Players including Nick Fullwell, Michael Barnard, Haupai Puha and Thibault Tricole, secured their places through to the Final Stage of their respective Q Schools on Sunday, after coming through Stage One, as the PDC’s Annual Qualifying School began in Milton Keynes and Niederhausen.
2021 saw the PDC expand its Qualifying School into two stages, with Final Stage consisting of players who recently lost their Tour Cards and players who finished 2nd-8th on both the Challenge & Development Tour Order of Merit from the previous year.
UK Q School
3x Challenge Tour Event Winner, Michael Barnard, headlined the 8 players who came through Day 1 of Stage 1 at UK Q School, as he bids to win back his Tour Card, after recording victories over Keenan Thomas, Andy Jenkins, Paul Rowley, Stu Wilson and Stephen Burton.
New Zealand’s Haupai Puha, who was a Quarter Finalist at the 2019 World Cup of Darts, also progressed through to the Final Stage, as he bids to win a Tour Card for the first time, after recording victories over Shaun Thompson, Kevin Lane, John Imrie, Robert Collins and Kevin McDine.
The further six players to progress through were Nick Fullwell, Graham Usher, Robert Rickwood, Conor Heneghan, Michael Flynn and Josh Rock, with Fullwell being the only player to have had a PDC Tour Card in his career, with the other five searching for one for the first time in their careers.
European Q School
France’s Thibault Tricole headlined the 8 players who progressed through Day 1 of Stage 1 at European Q School, with the Stage being split into two groups per day, due to the current COVID-19 regulations in Germany. Tricole dropped just seven legs to progress through, as he defeated Gheorghe Calagiu, Tom Heldt, Jamai Van den Herik, Johan Engstrom and Ryan de Vreede.
The other seven players to progress through were Mario Vandenbogaerde, Damian Mol, Andreas Harrysson, Stefan Bellmont, Wesley Plaisier, Ricardo Pietreczko and Daniel Klose, as they all bid to win Tour Cards for the first time in their careers.
PDC Q School continues on Monday, in the UK and in Europe, with a further 16 players progressing through to the Final Stage, with play commencing in Europe at 10:00 CET and in the UK at 10:30 GMT. All live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com
UK Q School Stage 1
Day 1
Last 16
Haupai Puha 5-4 Kevin McDine
Nick Fullwell 5-3 Robert Owen
Michael Flynn 5-2 Danny Lauby
Graham Usher 5-4 Matthew Dennant
Conor Heneghan 5-1 Andrew Hyland
Michael Barnard 5-1 Stephen Burton
Josh Rock 5-2 Dan Read
Robert Rickwood 5-2 Darren Johnson
European Q School Stage 1
Day 1
Group A
Quarter Finals
Mario Vandenbogaerde 5-4 Chris Landman
Stefan Bellmont 5-3 Ronny Huybrechts
Andreas Harrysson 5-2 Jeremy Van der Winkel
Damian Mol 5-3 Patrik Kovacs
Group B
Quarter Finals
Thibault Tricole 5-2 Ryan De Vreede
Daniel Klose 5-2 Tomas Houdek
Wesley Plaisier 5-4 Kai Gotthardt
Ricardo Pietreczko 5-2 Nico Kurz
Words: Joe Williams, Lead Image: BDO
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