JOHN BOWLES, Andy Parsons, Ricky Williams and Simon Stevenson were the four Tour Card winners on the opening day of the 2016 PDC Qualifying School in Wigan, as Ross Smith hit a nine-dart finish in Wigan.
A field of 371 players took part in the first of four days of action in Qualifying School, as hopefuls from as far afield as Australia, America, Japan and South Africa competed to earn a full-time spot on the PDC ProTour.
Former rugby league player Bowles won back his Tour Card status at the first time of asking, having dropped out of the world's top 64 at the end of 2015.
The Widnes thrower, 48, had initially won his Tour Card in 2012 and will maintain his status amongst the world's elite players after defeating Justin Broton, Fabian Herz, Colin Fowler, Harry Robinson, Dick van Dijk and Brian Woods on Wednesday.
Bowles never lost more than three legs in the best of nine leg matches as he won back his Tour Card, and he said: "I played quite decent darts all day, and with a big field like it was it's very hard, so I'm absolutely made up to get my Tour Card on the first day.
"I was really disappointed to lose my Tour Card, but with the way that the system works it keeps you on your toes and it's really good. If you don't win as much money as you did a couple of years ago you'll drop down the rankings.
"I've had four years and everything's been a learning curve. I've got to be more consistent than I have been in the last two years - the next goal now is winning a place in the UK Open in Minehead in March."
Bristol-based plumber Parsons also won back his Tour Card to retain his status on the PDC ProTour, having competed for the past two years on the circuit.
After edging out Thailand's Thanawat Gaweenuntawong 5-4 in his opening game, he then overcame Michael Gans, Michael Dawson, Colin Littlecott, Joey Palfreyman, Ross Smith and Mark Barilli - in a deciding leg - to complete a successful day.
"I'm over the moon, really happy," said Parsons. "I won't be taking it lightly and I'll be practising hard and giving it my best.
"I'm a plumber and that's still my day job, before I go back to the family and practice in the evenings, but it would take a lot of stress off if I can get to a stage where I play darts full-time.
"With the prize money increases which the PDC have introduced, it will really help and I want to kick on from here now. I'll take it one tournament at a time and I'll focus on the two European Tour qualifiers this weekend now and then try win a UK Open place."
Portsmouth's Williams, 26, secured Tour Card status for the first time in his career through his success on Wednesday, although the decorator has played in spells on the circuit since 2007.
He defeated Lee Evans, Jeffrey Bekema, Peter Martin, Rhys Griffin, Mark Dudbridge, Marvin Wehder and Essex youngster Rhys Hayden - edging their decider 5-4 - to claim his Tour Card.
"I'm very, very proud," said Williams. "It's an excellent opportunity for me and I'm really looking forward to the next two years.
"I was playing really well in the middle of last year but I came to Q School with no expectations and won my Tour Card.
"I've got a good sponsor and good family and friends supporting me and I think I'm definitely a better player now than I was when I've played before. I never give in now where perhaps I showed some immaturity a couple of years ago when I went a few legs down.
"I've got more experience and hopefully this is the time where I'll step up. I know I'm more than capable but I've never shown it before."
He added: "Getting through on the first day means even more because I've got a friend's wedding back in Portsmouth on Saturday and I was gutted when I realised that the date clashed with Q School.
"He's just come out of hospital and a few weeks ago we didn't know if he was going to live, but he's recovered and he urged me to come up to Wigan, win my Tour Card and get back for the wedding - and I'm going to make it to the wedding!"
Plymouth-based Stevenson, 43, will compete on the PDC ProTour for the first time after being the day's other Tour Card winner - having previously competed as an amateur in the 2014 and 2015 UK Opens and on the second-tier PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour last year.
Stevenson won ties with Krit Middleton, Barrie Bates, Peter Walford, Gary Stone, Ted Evetts, Brett Claydon and Rob Owen - where he survived two missed match darts from the Welshman - to secure his success.
"It's my best achievement ever," said Stevenson. "I didn't expect it to come on the first day but I'm really looking forward to the future now.
"A couple of years ago I had a really good UK Open and got to the last 32, and that set me thinking that I could compete.
"I've got County level experience with Devon and I played on the Challenge Tour last year, and I wanted to see what I can do by coming to Q School, so to get a Tour Card on Day One is brilliant."
There was disappointment, though, for Ross Smith after he enjoyed the thrill of hitting a nine-dart leg during his 5-0 whitewash of Holland's Ryan De Vreede in the third round, only to lose out to Parsons two games short of a Tour Card.
The 2016 PDC Qualifying School continues on Thursday with the second of four days of play, with a further four automatic Tour Cards on offer, with ranking points also being given to players based on their finishing positions.
Runs to the last eight on Day One saw Woods, Owen, Barilli and Hayden all pick up nine valuable ranking points, giving them a head start in the bid to win a Tour Card following Qualifying School based on the final rankings.
Qualifying School Ranking Points will be awarded as follows:
Last 128 defeat: One point
Last 64 defeat: Two point
Last 32 defeat: Three points
Last 16 defeat: Five points
Last eight defeat: Nine points
2016 PDC Qualifying School
Day One - Wednesday January 13
Last 512
Callum Loose 5-1 Paul Carr
Colin Fowler 5-2 Yordi Meeuwisse
Antonio Alcinas 5-3 Keith Rooney
Michael Malone 5-0 Bartosz Ceglowski
Trevor Burkhill 5-0 Terry Creed
Robert Marijanovic 5-3 Sam Guest
Lars Reinecke 5-2 Kevin Garcia
Kevin Lane 5-3 Peter Mitchell
Jeffrey De Graaf 5-1 Vernon Walsh
Par Riihonen 5-4 Dave Honey Jnr
Ricky Sudale 5-0 Kenneth Bramall
Jeffrey van de Ven 5-3 Richard North
Ben Adams 5-4 Daniel Lee
Lee Whitworth 5-1 Jamie Branton
John Power 5-2 Lee Dimmock
Nigel Lamb 5-3 William Borland
Jordan Patterson 5-1 Harry Ward
Mark Oosterhuis 5-2 Carlos Rodriguez
Jamie Landon 5-2 Martin Knowles
Duvaan Ata 5-4 Michel van der Horst
Brian Woods 5-1 Justin Bradshaw
Colin Osborne 5-4 Jamie Ellam
Marko Kantele 5-0 Robert Turpin
Ryan Harrington 5-1 John Gibson
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-0 Michael York
Jordan Johnston 5-4 Raymond Balbach
Steve Hine 5-0 Barry Tyler
Robert McKenzie 5-0 Jeff Batham
Craig Lewis 5-2 Alan Wilkinson
James Hajdar 5-3 Aden Kirk
Andrew McAllister 5-3 John Chalkley
Pete Dyos 5-0 Peter Evison
Nick Fullwell 5-1 Swen Gewalt
John Michael 5-0 Scott Darbyshire
Brett Claydon 5-2 Darren Brown
Mark Hylton 5-0 Sean Ryan
Arron Wike 5-1 Daniel Peach
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Krit Middleton
Barrie Bates 5-4 Arron Monk
Michel Furlani 5-0 Martin Grimble
Peter Walford 5-1 Sean Johnson
Jason Marriott 5-2 Lewis Cracknell
Declan Salter 5-1 Jamie Hingston
Christopher McTernan 5-0 Greg Beard
Jorg Hofmann 5-2 Dan Harrington
Vernon Sheppard 5-2 Tony Cole
Ian Moss 5-0 Steve Smith
Scott Dale 5-2 Matthew Dennant
Jamie Bain 5-2 Danny Dyer
Shane Reidy 5-0 Steve Kingdon
Matt Clark 5-0 Marios Georgiou
Lee Shewan 5-1 BJ Fairhurst
Steve Brown 5-3 Terry Roach
Sven Groen 5-1 Darron Brown
Joshua Clements 5-1 Nigel Daniels
Kelvin Hart 5-4 Rocco Maes
Matt Padgett 5-1 Steven Pearson
Ernie Brown 5-2 Dan Read
Dennis Smith 5-3 Lee Kenny
Simon Preston 5-1 Stuart Harding
Jamie Gemmell 5-3 Paul Cooper (York)
Kevin Simm 5-0 Phil Smith
Ryan De Vreede 5-4 Darren Weaver
Evander Stevenson 5-2 Robert Lightfoot
Ross Smith 5-0 David Marson
Jerry Hendriks 5-2 Billy Holmes
Nicholas Ellis 5-3 Aaron Stevens
Michael Dawson 5-1 Simon Smith
Michael Ganz 5-4 Eikichi Nakanishi
Andy Parsons 5-4 Thanawat Gaweenuntawong
Nick Jones 5-1 Mike Norton
Mark Forman 5-3 Kevin Morley
Mick Hasse 5-0 Shouichi Ha
Jamie Kelling 5-2 Mark Breakspear
Mark Barilli 5-2 James Richardson
Luke Woodhouse 5-3 Darren Mawer
Joey Ten Berge 5-0 Stephen Bowers
Richard Hosey 5-3 Ashley Holgate
Paul Boyle 5-3 David Adshead
John Porter 5-4 James Smith
Michael Pearson 5-2 Nigel Boeg
Roxy-James Rodriguez Bye
Chris Hill 5-4 Keith Moore
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Craig Breeze
Marc Dewsbury 5-1 Daniel Paul Smith
Kiernan Devine 5-4 Rob Modra
Jonathan Worsley 5-1 Wayne Crossley
Steven Smith 5-2 Joshua Richardson
Yuji Eguchi 5-1 Dean Moss
Campbell Jackson 5-4 Tomas Seyler
Ryan Meikle 5-0 Paul Siddle
Ben Simpson 5-3 Rob Holroyd
Adam Smith-Neale 5-1 John Glover
Mark Stephenson 5-0 Cedric Lieber
Rhys Hayden 5-3 Sam Hamilton
Arron Fairweather 5-3 David Evans
Vincent Kamphuis 5-1 Ron Atwill
Mick McGowan 5-0 David Wilson
Adam Hunt 5-2 Ben Davies
Ritchie Edhouse 5-3 Steve Turner
Darrell Claydon 5-3 Darren Place
Terry Temple 5-1 Ashley Hykin
Damian Smith 5-2 John Crossley
Diogo Portela 5-2 Glenn Fitzpatrick
Eddie Dootson 5-2 Steve Perkins
Steve Atkinson 5-2 Mareno Michels
John Newland 5-0 Sheamus Hagan
Peter Martin 5-2 Richie Walsh
Jeffrey Bekema 5-2 Roger Scrivens
Ricky Williams 5-2 Lee Evans
Derek Brand 5-1 Paul Burrows
Tony Randell 5-2 Simon Cassidy
Barry Tym 5-4 Richard Baillie
Karl Merchant 5-1 Garath Illidge
Chris Quantock 5-2 Paul Barham
Stephen Gow 5-3 Jamie Guilfoyle
Last 256
John Bowles 5-1 Justin Broton
Fabian Herz 5-1 Paul Goodwin
Colin Fowler 5-4 Callum Loose
Antonio Alcinas 5-3 Michael Malone
Dyson Parody 5-1 Garry Spedding
Harry Robinson 5-1 Callum Mackay
Robert Marijanovic 5-2 Trevor Burkhill
Kevin Lane 5-2 Lars Reinecke
Bernd Roith 5-4 Michael Rasztovits
Jack Hill 5-4 Warrick Scheffer
Jeffrey De Graaf 5-0 Par Riihonen
Ricky Sudale 5-1 Jeffrey van de Ven
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Peter Manley
Daniel Smith 5-4 Martin Thomas
Ben Adams 5-1 Lee Whitworth
Nigel Lamb 5-3 John Power
Paul Rowley 5-1 Simon Burt
Jay Murphy 5-2 Scott Taylor
Mark Oosterhuis 5-3 Jordan Patterson
Duvaan Ata 5-4 Jamie Landon
Alex Chubb 5-3 James Hubbard
Ian Withers 5-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Brian Woods 5-2 Lee Moffat
Marko Kantele 5-0 Colin Osborne
Dave Ladley 5-1 Antony Lopez
Paul Bettney 5-2 Andy Hutchings
Ryan Harrington 5-1 Lee Cusworth
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-0 Jordan Johnston
Mark Thorne 5-4 Leo Hendriks
Ian Lever 5-4 Per Laursen
Steve Hine 5-3 Richard Calvert
Robert McKenzie 5-3 Craig Lewis
Mark Walsh 5-0 Paul Murray
Jay Foreman 5-1 Ryan Short
James Hajdar 5-3 Andrew McAllister
Pete Dyos 5-3 Nick Fullwell
Jon Jukes 5-4 David Dodds
Thom Humphrey 5-4 Rene Eidams
Brett Claydon 5-4 John Michael
Mark Hylton 5-1 Arron Wike
Gary Stone 5-1 Kai Gotthardt
Sam Head 5-2 Kevin Bambrick
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Barrie Bates
Peter Walford 5-0 Michael Furlani
Ted Evetts 5-0 Shaun Lovett
Jason Tarry 5-3 Stuart Millar
Jason Marriott 5-3 Declan Salter
Chris McTernan 5-2 Jorg Hofmann
Daniel Ayres 5-3 John Court
Mick Todd 5-1 Rohit Rabadia
Ian Moss 5-4 Vernon Sheppard
Jamie Bain 5-4 Scott Dale
Kirk Shepherd 5-1 Ryan Palmer
Matthew Golding 5-3 Stuart Stubbs
Shane Reidy 5-4 Michael Harrison
Lee Shewan 5-3 Matt Clark
Robert Owen 5-0 Kentaro Suzuki
Tony Newell 5-4 Manuel Vilerio
Steve Brown 5-3 Kurt Parry
Sven Groen 5-2 Joshua Clements
Allan Candlish 5-2 Shane Harvey
Les Marson 5-3 Mike Symes
Ray Campbell 5-1 Kelvin Hart
Ernie Brown 5-2 Matt Padgett
Tony Oak 5-4 Richard Boucher
Peter Hudson 5-4 Mark Wilson
Dennis Smith 5-3 Simon Preston
Kevin Simm 5-2 Jamie Gemmell
David Fatum 5-0 James Welding
Michael Beal 5-0 Ewan Hyslop
Ryan De Vreede 5-4 Evander Stevenson
Ross Smith 5-4 Jerry Hendriks
Colin Littlecott 5-2 Mark Lawrence
Michael Barnard 5-3 Richie Howson
Michael Dawson 5-1 Nicholas Ellis
Andy Parsons 5-0 Michael Gans
Joey Palfreyman 5-1 Rhys Jackson
Karl Forrington 5-2 David Copley
Nick Jones 5-3 Mark Forman
Jamie Kelling 5-1 Mick Hasse
Kevin Thomas 5-0 Joe Croft
Ron Schouten 5-1 Steve Randall
Mark Barilli 5-2 Luke Woodhouse
Joey Ten Berge 5-1 Richard Hosey
Michael Power 5-1 Thomas Quinn
Andrew Wood 5-3 Dylan Duo
Paul Boyle 5-1 Gareth Thomas
Michael Pearson 5-4 John Porter
James Young 5-1 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Robert Rickwood 5-2 Robert Thompson
Ben Ward 5-2 Chris Hill
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Marc Dewsbury
Bradley Williams 5-0 Stephen Butkeraitis
Ross Rimmer 5-2 Andrew Johnson
Lee Watts 5-3 Kiernan Devine
Steven Smith 5-2 Jonathan Worsley
Stephen Gallimore 5-4 Christian Bober
Michael Baynham 5-4 Cory Evans
Yuji Eguchi 5-0 Campbell Jackson
Ryan Meikle 5-1 Ben Simpson
Tommy Legius 5-4 Christopher Dale
Michael Burgoine 5-0 Daniel Godfrey
Mark Stephenson 5-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Rhys Hayden 5-0 Arron Fairweather
Yuki Yamada 5-1 Kieran Evans
Ciaran Sullivan 5-2 Matthew Hayes
Vincent Kamphuis 5-3 Mick McGowan
Ritchie Edhouse 5-0 Adam Hunt
Carl Moorhouse 5-0 Matthew Twyford
Martyn Turner 5-3 David Jamieson
Terry Temple 5-0 Darrell Claydon
Diogo Portela 5-4 Damian Smith
Stephen Limer 5-1 Jeffrey Beekhuis
David Simpson 5-2 Daniel Starkey
Mark Dudbridge 5-4 Eddie Dootson
Steve Atkinson 5-2 John Newland
Mark Baxter 5-2 Sam Pennington
Rhys Griffin 5-2 Andreas Hajimina
Peter Martin 5-4 Coni Singh Nagi
Ricky Williams 5-2 Jeffrey Bekema
Anthony Brown 5-1 Jack Todd
Dave Honey 5-4 Eddie White
Adam Huckvale 5-4 Derek Brand
Tony Randell 5-0 Barry Tym
Marvin Wehder 5-0 Sam Thompson
Michael Blake 5-3 Martin Lukeman
Karl Merchant 5-0 Karsten Kornath
Stephen Gow 5-3 Chris Quantock
Last 128
John Bowles 5-2 Fabian Herz
Colin Fowler 5-0 Antonio Alcinas
Harry Robinson 5-2 Dyson Parody
Robert Marijanovic 5-2 Kevin Lane
Bernd Roith 5-3 Jack Hill
Ricky Sudale 5-4 Jeffrey De Graaf
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Daniel Smith
Nigel Lamb 5-4 Ben Adams
Paul Rowley 5-3 Jay Murphy
Mark Oosterhuis 5-2 Duvaan Ata
Ian Withers 5-1 Alex Chubb
Brian Woods 5-4 Marko Kantele
Paul Bettney 5-2 Dave Ladley
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-3 Ryan Harrington
Mark Thorne 5-3 Ian Lever
Steve Hine 5-3 Robert McKenzie
Mark Walsh 5-2 Jay Foreman
Pete Dyos 5-4 James Hajdar
Jon Jukes 5-0 Thom Humphrey
Brett Claydon 5-2 Mark Hylton
Gary Stone 5-3 Sam Head
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Peter Walford
Ted Evetts 5-1 Jason Tarry
Jason Marriott 5-2 Chris McTernan
Mick Todd 5-1 Daniel Ayres
Ian Moss 5-4 Jamie Bain
Kirk Shepherd 5-0 Matthew Golding
Lee Shewan 5-1 Shane Reidy
Robert Owen 5-2 Tony Newell
Sven Groen 5-3 Steve Brown
Allan Candlish 5-1 Les Marson
Ray Campbell 5-4 Ernie Brown
Peter Hudson 5-0 Tony Oak
Kevin Simm 5-2 Dennis Smith
Michael Beal 5-3 David Fatum
Ross Smith 5-0 Ryan De Vreede - Ross Smith hits nine-dart finish
Colin Littlecott 5-4 Michael Barnard
Andy Parsons 5-3 Michael Dawson
Joey Palfreyman 5-2 Karl Forrington
Jamie Kelling 5-2 Nick Jones
Kevin Thomas 5-3 Ron Schouten
Mark Barilli 5-1 Joey Ten Berge
Michael Power 5-2 Andrew Wood
Paul Boyle 5-4 Michael Pearson
Robert Rickwood 5-1 James Young
Chris Hartrey 5-0 Ben Ward
Bradley Williams 5-3 Ross Rimmer
Steven Smith 5-2 Lee Watts
Stephen Gallimore 5-3 Michael Baynham
Yuji Eguchi 5-4 Ryan Meikle
Michael Burgoine 5-4 Tommy Legius
Rhys Hayden 5-1 Mark Stephenson
Yuki Yamada 5-1 Ciaran Sullivan
Ritchie Edhouse 5-3 Vincent Kamphuis
Martyn Turner 5-3 Carl Moorhouse
Terry Temple 5-2 Diogo Portela
Stephen Limer 5-4 David Simpson
Mark Dudbridge 5-2 Steve Atkinson
Rhys Griffin 5-1 Mark Baxter
Ricky Williams 5-1 Peter Martin
Dave Honey 5-2 Anthony Brown
Tony Randell 5-3 Adam Huckvale
Marvin Wehder 5-4 Michael Blake
Stephen Gow 5-1 Karl Merchant
Last 64
John Bowles 5-2 Colin Fowler
Harry Robinson 5-1 Robert Marijanovic
Ricky Sudale 5-4 Bernd Roith
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Nigel Lamb
Mark Oosterhuis 5-3 Paul Rowley
Brian Woods 5-2 Ian Withers
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-2 Paul Bettney
Steve Hine 5-1 Mark Thorne
Mark Walsh 5-3 Pete Dyos
Brett Claydon 5-3 Jon Jukes
Simon Stevenson 5-4 Gary Stone
Ted Evetts 5-2 Jason Marriott
Ian Moss 5-2 Mick Todd
Lee Shewan 5-4 Kirk Shepherd
Robert Owen 5-1 Sven Groen
Alan Candlish 5-0 Ray Campbell
Peter Hudson 5-3 Kevin Simm
Ross Smith 5-2 Michael Beal
Andy Parsons 5-2 Colin Littlecott
Joey Palfreyman 5-3 Jamie Kelling
Mark Barilli 5-3 Kevin Thomas
Michael Power 5-0 Paul Boyle
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Robert Rickwood
Steven Smith 5-2 Bradley Williams
Yuji Eguchi 5-1 Stephen Gallimore
Rhys Hayden 5-3 Michael Burgoine
Ritchie Edhouse 5-4 Yuki Yamada
Martyn Turner 5-3 Terry Temple
Mark Dudbridge 5-2 Stephen Limer
Ricky Williams 5-4 Rhys Griffin
Dave Honey 5-4 Tony Randell
Marvin Wehder 5-4 Stephen Gow
Last 32
John Bowles 5-1 Harry Robinson
Dick van Dijk 5-4 Ricky Sudale
Brian Woods 5-4 Mark Oosterhuis
Steve Hine 5-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Brett Claydon 5-3 Mark Walsh
Simon Stevenson 5-1 Ted Evetts
Ian Moss 5-1 Lee Shewan
Robert Owen 5-1 Alan Candlish
Ross Smith 5-1 Peter Hudson
Andy Parsons 5-2 Joey Palfreyman
Mark Barilli 5-4 Michael Power
Steven Smith 5-4 Chris Hartrey
Rhys Hayden 5-1 Yuji Eguchi
Ritchie Edhouse 5-2 Martyn Turner
Ricky Williams 5-2 Mark Dudbridge
Marvin Wehder 5-3 Dave Honey
Last 16
John Bowles 5-3 Dick van Dijk
Brian Woods 5-1 Steve Hine
Simon Stevenson 5-1 Brett Claydon
Robert Owen 5-1 Ian Moss
Andy Parsons 5-3 Ross Smith
Mark Barilli 5-1 Steven Smith
Rhys Hayden 5-0 Ritchie Edhouse
Ricky Williams 5-4 Marvin Wehder
Last Eight
John Bowles 5-2 Brian Woods
Simon Stevenson 5-4 Robert Owen
Andy Parsons 5-4 Mark Barilli
Ricky Williams 5-4 Rhys Hayden
Tour Card Winners
John Bowles
Simon Stevenson
Andy Parsons
Ricky Williams
A field of 371 players took part in the first of four days of action in Qualifying School, as hopefuls from as far afield as Australia, America, Japan and South Africa competed to earn a full-time spot on the PDC ProTour.
Former rugby league player Bowles won back his Tour Card status at the first time of asking, having dropped out of the world's top 64 at the end of 2015.
The Widnes thrower, 48, had initially won his Tour Card in 2012 and will maintain his status amongst the world's elite players after defeating Justin Broton, Fabian Herz, Colin Fowler, Harry Robinson, Dick van Dijk and Brian Woods on Wednesday.
Bowles never lost more than three legs in the best of nine leg matches as he won back his Tour Card, and he said: "I played quite decent darts all day, and with a big field like it was it's very hard, so I'm absolutely made up to get my Tour Card on the first day.
"I was really disappointed to lose my Tour Card, but with the way that the system works it keeps you on your toes and it's really good. If you don't win as much money as you did a couple of years ago you'll drop down the rankings.
"I've had four years and everything's been a learning curve. I've got to be more consistent than I have been in the last two years - the next goal now is winning a place in the UK Open in Minehead in March."
Bristol-based plumber Parsons also won back his Tour Card to retain his status on the PDC ProTour, having competed for the past two years on the circuit.
After edging out Thailand's Thanawat Gaweenuntawong 5-4 in his opening game, he then overcame Michael Gans, Michael Dawson, Colin Littlecott, Joey Palfreyman, Ross Smith and Mark Barilli - in a deciding leg - to complete a successful day.
"I'm over the moon, really happy," said Parsons. "I won't be taking it lightly and I'll be practising hard and giving it my best.
"I'm a plumber and that's still my day job, before I go back to the family and practice in the evenings, but it would take a lot of stress off if I can get to a stage where I play darts full-time.
"With the prize money increases which the PDC have introduced, it will really help and I want to kick on from here now. I'll take it one tournament at a time and I'll focus on the two European Tour qualifiers this weekend now and then try win a UK Open place."
Portsmouth's Williams, 26, secured Tour Card status for the first time in his career through his success on Wednesday, although the decorator has played in spells on the circuit since 2007.
He defeated Lee Evans, Jeffrey Bekema, Peter Martin, Rhys Griffin, Mark Dudbridge, Marvin Wehder and Essex youngster Rhys Hayden - edging their decider 5-4 - to claim his Tour Card.
"I'm very, very proud," said Williams. "It's an excellent opportunity for me and I'm really looking forward to the next two years.
"I was playing really well in the middle of last year but I came to Q School with no expectations and won my Tour Card.
"I've got a good sponsor and good family and friends supporting me and I think I'm definitely a better player now than I was when I've played before. I never give in now where perhaps I showed some immaturity a couple of years ago when I went a few legs down.
"I've got more experience and hopefully this is the time where I'll step up. I know I'm more than capable but I've never shown it before."
He added: "Getting through on the first day means even more because I've got a friend's wedding back in Portsmouth on Saturday and I was gutted when I realised that the date clashed with Q School.
"He's just come out of hospital and a few weeks ago we didn't know if he was going to live, but he's recovered and he urged me to come up to Wigan, win my Tour Card and get back for the wedding - and I'm going to make it to the wedding!"
Plymouth-based Stevenson, 43, will compete on the PDC ProTour for the first time after being the day's other Tour Card winner - having previously competed as an amateur in the 2014 and 2015 UK Opens and on the second-tier PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour last year.
Stevenson won ties with Krit Middleton, Barrie Bates, Peter Walford, Gary Stone, Ted Evetts, Brett Claydon and Rob Owen - where he survived two missed match darts from the Welshman - to secure his success.
"It's my best achievement ever," said Stevenson. "I didn't expect it to come on the first day but I'm really looking forward to the future now.
"A couple of years ago I had a really good UK Open and got to the last 32, and that set me thinking that I could compete.
"I've got County level experience with Devon and I played on the Challenge Tour last year, and I wanted to see what I can do by coming to Q School, so to get a Tour Card on Day One is brilliant."
There was disappointment, though, for Ross Smith after he enjoyed the thrill of hitting a nine-dart leg during his 5-0 whitewash of Holland's Ryan De Vreede in the third round, only to lose out to Parsons two games short of a Tour Card.
The 2016 PDC Qualifying School continues on Thursday with the second of four days of play, with a further four automatic Tour Cards on offer, with ranking points also being given to players based on their finishing positions.
Runs to the last eight on Day One saw Woods, Owen, Barilli and Hayden all pick up nine valuable ranking points, giving them a head start in the bid to win a Tour Card following Qualifying School based on the final rankings.
Qualifying School Ranking Points will be awarded as follows:
Last 128 defeat: One point
Last 64 defeat: Two point
Last 32 defeat: Three points
Last 16 defeat: Five points
Last eight defeat: Nine points
2016 PDC Qualifying School
Day One - Wednesday January 13
Last 512
Callum Loose 5-1 Paul Carr
Colin Fowler 5-2 Yordi Meeuwisse
Antonio Alcinas 5-3 Keith Rooney
Michael Malone 5-0 Bartosz Ceglowski
Trevor Burkhill 5-0 Terry Creed
Robert Marijanovic 5-3 Sam Guest
Lars Reinecke 5-2 Kevin Garcia
Kevin Lane 5-3 Peter Mitchell
Jeffrey De Graaf 5-1 Vernon Walsh
Par Riihonen 5-4 Dave Honey Jnr
Ricky Sudale 5-0 Kenneth Bramall
Jeffrey van de Ven 5-3 Richard North
Ben Adams 5-4 Daniel Lee
Lee Whitworth 5-1 Jamie Branton
John Power 5-2 Lee Dimmock
Nigel Lamb 5-3 William Borland
Jordan Patterson 5-1 Harry Ward
Mark Oosterhuis 5-2 Carlos Rodriguez
Jamie Landon 5-2 Martin Knowles
Duvaan Ata 5-4 Michel van der Horst
Brian Woods 5-1 Justin Bradshaw
Colin Osborne 5-4 Jamie Ellam
Marko Kantele 5-0 Robert Turpin
Ryan Harrington 5-1 John Gibson
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-0 Michael York
Jordan Johnston 5-4 Raymond Balbach
Steve Hine 5-0 Barry Tyler
Robert McKenzie 5-0 Jeff Batham
Craig Lewis 5-2 Alan Wilkinson
James Hajdar 5-3 Aden Kirk
Andrew McAllister 5-3 John Chalkley
Pete Dyos 5-0 Peter Evison
Nick Fullwell 5-1 Swen Gewalt
John Michael 5-0 Scott Darbyshire
Brett Claydon 5-2 Darren Brown
Mark Hylton 5-0 Sean Ryan
Arron Wike 5-1 Daniel Peach
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Krit Middleton
Barrie Bates 5-4 Arron Monk
Michel Furlani 5-0 Martin Grimble
Peter Walford 5-1 Sean Johnson
Jason Marriott 5-2 Lewis Cracknell
Declan Salter 5-1 Jamie Hingston
Christopher McTernan 5-0 Greg Beard
Jorg Hofmann 5-2 Dan Harrington
Vernon Sheppard 5-2 Tony Cole
Ian Moss 5-0 Steve Smith
Scott Dale 5-2 Matthew Dennant
Jamie Bain 5-2 Danny Dyer
Shane Reidy 5-0 Steve Kingdon
Matt Clark 5-0 Marios Georgiou
Lee Shewan 5-1 BJ Fairhurst
Steve Brown 5-3 Terry Roach
Sven Groen 5-1 Darron Brown
Joshua Clements 5-1 Nigel Daniels
Kelvin Hart 5-4 Rocco Maes
Matt Padgett 5-1 Steven Pearson
Ernie Brown 5-2 Dan Read
Dennis Smith 5-3 Lee Kenny
Simon Preston 5-1 Stuart Harding
Jamie Gemmell 5-3 Paul Cooper (York)
Kevin Simm 5-0 Phil Smith
Ryan De Vreede 5-4 Darren Weaver
Evander Stevenson 5-2 Robert Lightfoot
Ross Smith 5-0 David Marson
Jerry Hendriks 5-2 Billy Holmes
Nicholas Ellis 5-3 Aaron Stevens
Michael Dawson 5-1 Simon Smith
Michael Ganz 5-4 Eikichi Nakanishi
Andy Parsons 5-4 Thanawat Gaweenuntawong
Nick Jones 5-1 Mike Norton
Mark Forman 5-3 Kevin Morley
Mick Hasse 5-0 Shouichi Ha
Jamie Kelling 5-2 Mark Breakspear
Mark Barilli 5-2 James Richardson
Luke Woodhouse 5-3 Darren Mawer
Joey Ten Berge 5-0 Stephen Bowers
Richard Hosey 5-3 Ashley Holgate
Paul Boyle 5-3 David Adshead
John Porter 5-4 James Smith
Michael Pearson 5-2 Nigel Boeg
Roxy-James Rodriguez Bye
Chris Hill 5-4 Keith Moore
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Craig Breeze
Marc Dewsbury 5-1 Daniel Paul Smith
Kiernan Devine 5-4 Rob Modra
Jonathan Worsley 5-1 Wayne Crossley
Steven Smith 5-2 Joshua Richardson
Yuji Eguchi 5-1 Dean Moss
Campbell Jackson 5-4 Tomas Seyler
Ryan Meikle 5-0 Paul Siddle
Ben Simpson 5-3 Rob Holroyd
Adam Smith-Neale 5-1 John Glover
Mark Stephenson 5-0 Cedric Lieber
Rhys Hayden 5-3 Sam Hamilton
Arron Fairweather 5-3 David Evans
Vincent Kamphuis 5-1 Ron Atwill
Mick McGowan 5-0 David Wilson
Adam Hunt 5-2 Ben Davies
Ritchie Edhouse 5-3 Steve Turner
Darrell Claydon 5-3 Darren Place
Terry Temple 5-1 Ashley Hykin
Damian Smith 5-2 John Crossley
Diogo Portela 5-2 Glenn Fitzpatrick
Eddie Dootson 5-2 Steve Perkins
Steve Atkinson 5-2 Mareno Michels
John Newland 5-0 Sheamus Hagan
Peter Martin 5-2 Richie Walsh
Jeffrey Bekema 5-2 Roger Scrivens
Ricky Williams 5-2 Lee Evans
Derek Brand 5-1 Paul Burrows
Tony Randell 5-2 Simon Cassidy
Barry Tym 5-4 Richard Baillie
Karl Merchant 5-1 Garath Illidge
Chris Quantock 5-2 Paul Barham
Stephen Gow 5-3 Jamie Guilfoyle
Last 256
John Bowles 5-1 Justin Broton
Fabian Herz 5-1 Paul Goodwin
Colin Fowler 5-4 Callum Loose
Antonio Alcinas 5-3 Michael Malone
Dyson Parody 5-1 Garry Spedding
Harry Robinson 5-1 Callum Mackay
Robert Marijanovic 5-2 Trevor Burkhill
Kevin Lane 5-2 Lars Reinecke
Bernd Roith 5-4 Michael Rasztovits
Jack Hill 5-4 Warrick Scheffer
Jeffrey De Graaf 5-0 Par Riihonen
Ricky Sudale 5-1 Jeffrey van de Ven
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Peter Manley
Daniel Smith 5-4 Martin Thomas
Ben Adams 5-1 Lee Whitworth
Nigel Lamb 5-3 John Power
Paul Rowley 5-1 Simon Burt
Jay Murphy 5-2 Scott Taylor
Mark Oosterhuis 5-3 Jordan Patterson
Duvaan Ata 5-4 Jamie Landon
Alex Chubb 5-3 James Hubbard
Ian Withers 5-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Brian Woods 5-2 Lee Moffat
Marko Kantele 5-0 Colin Osborne
Dave Ladley 5-1 Antony Lopez
Paul Bettney 5-2 Andy Hutchings
Ryan Harrington 5-1 Lee Cusworth
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-0 Jordan Johnston
Mark Thorne 5-4 Leo Hendriks
Ian Lever 5-4 Per Laursen
Steve Hine 5-3 Richard Calvert
Robert McKenzie 5-3 Craig Lewis
Mark Walsh 5-0 Paul Murray
Jay Foreman 5-1 Ryan Short
James Hajdar 5-3 Andrew McAllister
Pete Dyos 5-3 Nick Fullwell
Jon Jukes 5-4 David Dodds
Thom Humphrey 5-4 Rene Eidams
Brett Claydon 5-4 John Michael
Mark Hylton 5-1 Arron Wike
Gary Stone 5-1 Kai Gotthardt
Sam Head 5-2 Kevin Bambrick
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Barrie Bates
Peter Walford 5-0 Michael Furlani
Ted Evetts 5-0 Shaun Lovett
Jason Tarry 5-3 Stuart Millar
Jason Marriott 5-3 Declan Salter
Chris McTernan 5-2 Jorg Hofmann
Daniel Ayres 5-3 John Court
Mick Todd 5-1 Rohit Rabadia
Ian Moss 5-4 Vernon Sheppard
Jamie Bain 5-4 Scott Dale
Kirk Shepherd 5-1 Ryan Palmer
Matthew Golding 5-3 Stuart Stubbs
Shane Reidy 5-4 Michael Harrison
Lee Shewan 5-3 Matt Clark
Robert Owen 5-0 Kentaro Suzuki
Tony Newell 5-4 Manuel Vilerio
Steve Brown 5-3 Kurt Parry
Sven Groen 5-2 Joshua Clements
Allan Candlish 5-2 Shane Harvey
Les Marson 5-3 Mike Symes
Ray Campbell 5-1 Kelvin Hart
Ernie Brown 5-2 Matt Padgett
Tony Oak 5-4 Richard Boucher
Peter Hudson 5-4 Mark Wilson
Dennis Smith 5-3 Simon Preston
Kevin Simm 5-2 Jamie Gemmell
David Fatum 5-0 James Welding
Michael Beal 5-0 Ewan Hyslop
Ryan De Vreede 5-4 Evander Stevenson
Ross Smith 5-4 Jerry Hendriks
Colin Littlecott 5-2 Mark Lawrence
Michael Barnard 5-3 Richie Howson
Michael Dawson 5-1 Nicholas Ellis
Andy Parsons 5-0 Michael Gans
Joey Palfreyman 5-1 Rhys Jackson
Karl Forrington 5-2 David Copley
Nick Jones 5-3 Mark Forman
Jamie Kelling 5-1 Mick Hasse
Kevin Thomas 5-0 Joe Croft
Ron Schouten 5-1 Steve Randall
Mark Barilli 5-2 Luke Woodhouse
Joey Ten Berge 5-1 Richard Hosey
Michael Power 5-1 Thomas Quinn
Andrew Wood 5-3 Dylan Duo
Paul Boyle 5-1 Gareth Thomas
Michael Pearson 5-4 John Porter
James Young 5-1 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Robert Rickwood 5-2 Robert Thompson
Ben Ward 5-2 Chris Hill
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Marc Dewsbury
Bradley Williams 5-0 Stephen Butkeraitis
Ross Rimmer 5-2 Andrew Johnson
Lee Watts 5-3 Kiernan Devine
Steven Smith 5-2 Jonathan Worsley
Stephen Gallimore 5-4 Christian Bober
Michael Baynham 5-4 Cory Evans
Yuji Eguchi 5-0 Campbell Jackson
Ryan Meikle 5-1 Ben Simpson
Tommy Legius 5-4 Christopher Dale
Michael Burgoine 5-0 Daniel Godfrey
Mark Stephenson 5-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Rhys Hayden 5-0 Arron Fairweather
Yuki Yamada 5-1 Kieran Evans
Ciaran Sullivan 5-2 Matthew Hayes
Vincent Kamphuis 5-3 Mick McGowan
Ritchie Edhouse 5-0 Adam Hunt
Carl Moorhouse 5-0 Matthew Twyford
Martyn Turner 5-3 David Jamieson
Terry Temple 5-0 Darrell Claydon
Diogo Portela 5-4 Damian Smith
Stephen Limer 5-1 Jeffrey Beekhuis
David Simpson 5-2 Daniel Starkey
Mark Dudbridge 5-4 Eddie Dootson
Steve Atkinson 5-2 John Newland
Mark Baxter 5-2 Sam Pennington
Rhys Griffin 5-2 Andreas Hajimina
Peter Martin 5-4 Coni Singh Nagi
Ricky Williams 5-2 Jeffrey Bekema
Anthony Brown 5-1 Jack Todd
Dave Honey 5-4 Eddie White
Adam Huckvale 5-4 Derek Brand
Tony Randell 5-0 Barry Tym
Marvin Wehder 5-0 Sam Thompson
Michael Blake 5-3 Martin Lukeman
Karl Merchant 5-0 Karsten Kornath
Stephen Gow 5-3 Chris Quantock
Last 128
John Bowles 5-2 Fabian Herz
Colin Fowler 5-0 Antonio Alcinas
Harry Robinson 5-2 Dyson Parody
Robert Marijanovic 5-2 Kevin Lane
Bernd Roith 5-3 Jack Hill
Ricky Sudale 5-4 Jeffrey De Graaf
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Daniel Smith
Nigel Lamb 5-4 Ben Adams
Paul Rowley 5-3 Jay Murphy
Mark Oosterhuis 5-2 Duvaan Ata
Ian Withers 5-1 Alex Chubb
Brian Woods 5-4 Marko Kantele
Paul Bettney 5-2 Dave Ladley
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-3 Ryan Harrington
Mark Thorne 5-3 Ian Lever
Steve Hine 5-3 Robert McKenzie
Mark Walsh 5-2 Jay Foreman
Pete Dyos 5-4 James Hajdar
Jon Jukes 5-0 Thom Humphrey
Brett Claydon 5-2 Mark Hylton
Gary Stone 5-3 Sam Head
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Peter Walford
Ted Evetts 5-1 Jason Tarry
Jason Marriott 5-2 Chris McTernan
Mick Todd 5-1 Daniel Ayres
Ian Moss 5-4 Jamie Bain
Kirk Shepherd 5-0 Matthew Golding
Lee Shewan 5-1 Shane Reidy
Robert Owen 5-2 Tony Newell
Sven Groen 5-3 Steve Brown
Allan Candlish 5-1 Les Marson
Ray Campbell 5-4 Ernie Brown
Peter Hudson 5-0 Tony Oak
Kevin Simm 5-2 Dennis Smith
Michael Beal 5-3 David Fatum
Ross Smith 5-0 Ryan De Vreede - Ross Smith hits nine-dart finish
Colin Littlecott 5-4 Michael Barnard
Andy Parsons 5-3 Michael Dawson
Joey Palfreyman 5-2 Karl Forrington
Jamie Kelling 5-2 Nick Jones
Kevin Thomas 5-3 Ron Schouten
Mark Barilli 5-1 Joey Ten Berge
Michael Power 5-2 Andrew Wood
Paul Boyle 5-4 Michael Pearson
Robert Rickwood 5-1 James Young
Chris Hartrey 5-0 Ben Ward
Bradley Williams 5-3 Ross Rimmer
Steven Smith 5-2 Lee Watts
Stephen Gallimore 5-3 Michael Baynham
Yuji Eguchi 5-4 Ryan Meikle
Michael Burgoine 5-4 Tommy Legius
Rhys Hayden 5-1 Mark Stephenson
Yuki Yamada 5-1 Ciaran Sullivan
Ritchie Edhouse 5-3 Vincent Kamphuis
Martyn Turner 5-3 Carl Moorhouse
Terry Temple 5-2 Diogo Portela
Stephen Limer 5-4 David Simpson
Mark Dudbridge 5-2 Steve Atkinson
Rhys Griffin 5-1 Mark Baxter
Ricky Williams 5-1 Peter Martin
Dave Honey 5-2 Anthony Brown
Tony Randell 5-3 Adam Huckvale
Marvin Wehder 5-4 Michael Blake
Stephen Gow 5-1 Karl Merchant
Last 64
John Bowles 5-2 Colin Fowler
Harry Robinson 5-1 Robert Marijanovic
Ricky Sudale 5-4 Bernd Roith
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Nigel Lamb
Mark Oosterhuis 5-3 Paul Rowley
Brian Woods 5-2 Ian Withers
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-2 Paul Bettney
Steve Hine 5-1 Mark Thorne
Mark Walsh 5-3 Pete Dyos
Brett Claydon 5-3 Jon Jukes
Simon Stevenson 5-4 Gary Stone
Ted Evetts 5-2 Jason Marriott
Ian Moss 5-2 Mick Todd
Lee Shewan 5-4 Kirk Shepherd
Robert Owen 5-1 Sven Groen
Alan Candlish 5-0 Ray Campbell
Peter Hudson 5-3 Kevin Simm
Ross Smith 5-2 Michael Beal
Andy Parsons 5-2 Colin Littlecott
Joey Palfreyman 5-3 Jamie Kelling
Mark Barilli 5-3 Kevin Thomas
Michael Power 5-0 Paul Boyle
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Robert Rickwood
Steven Smith 5-2 Bradley Williams
Yuji Eguchi 5-1 Stephen Gallimore
Rhys Hayden 5-3 Michael Burgoine
Ritchie Edhouse 5-4 Yuki Yamada
Martyn Turner 5-3 Terry Temple
Mark Dudbridge 5-2 Stephen Limer
Ricky Williams 5-4 Rhys Griffin
Dave Honey 5-4 Tony Randell
Marvin Wehder 5-4 Stephen Gow
Last 32
John Bowles 5-1 Harry Robinson
Dick van Dijk 5-4 Ricky Sudale
Brian Woods 5-4 Mark Oosterhuis
Steve Hine 5-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Brett Claydon 5-3 Mark Walsh
Simon Stevenson 5-1 Ted Evetts
Ian Moss 5-1 Lee Shewan
Robert Owen 5-1 Alan Candlish
Ross Smith 5-1 Peter Hudson
Andy Parsons 5-2 Joey Palfreyman
Mark Barilli 5-4 Michael Power
Steven Smith 5-4 Chris Hartrey
Rhys Hayden 5-1 Yuji Eguchi
Ritchie Edhouse 5-2 Martyn Turner
Ricky Williams 5-2 Mark Dudbridge
Marvin Wehder 5-3 Dave Honey
Last 16
John Bowles 5-3 Dick van Dijk
Brian Woods 5-1 Steve Hine
Simon Stevenson 5-1 Brett Claydon
Robert Owen 5-1 Ian Moss
Andy Parsons 5-3 Ross Smith
Mark Barilli 5-1 Steven Smith
Rhys Hayden 5-0 Ritchie Edhouse
Ricky Williams 5-4 Marvin Wehder
Last Eight
John Bowles 5-2 Brian Woods
Simon Stevenson 5-4 Robert Owen
Andy Parsons 5-4 Mark Barilli
Ricky Williams 5-4 Rhys Hayden
Tour Card Winners
John Bowles
Simon Stevenson
Andy Parsons
Ricky Williams