With PDC Qualifying Schools now complete and the 128 PDC Tour Card holders confirmed for 2024, stats supremo Richard Ashdown looks at the latest names set to star on the professional circuit over the next 12 months...
Since the Professional Darts Corporation adopted the Tour Card system in 2011, 420 different names have featured as part of the 128 elite.
As we enter the 14th season of PDC ProTour darts, 23 players join the professionals ranks for the very first time.
First-time Tour Cards
Luke Littler’s meteoric rise into the world’s top 32 after his stunning World Championship campaign saw the teenager earn his Tour Card by right, through the PDC Order of Merit.
Having already secured second position on the 2023 Development Tour, this opened the door for third-placed Wessel Nijman to join him, along with Owen Bates, who enjoyed a late flourish in 2023 to finish in second place on the Challenge Tour.
A dramatic week of Q School action in Milton Keynes and Kalkar saw 20 more new names gaining PDC Tour Cards.
Newly crowned WDF champion Andy Baetens headlines the list, winning outright on day three to become the third player (after Stephen Bunting and Glen Durrant) switch to the PDC ranks as the reigning Lakeside champion.
The Belgian is joined by Chris Landman, the man he defeated in the final to win the WDF title in December.
There are five new Dutch Tour Card holders following Q School progress for Landman, Patrick Geeraerts, Jitse van der Wal and day one winner Martijn Dragt (plus Nijman via the Development Tour), taking the total of Dutch representatives to a record 24 players (surpassing 22 in 2023).
Germany has a total of nine PDC Tour Card holders in 2024 (surpassing their previous best total of 7 in 2021) with Paul Krohne, Lukas Wenig and Tim Wolters celebrating success at Q School for the first time.
Flying the flag for their respective nations at Qualifying School were Benjamin Reus, who became Denmark’s third ever Tour Card Holder (after Per Laursen and Vladimir Andersen) and 2022 Lakeside finalist Thibault Tricole, who joins his French World Cup of Darts partner Jacques Labre on the PDC circuit.
Two of the proudest players making PDC history were Italy’s Michele Turetta and New Zealand’s Haupai Puha, who each became the first player from their nation to earn a coveted Tour Card.
Puha was one of seven of the WDF’s top 10 ranked players to have won a PDC Tour Card, along with England’s James Hurrell and USA’s Danny Lauby.
Former Lakeside Youth Champions Joshua Richardson and Leighton Bennett will also compete as PDC professionals in 2024-2025, alongside fellow English prospects Robert Grundy and Dom Taylor (who like Bennett, both won their cards outright), plus Scotland’s Darren Beveridge and Wales’ Rhys Griffin.
Cards Retained and Regained
Northern Ireland’s Nathan Rafferty returns for a third consecutive year via his ranking on the Development Tour (with table topper Gian van Veen finishing inside the top 64 in the main PDC Order of Merit).
Having missed out in 2023, Berry van Peer had already ensured his card in 2024-2025 by topping the Challenge Tour rankings.
Following a two-year absence, former Alexandra Palace semi-finalist Jelle Klaasen sealed his return to the PDC with an outright win on Day Two.
Two more Dutch-born players also regained their place through Q School, with USA’s Jules van Dongen making an immediate return to the tour (joining fellow American, Lauby) and Jeffrey de Graaf, who won on the final day to bridge a five-year absence and become the fourth player to represent Sweden (after Par Riihonen, Magnus Caris and Daniel Larsson).
Joining van Dongen in holding a 2022-2023 Tour Card, losing it, and then winning it straight back in 2024 were England’s George Killington, Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde and Poland’s Radek Szaganski.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s former World Cup runner-up Steve Lennon emphatically won through UK Q School on Day One to secure an eighth successive year on the ProTour.
For the second time in their careers, there were Q School successes for William Borland, Brett Claydon and for Adam Hunt (by the narrowest of margins on legs difference), each returning to the tour after a one-year absence.
However, the longest awaited return was for Matthew Dennant, who came through Q School for a second time, after six years away from the professional tour.
Nations and Numbers
A total of 23 different nations will be represented on the PDC ProTour in 2024.
England (45), Netherlands (24), Germany (9), Belgium (7), Wales (7), Scotland (6), Northern Ireland (5), Republic of Ireland (4), Australia (2), Austria (2), Czech Republic (2), France (2), Poland (2) and USA (2).
Nine nations have sole representatives, with Matt Campbell (Canada), Boris Krcmar (Croatia), Madars Razma (Latvia), Christian Perez (Philippines) & José de Sousa (Portugal) alongside the new Tour Card holders from Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and Sweden.
With a high level of performance across PDC ranking events in 2022-2023, Campbell secured his place inside the top 64 to continue his professional status for third consecutive year, as did Kevin Doets, Cameron Menzies, Ricardo Pietreczko, Josh Rock, Rowby-John Rodriguez and Jim Williams.
Having won a Tour Card at Q School for a third time in 2022 and finishing inside the PDC’s top 64, Mickey Mansell maintains his record as an ever-present on the PDC tour for 14 years.
He is one of 17 players to have held a Tour Card every year since the system’s inception in 2011. Dave Chisnall and William O’Connor have also come through Q School and maintained 14 years in a row on tour.
14 players have held Tour Cards through their PDC ranking status since 2011 and have never had to compete at Q School - Gary Anderson, Steve Beaton, Joe Cullen, Brendan Dolan, Michael van Gerwen, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis, Michael Smith, Mensur Suljovic, Vincent van der Voort, James Wade, Ian White, Simon Whitlock and Peter Wright.
Raymond van Barneveld only missed out during his 'retirement' year in 2020, with Keegan Brown, Kim Huybrechts and Ross Smith each holding Tour Cards since 2012. Ricky Evans and Daryl Gurney have been PDC players since 2013.
Tour Cards No More
A total of 30 players have now lost their Tour Cards from 2023, with Darren Webster just missing out for the first time in 12 years, having narrowly failed to qualify through Qualifying School.
James Wilson drops off the tour after nine years in the PDC, along with South Africa’s Devon Petersen who is also without a Tour Card for the first time since 2014.
Having succeeded four times previously, Joe Murnan failed to get through Q School and misses out on a card for only the second season in 13 years.
Former Lakeside champions Richie Burnett and Scott Waites failed to keep their place in the PDC’s 128, along with former World Youth champions Ted Evetts and Bradley Brooks, plus Corey Cadby who had been inactive on the tour since winning his place 12 months ago.
Lithuania’s sole representative on the tour since 2019, Darius Labanauskas also misses out. And with Jose Justicia and Tony Martinez among the 30 players losing their cards, 2024 will be the first year without a Spanish player on the ProTour.
Players losing their PDC Tour Card:
Vladimir Andersen, Bradley Brooks, Kevin Burness, Richie Burnett, Corey Cadby, Jamie Clark, Ted Evetts, Nick Fullwell, Jimmy Hendriks, Danny Jansen, Jose Justicia, Krzysztof Kciuk, Martijn Kleermaker, Darius Labanauskas, Tony Martinez, Damian Mol, Ross Montgomery, Joe Murnan, John O’Shea, Luc Peters, Devon Petersen, Brian Raman, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, Connor Scutt, Jeff Smith, Scott Waites, Darren Webster, Shaun Wilkinson, Lewy Williams, James Wilson.
