DETAILS of the 2019 PDC Qualifying Schools have been confirmed ahead of entries being made open to players wishing to challenge to win a PDC Tour Card.
For a second successive year, two Qualifying Schools will take place, as players compete in Europe and the UK to secure their place on the PDC's £14 million circuit.
The top 64 players in the PDC Order of Merit at January 2, following the William Hill World Darts Championship, retain a one-year Tour Card, alongside any players who secured their Tour Card at the 2018 Qualifying Schools.
The European Qualifying School will take place in Hildesheim, Germany, from January 3-6, with the winning player from each day securing an automatic PDC Tour Card.
The UK Qualifying School, from January 17-20 in Wigan, will see two players from each day securing an automatic Tour Card.
Further Tour Cards will be awarded based on the respective Qualifying School Orders of Merit from each venue, to take the total number of 2019 PDC Tour Card Holders to 128.
European Qualifying School
January 3-6, Halle 39, Hildesheim
Entry Deadline: Tuesday January 1 (1400 GMT)
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, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine
UK Qualifying School
January 17-20, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
Entry Deadline: Tuesday January 15 (1400 GMT)
UK Qualifying School is open to players with the following nationalities:
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar.
Players from other nations may choose in which Qualifying School to participate.
Entry
Entry costs £450 (which includes £50 DRA sanction fee)
Entry will be available through the PDC Tournament Entry System.
All players must Register their details with the new system at this link (existing PDC players are required to do this with the new system to ensure that your details are correct).
Following your registration, you will receive an email to confirm that you are available to enter tournaments, and at this stage you can login to make your entry to the relevant Qualifying School. This verification may take up to 48 hours.
Following your confirmed entry, the PDPA will contact you via your registered email address to complete your PDPA Membership.
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.
NB: For the UK Qualifying School, the capacity of the venue may be limited, dependent upon entry levels. Therefore, entry may be limited to players and DRA licensed managers only. Any allocation of guest tickets would be confirmed in due course.