Inaugural Q School Entries Announced

THE inaugural PDC ProTour Qualifying School will feature 119 players in Wigan from Thursday-Sunday.

The 2011 PDC ProTour has seen the introduction of a Tour Card system, with 103 players earning a Tour Card by rights following the completion of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.

A total of 128 Tour Cards will be awarded to players wishing to compete full-time on the PDC ProTour this year, with four offered to the Lakeside Championship semi-finalists and the remaining places coming from the four-day Qualifying School in Wigan.

Q School will be played across four days from Thursday January 13-Sunday January 16, with each day hosting an individual knockout event.

The 119 players competing in Q School include 55 existing PDPA members and 63 new players or players who have rejoined the PDPA, including John Ferrell and Lee Palfreyman.

Magnus Caris, Devon Petersen, Preston Ridd, Dietmar Burger and Michael Mansell all competed in the World Championship recently, while Hull youngster Reece Robinson competed in the Rileys Darts Zones UK Open last June.

Many other young players competed in the inaugural PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship in the autumn of 2010, including Shaun Griffiths, Chris Aubrey, Michael Bushby, Jon Smith and Adam Smith-Neale.

The field of entrants also includes 2010 Lakeside Championship runner-up Dave Chisnall and previous Grand Slam of Darts qualifiers Brian Woods and John Henderson.

Lakeside Champion Martin Adams and Martin Phillips have declined offers of a Tour Card, with Dean Winstanley and Jan Dekker having until Thursday to confirm whether they will accept their place.

Four players from the original top 96 – Chris Mason, Lionel Sams, David Fatum and Scott Burnett – declined their Tour Card and have been replaced by Par Riihonen, Dave Smith, Stuart Dutton and Scott Rand, who were the next players in the PDC Order of Merit.

Each day’s event at Q School will begin at 12pm and all games will be the best of 11 legs. The four semi-finalists from each day’s play will be awarded a Tour Card and will not compete in the remainder of Q School.

The remaining Tour Cards will be awarded to players from a Q School Ranking List, which will be comprised of points allocated as follows:
Per leg won: 1 point
Last 64 defeat: 2 points
Last 32 defeat: 3 points
Last 16 defeat: 5 points
Quarter-Final defeat: 9 points

2011 PDC ProTour Qualifying School Entries
Adam Hunt
Adam Smith-Neale
Adrian Bolitho
Alan Reilly
Andrew Fulton
Andrew Hibbert
Andrew Hodges
Andrew Pearce
Andy Brown
Andy Hutchings
Andy Pearson
Andy Relf
Anton Liscsey
Ashley Holgate
Brian Startin
Brian Whybrow
Brian Woods
Chris Aubrey
Chris Iedema
Curtis Bagley
Danny Moore
Darrell Claydon
Darren Latham
Darren Whittingham
Dave Chisnall
David Coyne
Dean Jones
Dean Wiltshire
Dennis McCarthy
Devon Peterson
Dietmar Burger
Donna Rainsley
Dyson Parody
Edwin Griffiths
Frank Liebeton
Gary Eastwood
Gary O’Donnell
Geoff Whitworth
Gerry Convery
Harry Robinson
Henry Zapata
Ian Jopling
Ian Lever
Ian McFarlane
James Richardson
Jamie Atkins
Jason Crawley
Jimmy Chojnowski
Jimmy Mann
Jimmy Murphy
Jimmy O’Regan
John David Walton
John Ferrell
John Henderson
John O’Shea
John Quantock
Jon Archer
Jon Smith
Ken Dobson
Kevin Bambrick
Lee Hayes
Lee Palfreyman
Lee White
Magnus Caris
Mareno Michels
Mark Carter
Mark Jodrill
Mark Jones
Mark Tiller
Martyn Bevan
Matt Jackson
Matthew Edgar
Michael Bushby
Michael Mansell
Michael Nott
Michael Rosenauer
Michael Venton
Mick Todd
Mike Gillett
Mike Roberts
Nick Bache
Nick Malkin
Nigel Birch
Norman Fletcher
Paddy Meaney
Paul Hodkin
Paul Rowley
Paul Sawyer
Paul Schofield
Peter Edmonds
Peter Hudson
Peter Martin
Prakash Jiwa
Preston Ridd
Reece Robinson
Richard Walsh
Richie Corner
Ron Atwill
Ryan Harrington
Ryan Herrington
Ryan Maher
Sam Allen
Scott Marsh
Shane O’Connor
Shaun Griffiths
Simon Astle
Simon Burt
Simon Craven
Simon Jones
Simon Stainton
Steve Perkins
Steve Watts
Steven Cupitt
Steven Pearson
Terry Temple
Tim Hope
Tom Martin
Tony Blundell
Tony Comerford