A series a famous names made headlines as the first phase of Q-School 2024 came to an end in Germany and the UK on Wednesday.
The final 16 players, including Germany’s Max Hopp, secured automatic spots into the Final Stage of their respective Q School’s on Wednesday, after coming through on the decisive day of Stage One, with the remaining spots going to players via two separate Order of Merit’s, headlined by the 3x World Champion John Part and the Former Lakeside Champion Jelle Klaasen.
The storied names included Darts World’s Colin Osborne, former World finalist Mark Dudbridge. Jeffrey de Graf and William Borland headed those looking for a swifter return to the top table.
UK Q School
2019 BDO World Youth Champion Leighton Bennett headlined the final eight automatic qualifiers through to the Final Stage of UK Q School, with the teenager recording victories on the day against Ryan Newton, Kevin Leadenham, Gary Brown, Matthew Wood and Adam Paxton in his deciding Last 16 tie.
Elsewhere, Former Tour Card Holder Scott Taylor and Bennett’s fellow Junior Darts Corporation graduate Henry Coates also sealed their places into the final stage automatically, as they defeated Scottish duo Derek Maclean and Scott Campbell respectively in their deciders. Also progressing through automatically was 2x UK Open participant Rhys Griffin, as well as four Englishman in the form of Lee Cocks, Joe Croft, Tom Lonsdale and Paul Redfern.
As for the UK Order of Merit Qualifiers, they were headlined by the 3x World Champion John Part and the Former World Championship Finalist Mark Dudbridge.
Several other famed players looking to regain their professional tour status included Alan Norris, William Borland and, former Champions League of Darts winner, Colin Osborne.
European Q School
2x PDC ranking event winner Max Hopp headlined the final eight automatic qualifiers through to the Final Stage of European Q School, with the German star recording victories on the day against Dominik Fischer, Dmitriy Zhukov, Leon Weber, Marko Kantele, Tim Wolters and Martijn Dragt in his decider.
Elsewhere, the further seven automatic qualifiers included Hopp’s fellow compatriots, Franz Roetzsch and Kai Gotthardt, Former Tour Card Holder John Michael, as well as Dutch duo Davy Proosten and Stefan Schroder, Japan’s Ryuta Arihara and Denmark’s Benjamin Drue Reus.
Headlining the 83 qualifiers via the European Order of Merit included Former Lakeside Champion Jelle Klaasen, recent PDC World Championship participant Jeffrey De Graaf, as well as New Zealand duo Ben Robb and Haupai Puha, who continue their bid to become the first player from their nation to win a PDC Tour Card.
PDC Qualifying School continues on Thursday, in the UK and in Europe, with the beginning of the Final Stage with one automatic Tour Card up for grabs across both fields, as play commences in Europe at 12:00 CET and in the UK at 12:00 GMT. All live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com.
UK Qualifying School
Wednesday 10th January
Stage One (Day Three)
Rhys Griffin 5-3 Mark Dudbridge
Joe Croft 5-4 Greg Ritchie
Leighton Bennett 5-2 Adam Paxton
Lee Cocks 5-3 Jacob Gwynne
Tom Lonsdale 5-4 James Huthwaite
Scott Taylor 5-3 Derek Maclean
Henry Coates 5-4 Scott Campbell
Paul Redfern 5-3 Joshua Richardson
European Qualifying School
Stage One Day Three
Max Hopp 5-4 Martijn Dragt
Franz Roetzsch 5-0 Mladen Radosavljevic
Davy Proosten 5-4 Christian Goedl
Benjamin Drue Reus 5-2 Michele Turetta
Stefan Schroder 5-4 Jeffrey De Graaf
Ryuta Arihara 5-4 Jeroen Caron
Kai Gotthardt 5-3 Patrick Bulen
John Michael 5-3 Dennie Olde Kalter
——Ends—–
Images: PDC
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