PRIZE MONEY for PDC ProTour events in 2011 will increase to £35,000 per event, while details for the Tour Card system and PDC Qualifying School have been confirmed.
The Professional Darts Corporation will adopt a Tour Card system from next year, with automatic entry to Players Championship events in the UK open only to Tour Card holders.
Tour Cards will be awarded to the top 96 players from the PDC Order of Merit, with a further eight invitational Tour Cards being offered alongside 16 places for successful players from the Qualifying School, which will be held from January 13-16 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.
Each of the four days will see one separate one-day tournament played, all being over the best of 11 format as per Players Championship rules. Entry will cost £400 but also counts as PDPA membership for 2011.
The four semi-finalists on each day will be awarded a Tour Card, and will not compete in the remaining days of Qualifying School.
In addition, a ranking list shall be made based on finishing positions and legs won to determine the allocation of any further Tour Cards, should invited players not take up the offer, with the criteria for the rankings being:
Quarter-Final defeat: 9 points
Last 16 defeat: 5 points
Last 32 defeat: 3 points
Last 64 defeat: 2 points
Per leg won: 1 point
In the case of two or more players being tied, these will be separated by leg difference in the ranking list. If they are still tied, an event by event countback will operate until there is a difference, and if the players are still not separated after all games have been taken into consideration, then a play-off will be organised.
Players who reach the last 16 of the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship and PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship will receive free entry to the Qualifying School, although should they win a Tour Card then they must pay the full PDPA membership fee.
The following players will be eligible for Tour Cards:
Top 96 full PDPA members from the PDC Order of Merit (having competed in at least ten events which are counted on the PDC Order of Merit during the preceding two years) as of January 4 2011.
4 x semi-finalists from the 2011 Lakeside Championship
2 x finalists from the 2011 PDC Unicorn Under-21 World 21 Championship
2 x finalists from the 2010 PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship
16 x players who progress from 2011 Qualifying School
Prize money for all Players Championship events and UK Open Qualifiers will increase from the current £31,600 to £35,000 per event.
The prize fund breakdown will be:
Winner: £6,000
Runner-Up: £3,000
Semi-Finalists: £2,000
Quarter-Finalists: £1,000
Last 16 Losers: £600
Last 32 Losers: £400
Last 64 Losers: £200
Plus £400 per event for a rolling nine-dart prize fund.
A qualifying event will be held on either Friday night or Saturday morning, at the PDC's discretion, for players to win one of a minimum of eight places in each Players Championship.
UK Open Qualifiers are open to all PDPA members, with the events to be held across four double-header weekends.
The UK Open qualification criteria in 2011 will be amended to determine that players need to compete in two Qualifiers plus attain the requisite prize money to earn a spot in the top 96 of the UK Open Order of Merit.
The 2011 PDC calendar of events will be announced shortly.
Click here for the 2011 PDC ProTour Rules & Guidelines (as at November 2010)