last tournament.

In the first five Players Championship tournaments of the season De Graaf lost each time in the first round. At Players Championship 6 he survived the first round, after which De Graaf picked up the pace. The absolute highlight was a final spot at Players Championship 10, while De Graaf also reached the last sixteen at the Euro Tour tournament in Rosmalen. He also reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup of Darts together with compatriot Oskar Lukasiak.

De Graaf can still qualify for the World Darts Championship this year through the Nordic & Baltic Tour. The 33-year-old dart player is currently leading that ranking. Should De Graaf forfeit a top-2 ranking on the Nordic & Baltic Tour, he may still be able to fall back on his Pro Tour ranking to make another appearance at the World Darts Championship.

Wessel Nijman

In 2020, Nijman was well on his way to a Tour Card and a World's spot via the Development Tour, but a match-fixing case halted his career for nearly three years. He was allowed to return to the PDC circuit in 2023 and once again did well on the PDC's youth circuit. Nijman made his debut at the World Darts Championship in December and also earned a Tour Card for 2024 and 2025 through the Development Tour.

On the Pro Tour, Nijman is doing extremely well for now. The 24-year-old Dutchman reached the last 32 twice on the Euro Tour, four times the last 32 at Players Championship tournaments and once even reached the last sixteen at a Players Championship tournament.

Of particular note is the consistent level Nijman shows. Nijman has a season average of 94.51, a number surpassed by only twenty players. For example, Nijman's season average is higher than those of James Wade (94.45), Nathan Aspinall (94.29), Dimitri van den Bergh (94.07), Gian van Veen (93.99) and Raymond van Barneveld (93.82).

We can quietly assume that we will see Nijman back at the World Darts Championship in December. Either through the Pro Tour, or else through the Development Tour, where he is currently in second place.

Andy Baetens

Winning a Lakeside title creates expectations heading into the Q-School. Andy Baetens was considered one of the big favorites for a Tour Card, but experienced two disappointing opening days during the final stage of the Q-School. However, 'The Beast' fired away on the third day of play and captured the day's victory to immediately secure entry to the lucrative Pro Tour circuit.

Baetens is doing well on the Pro Tour, although the Belgian has not yet managed to really make it to the final stage of a tournament. He does collect prize money quite often, which has already earned him 17,500 pounds on the Pro Tour.

Baetens has twice reached the last sixteen of a Players Championship tournament and twice participated in a Euro Tour tournament, each time finishing in the second round. Baetens has now virtually qualified for the World Darts Championship, but will have to work hard in the coming months to make his debut at Alexandra Palace later this year.