PDC Order of Merit Rules

2023 PDC Order of Merit Rules - Announced January 9 2023.

1. Eligibility

1.1     All players must be a member of the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA) to feature in the Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) Order of Merit. Membership is defined as either having been awarded an Honorary Membership, or being in one of the below listed categories:

(i)     A Full Member is defined as a player who has joined the PDPA and holds a PDC Tour Card or a player who has qualified for an event listed in 1.2; or can be a non-playing Full Member such as a PDPA board member or Honorary Member.
(ii)    An Associate Member is defined as a player who has joined the PDPA but does not hold a Tour Card (for example a player who participates in Q School but does not win a Tour Card and subsequently plays on the Challenge Tour). 
(iii)    A European Tour Member is defined as a player who pays a supplement to their entry fee for the right to enter qualifying Events for European Tour Events, subject to eligibility (usually based on nationality).
(iv)    A Development Tour Member is defined as a player who is only permitted to play in Development Tour Events. For the avoidance of doubt, they are not permitted to play in qualifiers for Premier or ProTour Events unless otherwise allowed under these Rules.

1.2    All players who participate in the following Events must be a Full Member of the PDPA: World Championship (excluding PDPA Associate Members), World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam (excluding PDPA Associate Members and other non Full Members), UK Open (excluding Amateur Qualifiers and PDPA Associate and Development Tour Members), European Championship, Players Championship Finals (excluding PDPA Associate Members), Masters, World Series Finals (excluding invited non-members) and Premier League.

In the event of a non-PDPA member qualifying for or being invited into an Event through an Order of Merit, a qualifying Event, or PDC Board invitation they must join the PDPA prior to participation in the Event.

1.3    All Full Members who wish to participate in Events must, before participating in their first Event,:

(i)    sign the PDC Player Contract
(ii)    accept the PDPA Code of Conduct and Constitution;
(iii)    agree to abide by the Rules of the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA)
(iv)    pay any appropriate Sanction Fees to the DRA before being allowed to participate in any PDC organised Event.

Associate Members who wish to participate in Events must, before participating in their first Event:

(i)    accept the PDPA Code of Conduct and Constitution;
(ii)    agree to abide by the Rules of the DRA
(iii)    pay any appropriate Sanction Fees to the DRA before being allowed to participate in any PDC organised Event.

1.4    Any player who is not in good financial or disciplinary standing with the DRA, PDC or PDPA or with companies involved with the DRA, PDC or PDPA (including having unpaid outstanding fines or other unpaid sums owing to any such party) will not be allowed to participate in any Event until such time as they are in good standing.

1.5    All PDPA memberships expire immediately following the conclusion of the World Championship and renewals or new memberships are issued based on player eligibility.

1.6    All Events shall be played under the Rules of the Darts Regulation Authority, as covered in the DRA Rule Book published on its website, www.thedra.co.uk.
 

2.1    The PDC operates various Orders of Merit, based on prize money won in its Events. Events are categorised as follows:

Premier Ranked Events:

World Championship
World Matchplay
World Grand Prix
Grand Slam
European Championship
Players Championship Finals
UK Open

Premier Invitational Events:

Premier League
World Series Finals
Masters
World Cup

ProTour Events:

European Tour
Players Championships

Secondary Tour Events:

Challenge Tour
Development Tour

Other Events:
Women’s Series + Women's World Matchplay
World Youth Championship
World Series international events
Global Affiliate Tours (as administered by PDC Nordic & Baltic, DartPlayers Australia, DartPlayers New Zealand, PDC Asian Tour, Championship Darts Corporation).

2.2    Prize money won in all ranking Events determines a player’s standing in the relevant Orders of Merit (with the exception of World Series international Events, for which points are awarded). Prize money will be displayed in UK£.

2.3     All prize money paid to PDPA Members in all Events will be paid in UK£ directly by the PDC or its local agents, unless otherwise advertised.

2.4     Prize money will be paid into the bank account nominated by the player to the PDC which must be either in their own name, the name of a company of which they are a Director, the name of their contracted DRA Licensed Agent’s Business Account or in the case of a Development Tour player or other player legally classified as a minor, the name of one or more of their parents/guardians.

2.5     The main Order of Merit is calculated on prize money won by players over a 104-week period and is added to each player’s total at the end of the day on which each Event concludes.
All prize money shall be removed from the main Order of Merit 104 weeks after it was won, regardless of the corresponding position in the calendar of any Events.
No Premier Event shall count three times towards the main Order of Merit, with the earliest of the three removed if necessary.

2.6     The calendar of Events and Orders of Merit will be published on pdc.tv, the PDC’s official website and it is each player’s own responsibility to ensure they are aware of all details.

2.7     Invitations to and seedings for ranked Premier, European Tour Events and qualifying Events will be based on the relevant Orders of Merit at the closing date for entries or qualification for the relevant Event (as per Section 3).
Seedings for Players Championship Events will be based on the relevant Order of Merit at the time of the draw being made.

2.8     Players will need to have participated in a minimum of one ProTour or Premier Event over a rolling 104-week period to be eligible to qualify for Premier Ranked Events through the main Order of Merit or be eligible to win a Tour Card.

2.9     Only prize money won by eligible players shall appear on the Orders of Merit. Lapsed members, or players who lose their Tour Card and do not regain it for the following year will be removed from the Orders of Merit after Q School, and if they compete again their prize money tallies will revert to £0 from the day their membership ceased or their Tour Card was lost.

All players other than the Top 64 eligible players and players starting the second year of their Tour Card start the year on £0 on all Orders of Merit after Q School.

2.10     All prize money won in all PDC Events (not sanctioned affiliate tours) will be subject to a 2% levy, to be paid directly to the PDPA in the form of deductions from prize money.

3.1     Invitations, seedings and structures for Premier Events are played according to the following criteria:

2023 Masters
Cut-off date: January 4 2023
Seeds: Top 24 in Order of Merit (drawn in seed pattern)
Qualifying Players: Top 24 in Order of Merit

2023 UK Open
Cut-off date: February 27 2023
Seeds: Tour Card holders will enter from round one onwards depending on their position on the main Order of Merit as follows:
97–128: first round
65–96: second round
33–64: third round
1–32: fourth round

Qualifying Players:
128 Tour Card Holders
Top 8 non-qualified eligible Associate Members from each of the 2022 Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit who remain PDPA Associate Members for 2023.
16 Amateur Qualifiers from events to be organised through Rileys Sports Bars.
Associate Members from 2022 who become Full Members for 2023 will qualify as Tour Card Holders and further places will be offered to players from each of the relevant final 2022 OOM Tables until all places are filled. The same procedure will be followed in the event of withdrawals under Rule 3.6 below.

2023 World Cup
Cut-off date: May 29 2023
Seeds: Top 8 ranked nations based on combined Order of Merit ranking (lowest total = highest seed)
Qualifying Players:
32 pairs representing different nations selected at the discretion of the PDC

2023 World Matchplay

Cut-off date: 9 July 2023
Seeds: Top 16 in Order of Merit
Qualifying Players: 
Top 16 in Order of Merit
Top 16 in ProTour Order of Merit not otherwise qualified
Note: The ProTour Order of Merit table used for 2023 World Matchplay qualification runs from 2022 Players Championship 22 to 2023 European Tour Event Ten.

2023 Women's World Matchplay
Cut-off date: June 26 2023
Qualifying Players: 
Top 8 in Women's World Matchplay Order of Merit

2023 World Grand Prix
Cut-off date: September 25 2023
Seeds: Top 8 in Order of Merit
Qualifying Players:
Top 16 in Order of Merit
Top 16 in ProTour Order of Merit not otherwise qualified

2023 European Championship
Cut-off date: October 16 2023
Seeds: Top 32 in European Tour Order of Merit (drawn in seed pattern)
Qualifying Players: Top 32 in European Tour Order of Merit

2023 World Series Finals
Cut-off date: August 13 2023
Seeds: Top eight players from World Series Order of Merit.
Qualifying Players: Full criteria to be published in due course.

2023 Grand Slam of Darts
Cut-off date: November 3 2023
Seeds: Top 8 qualified from Order of Merit (one drawn per group)
Qualifying Players: Full criteria available here.

2023 Players Championship Finals
Cut-off date: November 3 2023
Seeds: Top 64 in Players Championship Order of Merit (drawn in seed pattern)
Qualifying Players: Top 64 in Players Championship Order of Merit 

2023/24 World Championship
Cut-off date: November 27 2023 (after Players Championship Finals)
Seeds: Top 32 in Order of Merit seeded through to Last 64
Qualifying Players:
Top 32 in Order of Merit
Top 32 in the ProTour Order of Merit not otherwise qualified
32 invitations at the PDC’s discretion (international qualifying Events, PDPA qualifier, PDC Secondary and Affiliate Tours). Full criteria to be published in due course. 

3.2     In the case of ties in any Order of Merit (money won) or Merit Table (points won), the countback rule will apply; this will be the cumulative money or points won by a player in the previous four eligible Events in the Order of Merit or Merit Table where a tie has occurred.

In cases where there is still a tie, this countback will be recalculated from the most recent Event until there is a separation. If two or more players cannot be separated by countback over the entire eligible period of the relevant Order of Merit, the player ranked highest in the main Order of Merit shall be deemed to be highest ranked, with countback continuing indefinitely until a split can be made after the initial four Events on the main Order of Merit.

If this procedure does not produce a separation, a play-off will be organised between the affected players. 

3.3    Seedings for Premier (other than those specified below) and European Tour Events will be ordered as follows:
TOP HALF: 1-(16)-8-(9)-4-(13)-5-(12)
BOTTOM HALF: 2-(15)-7-(10)-3-(14)-6-(11)

Seedings for European Tour Events will be as per Premier Events but the top and bottom halves will alternate across Events. To clarify, in odd numbered European Tour Events the number one seed will be in the top half but in even numbered Events the halves will switch positions.

Seedings for Players Championship Events, the European Championship and the World Championship are ordered as follows:
TOP HALF: 1-32-16-17-8-25-9-24-4-29-13-20-5-28-12-21
BOTTOM HALF: 2-31-15-18-7-26-10-23-3-30-14-19-6-27-11-22

Seedings for the Players Championship Finals are ordered as follows:
TOP HALF: 1-64-32-33-16-49-17-48-8-57-25-40-9-56-24-41-4-61-29-36-13-52-20-45-5-60-28-37-12-53-21-44
BOTTOM HALF: 2-63-31-34-15-50-18-47-7-58-26-39-10-55-23-42-3-62-30-35-14-51-19-46-6-59-27-38-11-54-22-43

3.4    For PDC ranked events qualification and seedings will be determined by the relevant Order of     Merit on the closing date for each particular Event.
The Orders of Merit in operation are as follows:
- PDC main Order of Merit: comprised of all money won over a rolling 104-week period in Premier Ranked and ProTour (European Tour and Players Championship) events;
- European Tour Order of Merit: comprised of all money won in that calendar year’s European Tour Events;
- Players Championship Order of Merit: comprised of all money won in that calendar year’s Players Championship Events;
- ProTour Order of Merit: comprised of all money won over a rolling 52-week period in European Tour and Players Championship Events;
- Development Tour Order of Merit: comprised of all money won in that calendar year’s Development Tour Events;
- Challenge Tour Order of Merit: comprised of all money won in that calendar year’s Challenge Tour Events. 
- Women’s Series Order of Merit: comprised of all money won in that calendar year’s Women’s Series Events.
- Women’s World Matchplay Order of Merit: comprised of all money won in a rolling 52-week period of Women’s Series Events.

3.5    Seedings for Players Championship Events and European Tour Events, and qualification for Premier Events through the ProTour Order of Merit will be determined on a 52-week rolling basis with 32 seeds per Players Championship Event and 16 per European Tour Event (or as many as entries permit). Seedings will be determined by the rolling 52-week ProTour Order of Merit up to and including the most recent Event completed for Players Championship Events and as of the entry cut-off date for European Tour Events.

3.6    If a player withdraws from a Premier Event before the draw for the Event has been announced by the PDC, the next highest available non-qualified player from the Order of Merit (or if required in the case of the World Championship, the qualifying route) through which the withdrawn player qualified will be invited to participate in the Event. In this instance, the players ranked below the withdrawn player will all move up one place in the seedings, where appropriate.

3.7    If a player withdraws from a Premier Event other than the World Championship after the draw for the Event has been made, the next available non-qualified player from the relevant Order of Merit through which the withdrawn player qualified will be invited to participate in the Event and will take the place of the withdrawn player directly in the draw with no alteration made to seedings if applicable. This does not apply to the UK Open where no replacement player shall be named.

If a player withdraws from the World Championship after the draw for the Event has been made, the replacement player will come from a reserve list from the PDPA Full Members Qualifier where final round (and then if required, each earlier round in turn) losers will be ranked in PDC Order of Merit position based on ranking on the day of the Full Member Qualifier.

If a player withdraws from a European Tour event after the final qualifying event has taken place or after the draw for the Event has been made (whichever is earliest), the replacement player will come from a reserve list from the PDPA Full Members Qualifier where final round losers will be ranked in ProTour Order of Merit position based on ranking on the day of the PDPA Full Members Qualifier. An additional reserve list will be formed from the Host Nation Qualifier where final round losers (and then if required, each earlier round in turn) will be ranked in order of DartConnect average from the Host Nation Qualifier.

If this occurs at the World Championship, other Premier Event or European Tour Event where the replacement player is invited directly into a round other than the earliest round of the Event and misses an earlier round, they will only be awarded prize money due for the earliest round of the Event should they lose their first match. However, should they win their first match, prize money will be awarded as normal. 

3.8    The PDPA Full Members Qualifier for the World Championship will be the last qualifying Event for Tour Card Holders who have not already qualified through another route and will offer the appropriate number of places required to complete the field for the Event. Therefore all other qualifying Events must conclude prior to the PDPA Full Members Qualifier being held. 

In the event of a player qualifying for the World Championship through both an affiliate Tour or Event and a position in the main Order of Merit or ProTour Order of Merit, the affiliate Tour or Event route takes precedence and the next qualified player on the appropriate Order of Merit will be invited. In the event of a player qualifying through both an affiliate Event and affiliate Tour, the Event takes precedence and the next highest ranked non-qualified player from the affiliate Tour Order of Merit will be invited.

For the purposes of the World Championship where players are grouped for the 96-player draw, the top 32 players on the Order of Merit will be seeded into the last 64 and the remaining 64 qualifiers divided into two groups based on their position in the ProTour Order of Merit. The next 32 highest ranked players on the ProTour Order of Merit will be placed into the group of players numbered 33-64 in order of their ProTour Order of Merit ranking. Remaining players and players without a ProTour Order of Merit position will be placed into the group of players numbered 65-96 in a random order.

For the World Youth Championship, if a player qualifies through an affiliate Tour or Event as well as through the Development Tour Order of Merit, the affiliate Tour or Event will take precedence and the next highest ranked non-qualified player on the Development Tour Order of Merit will be invited to participate.

3.9     A Tour Card Holder in the first year of their Tour Card who is also eligible to participate on a Global Affiliate Tour or in its relevant qualifiers for PDC Events, may do so without restriction (other than disciplinary restrictions).

A Tour Card Holder in the second year of their Tour Card who is also eligible to participate on a Global Affiliate Tour or in its relevant qualifiers for PDC Events may do so providing at the closing date for entries of the Global Affiliate Tour Event in which they intend to participate they are not in the Top 64 of the PDC’s main Order of Merit.

A Tour Card Holder who has held their Tour Card for more than two years consecutively is not eligible to participate on a Global Affiliate Tour or its relevant qualifiers for PDC Events.

A Tour Card Holder who wishes to participate in an independent Event which offers qualification or exemption into a PDC Event will only be eligible for such qualification or exemption providing they meet the above criteria. For clarity, this means in the first year of their Tour Card they may play without restriction, in the second year they may only qualify through this route if at the closing date for entries they are outside the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit and beyond the second year of being a Tour Card Holder they may not qualify for a PDC Event via this method.

3.10    Any player who declines an invitation to any Event may be denied an invitation to that or other future Events at the discretion of the PDC Board of Directors.

4.1    Tour Cards for 2023 will be awarded to the following players:

-    Top 64 x eligible players from the PDC Order of Merit who hold PDPA Full Membership for 2023 following the completion of the 2022/23 World Championship;
-    33 x Tour Card Holders from 2022 Q School and 2021 Secondary Tour Orders of Merit who are not ranked in the Top 64 of the Order of Merit and who are starting the second year of their Tour Card;
-    2 x top ranked players not otherwise qualified for a Tour Card from the 2022 Challenge Tour Order of Merit;
-    2 x top ranked player not otherwise qualified for a Tour Card from the 2022 Development Tour Order of Merit;
-    4 x automatic qualifiers from 2023 UK Q School Final Stage;
-    4 x automatic qualifiers from 2023 European Q School Final Stage;
-    Remaining 19 places to be filled by Q School Orders of Merit, allocated pro rata across the UK and European Q Schools depending on participation numbers.

If any players who earn a Tour Card for 2023 choose not to take up their Tour Card or are deemed ineligible for any reason, extra places will be allocated to players from a combined UK and European Q School Final Stage points list.

If any player entitled to a Tour Card by virtue of being in the Top 64 of the Order of Merit resigns from their PDPA Membership and PDC Player Contract prior to the commencement of 2023 Q School, the next highest ranked eligible player who did not retain their Tour Card for 2023 shall move up the Order of Merit and retain their Tour Card.

The Top 64 eligible players from the PDC Order of Merit who hold PDPA Membership for 2023 following the completion of the 2022/23 World Championship will receive a one-year Tour Card. The remaining qualifiers (excluding players from 2022 Q School and 2021 Secondary Tour Orders of Merit entering the second year of their Tour Card) will receive a two-year Tour Card as their Order of Merit total will revert to £0 from January 4 2023 whereas the Top 64 retain their money won.

Players who lose their Tour Card and then regain it immediately either by winning through the next Q School or through a Secondary Tour Order of Merit will be awarded a two-year Tour Card with their prize money totals reverting to £0 from the day their Tour Card was regained. 

If a player who qualifies for a Tour Card from the 2022 Challenge or Development Tour Orders of Merit is also in the Top 64 of the Order of Merit then they will receive a one-year Tour Card due to their Order of Merit position. Their money from the previous year will remain valid and their Tour Card place will pass to the next highest ranked unqualified player from the relevant 2022 Challenge or Development Tour Orders of Merit.

NOTE: If a player wins a PDC Tour Card from the 2022 Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit then the Development Tour shall take priority and any further places shall pass down the Challenge Tour Order of Merit.

4.2    Entry to all Players Championship Events is open initially to Full Members.

All Players Championship Events will have a 128-player draw. In instances where the number of Full Members entering a Players Championship Event does not reach 128, Associate Member entries shall then be accepted in order of Challenge Tour Order of Merit position as of the Event entry deadline to make the total number of entries up to 128. 

The exception to the above position is if any Associate Member wins a Premier Ranked or ProTour Event they shall be placed as first alternate in order of their main Order of Merit position.

If this total still does not reach 128, byes will be awarded in seed order. If this total still does not reach 96, all 32 seeds will receive a bye and additional byes will be awarded on a random basis.

For example, if there is one bye, it will go to seed one; if there are two byes they will go to seeds one and two etc.

4.3     Entry to European Tour Associate Member qualifiers is open to any player who played at least one day at either the UK or European Qualifying Schools in 2023 but did not win a Tour Card, unless they are from an East Europe Nation, a PDC Nordic and Baltic Nation, or of the appropriate nationality for the Host Nation Qualifier for that particular event. 

Players are only permitted to play in one qualifying event per European Tour event based on their nationality and eligibility. In the event of a regional qualifier not being played, the PDC will announce alternative eligibility for affected players, where possible.

4.4    There are no restrictions on the number of European Tour qualifying Events players can enter for Host Nation, Nordic and Baltic and East Europe Qualifiers, subject to eligibility.

4.5     European Tour Events will be played with a 48-player main draw consisting of the top 16 ranked entered players from the ProTour Order of Merit at the Entry deadline and 32 qualifiers.

The top 16 ranked entered players from the ProTour Order of Merit at the Entry deadline will be exempted and seeded in to the last 32 where they will play the 16 winners from the matches involving the 32 qualifiers.

Invited players (the top 16 ranked who are exempted to the last 32 and any Host Nation qualifiers who qualify automatically as a result of their ranking) who lose in their first match of the Event shall not be credited with prize money on the Order of Merit, ProTour Order of Merit or European Tour Order of Merit, however they shall still receive full prize money payment.

An Invited player may opt to enter the relevant qualifier for the Event in order to ensure any prize money won, even if that player loses their first game, counts on the relevant Orders of Merit. In order to be placed in the qualifier, a player must inform the PDC of their request in writing (deemed to be by email to the Tournament Director) prior to the entry deadline.

A player who qualifies for a European Tour Event as a qualifier but later becomes a seed due to the withdrawal of one or more other players shall be credited with their prize money on the relevant Orders of Merit regardless of how far they progress in the Event.

The last 48 round shall be drawn at random with no seeding.

The 32 qualifiers shall come from the following qualifying Events:
-    Tour Card Holder Qualifier: shall produce 24 players. Entry to Tour Card Holder Qualifiers is open to all Tour Card Holders. This is the only Qualifier Tour Card Holders may enter.
-    Associate Member Qualifier: shall produce two players from those entered and eligible under Rule 4.3.
-     Host Nation Qualifier: the two highest ranked players on the ProTour Order of Merit from the Host Nation, who are outside the Top 16 from the ProTour Order of Merit as at the Entry Deadline from those entered and eligible under Rule 4.3, qualify automatically. If there is only one or there are no players then those places shall revert to the Host Nation Qualifier. Additionally a knockout qualifier shall produce between two and four players from those entered and eligible under rules 4.3 and 4.4. Associate Members with the same nationality as the location of the relevant Event are eligible to enter and in this instance any player with that nationality may not enter the Associate Member Qualifier for that particular event.
-     Nordic & Baltic Qualifier: shall produce one player from those entered and eligible under rule 4.3 and 4.4. Players with the following nationalities are eligible to enter: Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.
-     East Europe Qualifier: shall produce one player from those entered and eligible under rule 4.4. Players with the following nationalities are eligible to enter: Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo. NOTE: as of January 4 2023, players from Russia and Belarus may only enter subject to certain special conditions which can be obtained from the PDC in advance of an entry being made.

In the case of the 2023 European Tour Events in Prague and Budapest, Czech and Hungarian players who do not hold Tour Cards shall not be permitted to enter the East Europe Qualifier as they have their own Host Nation Qualifier.

All qualifying Events are to be played with a single-elimination format of a minimum of best of seven legs.

Tour Card Qualifier Events shall be seeded from the ProTour Order of Merit based on the OOM on the day of the Qualifier, depending on the number of qualifier places with one seed per place available. Other qualifier events may be seeded based on alternative criteria by prior agreement of the PDC with the relevant qualifier organiser.

If a player withdraws from a European Tour Event after the cut-off date for the Event Entries and before the commencement of the Tour Card Holder Qualifier the next available non-qualified player from the ProTour Order of Merit as at the Entry deadline date will be invited to participate in the Event. In this instance, the players ranked below the unavailable player will all move up one place in the seedings, where appropriate.

4.6    There is no entry fee for players to enter ProTour Events, including Tour Card Holder and Associate Member Qualifiers for European Tour Events. The PDC may, at its discretion, implement entry fees for Events staged in territories deemed to be ‘developing territories’, such as Nordic & Baltic and East Europe.

4.7    The closing date for entries for the main draw of Players Championship Events will be 1400 UK time on a date to be displayed on the PDC Player Entry System.

Where required to complete the 128-player draw if not all Full Members enter an event, Associate Members shall be invited to enter after this deadline as per Rule 4.2. 

Any variation from this will be advertised on pdc.tv. The PDC reserves the right to alter these times in the Event of logistical issues. The list of entries will be published on pdc.tv before each Event.

4.8    All entries for PDC events and European Tour Qualifiers must be made through the PDC’s online entry system at www.pdcplayers.com before the advertised entry deadline. 

4.9    All ProTour main draw matches will be best of 11 legs up to and including the quarter-finals, and then the semi-finals will be best of 13 legs and the final will be best of 15 legs.

4.10    Players Championship Events will commence at 1300 local time, with registration closing at 1100 local time (two hours before the scheduled start time), unless otherwise advertised. Any player not registered by the registration deadline will be omitted from the draw without exception.

Players’ attention is drawn to Events which take place the day after a Premier Event, as these may start later for operational reasons.

4.11    Draws for Players Championship Events will be conducted following the closure of registration, with seedings adjusted accordingly if an entered player who was due to be seeded has not registered.

Draws for European Tour Main Events will be made at 1200 UK time on the day prior to the start of the Event.

4.12    All ProTour Events will be played in a bracket format throughout with no re-draw after any round.

The Order of Play for even numbered Players Championship Events will have seedings inverted on each board for the first round. For example, on board one on even numbered events, seed number 32 will play first and seed number one will play third.

4.13    Players who wish to withdraw from an Event they have entered must do so in writing to the PDC prior to the closing date, stating the reason for their withdrawal. Requests for entry fee refunds will only be considered with the support of a doctor’s certificate (not self-certified) or if they have a serious family issue with supporting evidence.

Players who enter but decide not to travel, or wish to otherwise withdraw from an Event, are required to inform the PDC immediately. Players who enter and then subsequently withdraw from a ProTour or Premier Event after the cut-off date will receive standardised fines from the DRA which will increase with each offence and may result in a suspension.

Where no other player is disadvantaged by the withdrawal (such as an Event without a cap on entries or an Event where the relevant player’s place in the draw can be filled without any implications on any other player or the Event) the DRA may choose not to impose a sanction at its own discretion.

For clarity, these fines will be as follows for 2023:
First offence: £500 for Players Championship events, £1,000 for European Tour main events
Second offence: £1000 for Players Championship events, £2000 for European Tour main events
Third offence: £1500 for Players Championship events, £3000 for European Tour main events

Further offences will be dealt with by the DRA.

Following a 12-month consecutive period without offence, a player’s ‘slate shall be wiped clean’ in relation to these offences.

4.14     Where stage matches are played at Events, the bull up to decide the order of throw shall be conducted in the practice room at a time to be advised to players by the Tournament Director or Players Marshal.

4.15    Each European Tour qualifier and Players Championship Event will operate on a “loser marks” basis and it is a condition of participation that the losing player of each match marks the following game, if a marker has not been provided, as directed by Tournament Officials.

The PDC/PDPA will use their best endeavours to supply markers at Players Championship Events but players must assume that marking will be their own responsibility.

In genuine cases of inability to mark, a player may arrange for someone else to mark the next match on their behalf. It is the player’s responsibility to ensure that someone replaces them and that this person can mark to a competent standard and is dressed as per the DRA rules.

If a player arranges someone to mark on their behalf, the Player must notify the Board Official or Tournament Director giving the identity of the person with whom they have made the arrangement.

In either case, the marker must be in place immediately following the completion of the previous game.
Where players are required to mark themselves, the first game on each board will be marked by the last player listed on the schedule of matches for that board.

4.16    Players may be asked by Tournament Officials to move from the board to which they were originally allocated to another board. These and other reasonable requests from Tournament Officials must be adhered to immediately to help the smooth running of the Event.

Players are requested to note this rule particularly in respect of Players Championship Events at which selected boards are to be streamed on the internet. Any player who refuses a request to play on a board selected for streaming will be disqualified from the Event and rule 4.17 will apply in respect of their prize money.

4.17    Once a player’s participation in an Event has begun by them commencing their first match, if they are timed out, fail to complete or who otherwise miss a scheduled match, they shall be awarded loser money for the relevant round and be eliminated from the Event. If their withdrawal instigates a referral to the DRA, their prize money payment will be withheld subject to the DRA’s investigation and shall not appear on any Order of Merit until that investigation has been concluded.

A player who benefits from a bye but then loses the match in the round into which they were placed as a result of the bye shall only be credited on the relevant Orders of Merit with prize money based on the previous round. For example, if a player receives a bye from the first round into the second round of an Event, but then loses in the second round, they shall only be credited with first round loser prize money. However, if they win their second round match but lose in the third round, they shall be credited with third round loser prize money.

A player who qualifies for a main Event but does not then participate in that Event is not eligible for prize money awarded in that Event.

4.18    If a player intends competing in any Event despite suffering from illness or injury which may affect their performance, they must report this to the Tournament Director in advance. Failure to do this may result in a DRA referral.

4.19    The World Series Finals, Grand Slam and World Championship PDPA Full Member qualifiers shall be open to Tour Card Holders only.

5.1    Both the UK and European Q Schools shall comprise a First Stage of three one-day Events played over a best of 9 leg format followed by a Final Stage of four separate one-day Events, played over a best of 11 leg format.

Players from the UK, Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar shall play in the UK Q School. Players from all other European Nations shall play in the European Q School. Players from other nations may choose in which Q School to participate.

Players who lost their Tour Card at the end of 2022, along with players from the Top 16 of each of the final 2022 Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit who do not have a Tour Card for 2023 will be exempt to the Final Stage in either the UK or European Q Schools, depending on their eligibility by nationality. The top 8 players from the 2022 PDC Women’s Series Order of Merit and PDC Nordic & Baltic Order of Merit will receive free entry to First Stage of Q School. For clarity, players eligible for exemptions or entries under this criteria must still enter via the online registration system and, where relevant, pay their entry fee.

First Stage of Q School be played across three days, with the eight quarter-finalists from each day qualifying automatically for the Final Stage and the remaining places being decided by a Points List with one point being awarded per win from the first full round drawn without byes.

5.2    Tour Cards shall be awarded to the winner of each day’s play in Final Stage at both the UK and European Q School. Once a player has been awarded a Tour Card they shall not play in the remainder of Q School Final Stage. The remaining Tour Cards will be awarded to the remaining players who occupy the qualifying positions in the Q School Points List which shall be comprised of points as awarded in 5.3. Places will allocated to the relevant UK & European Q School Points Lists on a pro-rata basis from the final number of players who compete in at least one day of Q School.
 
Entrance to Q School constitutes acceptance of a Tour Card, if so earned by a player’s performance. If a player earns a Tour Card by virtue of their performance at Q School but declines a Tour Card, they are not eligible to appear on the Q School Points List or play in ProTour (including qualifiers) or Secondary Tour Events in 2023.

5.3    A Points List for each Q School shall be compiled with players awarded one point per win from the first full round played without byes to determine the allocation of any additional Tour Cards as necessary.

- In the First Stage, players will receive one point per victory from the first full round onwards on each day (defined as a round played without byes caused by the draw) to provide an Order of Merit from which players will qualify for Final Stage, and the respective three-day blocks will operate their own Points List to provide further qualifiers for Final Stage. In the Final Stage, players will receive one point per victory from the Last 64 onwards on each day of Final Stage to form the Final Stage Orders of Merit.

- The split of the required additional Tour Cards across both Qualifying Schools will be allocated pro-rata based on the final number of players who participate at each Qualifying School plus the players exempt to Final Stage, and will be confirmed ahead of the commencement of the Final Stage.

Wins by virtue of a walkover in any round shall be counted as a 5-0 win in First Stage and a 6-0 win in Final Stage. If a player withdraws midway through a match their opponent shall be awarded the win by five (First Stage) or six (Final Stage) legs to however many legs the withdrawing player has won at the time of withdrawal.

At any point during Q School, if two or more players are tied on points, they will be separated in the Points List by (in order until they can be split): legs difference, legs won, DartConnect average based on their totals in their matches. Results in all matches played at the relevant stage are included in this countback. If the players cannot be split, a play-off will be organised. In the event of a discrepancy with DartConnect meaning averages cannot be verified then they will be disregarded.

5.4    Entry to the Q School shall cost £400 plus a £50 2023 DRA Sanction Fee and be paid in advance. 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.

6.1    Entry to Challenge Tour Events is open only to players who participated in the 2023 Q Schools but did not obtain a Tour Card. 

6.2    Entry to Development Tour Events and the World Youth Championship and its associated    qualifiers is open to all players who are aged 23 or under and 16 or over on January 4 2023. 

Players who are ranked in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit on the cut-off date of an Event are not eligible to enter those Development Tour Events or Women’s Series events. Players who turn 16 during 2023 shall be eligible to enter Development Tour or Women’s Series Events or World Youth Championship qualifiers from the date of their 16th birthday. 

All Tour Card Holders meeting the age requirements shall automatically be entered into the draw for the World Youth Championship for that year and must inform the PDC before the date of the draw if they do not wish to participate.

6.3    The World Youth Championship starts at the Last 96 round and is comprised of a minimum of 16 invitations, plus any players who under rule 6.2 have qualified by virtue of holding a Tour Card with all remaining places up to 96 being taken from the final 2023 Development Tour Order of Merit, using countback as per rule 3.2 if required to determine positions.

6.4    Challenge Tour, Development Tour, Women’s Series Events and the World Youth Championship are played under the same rules and regulations as ProTour Events where not otherwise specified in this section.

Start times for Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Women’s Series Events will be advertised in advance of each Event on pdc.tv as they may vary due to entry levels or logistical reasons.

6.5    Development Tour and Women’s Series matches are played over the best of seven legs up to and including the last 16 and then best of nine legs from the last eight to the final. Challenge Tour matches are played over the best of nine legs.

The World Youth Championship is played over the best of nine legs for group stage matches and the best of 11 legs for the knockout stage. The group stage will consist of three players per group who will play each other once with two points awarded per win. In the event of a tie on points within the groups, players will be separated by leg difference. If two players have the same leg difference then the head-to head result between the two players will be used to determine positions. If all three players have the same leg difference then a three-way nine-dart-shoot out will be played.

6.6    Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Women’s Series Events are played with an open draw with no seedings or exemptions. 

The World Youth Championship Last 96 will include 32 seeds, being based on the Main Order of Merit with the remaining positions based on the final 2023 Development Order of Merit, and will be played down to a Final. The Final will then be scheduled during a PDC Premier or Invitational Event at a later date (expected to be at the 2023 Players Championship Finals).

6.7    All prize money in Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Women’s Series Events won will count towards separate one-year Orders of Merit. 

6.8    The Development Tour and Women’s Series entry fees are £25 per Event. Challenge Tour entry is £55 per Event. Entries must be made online prior to 1400 UK time on the Wednesday preceding the weekend’s Events. There is no entry fee for the World Youth Championship. 

6.9    The following rewards are on offer to players competing in the Challenge Tour, Development Tour, Women’s Series and World Youth Championship:
- The two highest ranked players on the 2023 Development Tour Order of Merit and then the two highest ranked players on the 2023 Challenge Tour Order of Merit and then the two highest ranked players on the 2023 Women’s Series Order of Merit receive an invitation to the 2023/24 World Championship.

NOTE: if any of the players who achieve the above otherwise qualify for the 2023/24 World Championship, or reject their invitations, further places shall be offered to other players from the relevant Order of Merit until the places are filled.

- The winner of the 2023 World Youth Championship and 2023 Women’s World Matchplay receive an invitation to the 2023/24 World Championship.

NOTE: if any of the players who achieve the above otherwise qualify for the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts or 2023/24 World Championship, or reject their invitations, no further places shall be offered. The place in the 2023/24 World Championship will then be added to the Tour Card Holder Qualifier.

- The top two players on the final 2023 Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit who have not otherwise qualified for Tour Cards for 2024 will receive two-year Tour Cards. 

NOTE: if any of the players who achieve the above otherwise qualify for a Tour Card or reject their invitations, places will be offered further down the Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit.

- The players who finish third to 16th (countback applied in event of ties) on the 2023 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit and from first to eighth (countback applied in event of ties) on the 2023 Women’s Series Order of Merit will receive free entry to the 2024 Q School.

NOTE: in the event that any of the players above already have a Tour Card or qualify otherwise for a Q School place or reject their invitations, places will not be offered further down the Challenge and Development Tour and Women’s Series Orders of Merit. 

6.10    In the event of entries exceeding 256 per Event, the PDC reserves the right to alter the format or entry criteria.

7.1    Participation in all PDC Events is subject to players adhering to the Darts Regulation Authority rulebook. Special attention is drawn to the rules referring to behaviour and dress code. Players are required to be aged 16 or above to participate in PDC tournaments, unless otherwise advertised.

7.2    The PDC reserves the right to remove any Event from the calendar without prior notice but will endeavour not to add any Event to the calendar without a minimum of three months’ notice.

7.3    The PDC accepts no responsibility for any loss, financial or otherwise, incurred by any player or other person in relation to the change in an Event’s date, location or schedule providing such change is advertised on pdc.tv more than three months before the opening day of the relevant Event.

In the event of a change occurring within three months of the opening day of an Event, the PDC will enter into good faith negotiations with any player who can prove they have incurred non-refundable or changeable travel or accommodation expenses for themselves only.

NOTE: Players are advised to not make travel, accommodation or other Event arrangements that are non-refundable or non-changeable. As a result of this advice, good faith negotiations will not be entered in to with any player who makes arrangements that do not comply with this.

7.4    The PDC reserves the right to consult with the PDPA to add to or amend any or all of these rules at any time to meet any purpose deemed to be necessary at that time by the PDC’s Board of Directors.

7.5    All match results and prize money awarded shall be recorded in all stages of all PDC Premier, ProTour and Secondary Events and this information shall be published as soon as possible after an Event has been concluded on pdc.tv.

7.6    A Player who wishes to participate in a PDC or PDC affiliated event where nationality is a determining factor for eligibility must prove the following in order to satisfy the PDC’s criteria for nationality:
- The player was born in that nation OR
- The player holds a valid passport for that nation OR
- The player has continuous residency (defined as their primary or permanent home in the nation) for five consecutive years immediately preceding the date of the relevant event.
          
In cases where a player is holding dual citizenship, the player will be required to determine their primary nationality at the time of entering the relevant event and may not then change nationality for a period of five years.

In cases where a qualifying event is being staged by a local PDC affiliated organisation, the PDC’s eligibility rules shall take precedence over those of the local organisation in respect of whether a player is permitted to enter the event or not. In contentious cases, the player’s eligibility must be approved in writing by the PDC before the player is permitted to participate in the event. A player who enters an event and is subsequently denied permission to participate for reasons of eligibility of their nationality shall be entitled to a refund of their entry fee but no further liability shall be accepted by the PDC or its affiliate organisation.

This ruling has been implemented following consultation with the PDPA and both the PDC and PDPA are aware there are a larger number of unique and specific cases regarding player nationalities.

Therefore, the PDC reserves the right to alter or adapt this ruling at its sole discretion in the interests of fairness and sporting integrity.

7.7    This document will remain in force until the completion of all 2023 Events unless otherwise advised. Amendments will be announced on the PDC’s official website www.pdc.tv and unless otherwise stated will come in to force immediately from time of announcement.

2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship

Cazoo Premier League

Betfred World Matchplay

Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts

BoyleSports World Grand Prix

Cazoo Players Championship Finals

Machineseeker European Championship

Cazoo UK Open

Cazoo Masters

Jack's World Series of Darts Finals

World Cup of Darts

World Series of Darts International Events

European Tour Events

Players Championship Events

PDC Challenge Tour/Development Tour Events

PDC World Youth Championship

PDC Women's Series Events

* Last 64 prize money will only be paid in the event of entries reaching a minimum of 128 players.

Any updates, revisions or amendments to the initially advertised 2023 PDC Order of Merit rules will be confirmed at this page.