A record field will compete in the 2018 PDC Qualifying Schools, with over 600 players set to challenge four PDC Tour Cards in Wigan and Hildesheim from January 18-21.
A total of 33 PDC Tour Cards will be on offer across the two Qualifying Schools, with simultaneous events being held in the UK and Germany this year to reflect the ongoing growth of the sport.
The final two players at the UK Qualifying School on each of the four days will win an automatic PDC Tour Card, alongside the winner of the European Qualifying School on each day.
In addition, players will earn ranking points per victory in each full round of the event (which does not include Byes), which will be used to form the Q School Orders of Merit.
The entries for the UK Qualifying School include former World Matchplay and World Grand Prix champion Colin Lloyd, the ex-world number one who is bidding to make his return to the circuit following a two-year break.
Fellow former World Matchplay winner Peter Evison and former TV finalists Wes Newton, Colin Osborne, Barrie Bates, Shayne Burgess will also be in action in Wigan.
Recent World Youth Champions Corey Cadby, Arron Monk and James Hubbard will also be competing, while experienced stars including Andy Smith Andy Jenkins, Dennis Smith, Alan Tabern and Dean Winstanley – following a year’s break – are also in action.
Former Lakeside Championship finalists Tony O’Shea and Jeff Smith – previously a Tour Card Holder in 2012-2013 – are joined by former BDO World Trophy winner Darryl Fitton in Wigan.
Cameron Menzies and Jamie Hughes both followed up their 2017 Grand Slam of Darts appearances by competing recently in the Lakeside Championship, while former World Masters semi-finalist Martin Atkins is also taking part in Qualifying School for the first time.
International hopefuls in action in Wigan include Canadian youngster Dawson Murschell and former World Championship qualifiers David Fatum (USA), Nolan Arendse and Warrick Scheffer (South Africa), Cody Harris (New Zealand), Ken MacNeil (Canada), Haruki Muramatsu and Keita Ono (Japan).
Another former Lakeside Championship finalist, Dutchman Danny Noppert, is amongst the hopefuls in action at the European Qualifying School in Germany, while Sweden’s Dennis Nilsson also recently competed in the Lakeside Championship.
Teenager Nico Blum – who became the youngest competitor on the European Tour circuit aged just 16 last year – is bidding to follow fellow countryman Martin Schindler in winning a Tour Card, after the Berlin ace’s 2017 success.
Belgium’s Mike De Decker is a four-time PDC Unicorn Development Tour event winner, while Austrian teenager Rusty-Jake Rodriguez – who won the 2017 JDC Junior World Championship final last month – joins elder brother Roxy-James in bidding to join Rowby-John on the professional circuit.
Brazil’s Diogo Portela, who competed in both the World Cup of Darts and World Championship last year, has opted to compete in the European Qualifying School.
Germany’s Kevin Munch, Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, Belgium’s Kenny Neyens and Croatia’s Alan Ljubic also recently competed in the World Championship alongside Finland’s Kim Viljanen, who topped the PDCNB rankings in 2017.
Russia’s Boris Koltsov, Hungary’s Nandor Bezzeg, Czech Republic ace Frantisek Humpula are amongst the players with World Cup of Darts experience, while Bernd Roith, Tomas Seyler and Michael Rosenauer are veterans of the German circuit.
Follow www.pdc.tv from January 18-21 for live results from the UK and European Qualifying Schools, which start at 12pm local time for each venue.
All games are the best of nine legs.
