DETAILS for the 2018 PDC Qualifying Schools have been confirmed, with entries now open for players wishing to enter January's events.
The PDC Qualifying School gives ANY darts player aged 16 or above the chance to win a two-year PDC Tour Card to join the professional circuit.
The ongoing growth of the PDC will see two venues host Qualifying Schools from January 18-21 2018, with Wigan's Robin Park Tennis Centre hosting the UK Qualifying School and Halle 39 in Hildesheim, Germany hosting the European Qualifying School.
The final number of qualifying places will be confirmed on a pro-rata basis based on entry levels across each venue, with a guaranteed eight Tour Cards available at the UK Qualifying School and four Tour Cards at the European Qualifying School.
In a change from 2017, the 2018 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour will only be open to players who competed in the two Qualifying Schools - there will be no "Challenge Tour Only" membership of the PDPA available.
In addition, the field of 128 players for Players Championship tournaments will be topped up by players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit in 2018, rather than from the Qualifying School Order of Merit.
Eligibility
UK Qualifying School is open to players with the following nationalities:
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar.
European Qualifying School is open to players with the following nationalities:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine
Players from other nations may choose in which Qualifying School to participate.
Tour Cards
The UK Qualifying School will play down to the final two players on each day, to give eight automatic Tour Cards.
The European Qualifying School will play down to a winner on each day, to give four automatic Tour Cards.
The remaining Tour Cards will be awarded to players based on positions in the Qualifying School Order of Merit on a pro-rata basis across the UK and European Qualifying Schools depending on final entry numbers, with separate ranking lists to be collated for each venue and players awarded one point per win from the first full round without byes onwards.
If two or more players are tied on points, they will be separated in the ranking list by a countback, one event at a time, until they can be separated. If they cannot be separated after all matches have been taken into consideration, then total legs won will be used to determine positions, and then leg difference and, if necessary, a play-off.
Entry
Entry to Qualifying School will cost £400 plus a £50 2018 DRA Sanction Fee. All entries will be made via the PDC Online Entry System, with players needing to select to enter either the UK Qualifying School or European Qualifying School before making their entry payment.
The player shall then be deemed to be an Associate Member of the PDPA for the year providing the player participates in at least one day of Q School.
Players who achieve their Tour Card must upgrade to Full PDPA membership at a cost of an additional £100 in order to be granted their Tour Card.
Players who have previously competed in PDC tournaments would use their existing PDC Online Entry System login details via http://pdclive.servasport.com/login.html.
New players can register with the PDC Online Entry System via http://pdclive.servasport.com/register.html.
The entry deadline will be Tuesday January 16 at 2pm.
2018 European Tour Qualifiers
The West & South Europe Qualifiers and Host Nation Qualifiers for 2018 European Tour events will be open to non-PDPA members for up to two events. Entry to three or more West & South Europe Qualifiers and Host Nation Qualifiers will only be available to players who competed at Qualifying School.
Queries
Queries can be directed to the PDC via the Contact Us page.
German-speaking players can contact Carsten Arlt from PDC Europe.
Bei weiteren Fragen zum Ablauf können deutschsprachige Spieler auch Carsten Arlt.
PDPA Information
UK Qualifying School
European Qualifying School