“You walk in and all the players you watch on TV are there" – Tom Sykes ready to test himself against the best on PDC Pro Tour

Through Tom Sykes’ eyes, it still all feels slightly unreal. Over the past few days his phone has barely stopped, with messages and congratulations pouring in as the reality slowly sinks in: he is now officially a PDC Tour Card holder. After years of hard work, doubts, detours and near misses, the Englishman has finally claimed his place on the Pro Tour. Q-School 2026 became the defining turning point in his darts career.

“It’s been a bit mental the last couple of days,” Sykes says calmly in conversation with Tungsten Tales. “A lot of messages, a lot of phone calls and stuff, so it’s been a busy one.” That is hardly surprising, because Q-School is already a brutal test in itself. Add success into the mix, and the aftermath is just as intense. Still, Sykes looks back on the tournament that reignited his career with real satisfaction.

Q-School in Milton Keynes is known as one of the toughest qualifying events in darts. Hundreds of players, including many former Tour Card holders and established names, fight for days over a handful of PDC Tour Cards. “Every single person in that room is fighting for the same thing,” Sykes said. “There’s only, what, 12 or 13 cards. The quality, especially in the UK, is ridiculous.”

For Sykes, the week was uneven. The days before his qualification were far from convincing. “I didn’t really play very well,” he admitted. But things clicked in First Stage. “In the First Stage I played pretty well and ended up getting a few days off. I think that really helped in the long run because obviously it’s a long week when you’re playing every day.”

On the day it had to happen, everything fell into place. Sykes kept his head, survived the battle of attrition and secured his PDC Tour Card. Extra sweet, because a year earlier it had gone painfully wrong.

Q-School 2025 ended in disappointment for Sykes. He missed out on a Tour Card by the smallest of margins. “I missed out by four legs,” he said. But he believes that setback also brought him something in the long run.

“I managed to get a few Pro Tours last year, more exposure on Modus, more match practice. I think it worked out pretty well,” Sykes explained. Those extra opportunities gave him more experience against better players, more time under pressure and a clearer picture of what is needed at that level. The disappointment of last year was turned into motivation – and eventually into success.

Although it may look to outsiders as if Sykes has suddenly broken through in the last two years, he is keen to correct that idea. “It’s been quite a long journey. Fifteen years I’ve been playing,” he said.

At 18 he first picked up darts, mostly at home in the kitchen with his dad, who played in the local league. For a long time, darts was secondary, because Sykes was also a talented footballer. He played for academies and had serious ambitions. “I’d much rather play football on a Sunday morning or a Saturday afternoon rather than darts, and I just fell out of love with darts,” he said. “I still played once or twice a week in the local leagues, but I stopped going to tournaments.”

There followed a phase in which his love for darts was on a low flame. Not because the level wasn’t there, but because the focus was elsewhere. A few years ago, Sykes found that fire again. “I got really unfit and I started just throwing darts again,” he said. “Now I’ve been playing every single day pretty much.”

Sykes has always described himself as a steady player. “I was always like a 70, 75 average player, 80 average, sometimes 90s,” he said. The real growth came with regularity and volume. “I play every single day now, so it’s only going to rise if you keep playing.”

He is not known as someone who throws for hours on end at a board. “At tournaments I’m always on the practice board, so I use the tournaments as my practice really,” he explained. At home he keeps his arm ticking over with shorter sessions. “I do have the odd couple of hours every other day or whatever, just to keep the arm going.”

One of the most talked-about decisions in his career was quitting his job last May. For Sykes, however, it felt logical. “I was hardly ever in work,” he said honestly. He was constantly getting last-minute calls to go to Pro Tours in Germany or Leicester, for example. His employer was supportive, but in the end it no longer made sense.

“I’d walk into work on a Monday morning and say I might get a phone call today,” he recalled. “One month I think I worked about four days in four weeks.” The choice to go fully for darts was quickly made.

Of course, it is a risk. Without a fixed income, life as a professional can be uncertain, especially in quieter months. But Sykes believes in his level and feels supported. “I know that I’ve got the level,” he said. “And I’ve got a lot of good sponsors that are behind me.”

Where many new Tour Card holders will soon walk nervously into the Pro Tour halls in Leicester, Sykes already has an edge. Thanks to his call-ups last year, he knows the surroundings, the players and the pressure. “When I first walked in, it was like the people that you watch every week on TV are all in the same room,” he said. “You see that they’re stood behind you watching everything that you’re doing. It’s a tough thing to get over in the first couple.”

That phase is now behind him. “For me now it’s just another game,” Sykes said. That was also clear last year when he faced Michael Smith on stream and was beaten by a 102 average. “I can remember getting pumped on stream by Michael Smith with a 102 average in Germany.”

With prize money in the PDC rising fast – including one million pounds for the world champion – the dreams are obvious. “It’s massive,” Sykes said. “A million pounds for doing something that you love doing.”

Still, he stays realistic. His first goal is clear: establish himself on the Pro Tour and grow towards the world’s top 64. “Year one’s a tough year,” he knows. “But towards the end of the year I want to attack and hopefully get my first majors.”

His stage experience – including with Team England at the Six Nations, which he won and where he was also Player of the Tournament – could be decisive. For now, enthusiasm dominates. “I can’t wait to get started,” Sykes said. After 15 years, a detour through football and a painful near miss at Q-School, Tom Sykes is finally where he wants to be. The PDC has been warned.