LUKE Littler’s remarkable start to his maiden PDC ranking season continued on Tuesday and the 17-year-old will make his European Tour debut at the Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open next month after winning through Wednesday’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Wigan.
Four players, Mike De Decker, Lukas Wenig, Richard Veenstra and Jermaine Wattimena secured spots in each of the year’s opening two events.
Tour Card Holder Qualifiers for ET1-2 took place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre on Wednesday, with each qualifier producing ten players per event.
The Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open (ET1) will kick off the 2024 European Tour in Wieze from March 8-10, while the German Darts Grand Prix (ET2) will take place in Munich from March 30-April 1.
Littler claimed his first PDC ranking title on his Players Championship debut on Monday, and the teenage superstar will now make his highly-anticipated European Tour bow in Belgium next month.
The 17-year-old overcame Radek Szaganski, Mervyn King and Maik Kuivenhoven in the ET1 Qualifier, landing an 11-darter to edge out Kuivenhoven in a straight shoot-out for qualification.
Littler had earlier whitewashed Szaganski in his opening round tie – avenging his defeat to the Pole in Tuesday’s Players Championship Two – before producing a brilliant mid-match burst to dethrone King.
His hopes of completing a qualification double were curtailed by Jim Williams in the ET2 Qualifier, although the Welshman was subsequently denied a place in Munich by Germany’s Lukas Wenig.
Belgium’s Mike De Decker was one of four players to complete a clean sweep in Wigan, winning six straight matches to book his place in the year’s opening two European Tour events, producing a series of consistent displays in wins over the likes of Simon Whitlock, Szaganski and Wessel Nijman.
Dutch duo Richard Veenstra and Jermaine Wattimena will also star in Wieze and Munich alongside Wenig, who reaffirmed his credentials with back-to-back wins over World Championship semi-finalist Scott Williams.
James Hurrell and Chris Landman will make their European Tour debuts following their success in the ET1 Qualifier, while Luke Woodhouse also sealed his progress in convincing style.
Berry van Peer delivered a sublime 170 checkout to clinch his qualification with a 6-2 win over Cameron Menzies, while Daniel Klose defied a 106 average from Alan Soutar en route to booking his place in Belgium.
However, Scottish stars Soutar and Menzies will compete at the German Darts Grand Prix, after bouncing back to win through the ET2 Qualifier later in the day.
Soutar – a semi-finalist at Players Championship One on Monday – averaged 105 to see off Ricky Evans, and accounted for Woodhouse in another high-quality tussle to celebrate his European Tour return.
Menzies, meanwhile, relinquished just seven legs in his four matches in the ET2 Qualifier, averaging 102 and 99 in eye-catching wins against George Killington and Danny Lauby respectively.
Dutch trio Jeffrey De Zwaan, Kevin Doets and Niels Zonneveld also claimed a hat-trick of wins to advance through the ET2 Qualifier, although their compatriot Kuivenhoven was denied by Ireland’s Steve Lennon in the latter stages.
The PDC European Tour will see 13 tournaments held during 2024 – including a first visit in Switzerland – with each event worth £175,000 in prize money.
Broadcast coverage of the PDC European Tour will be through Viaplay, DAZN exclusively in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and on PDCTV.
In a change to the qualifying format from previous years, the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit now qualify by right for each event, along with the top 16 non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit.
Each event will see the top 16 players from the ProTour Order of Merit seeded for the draw, entering in the second round, with the remaining 32 players drawn at random in the first round.
ET1 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers: Mike De Decker, Luke Woodhouse, Lukas Wenig, Jermaine Wattimena, James Hurrell, Richard Veenstra, Daniel Klose, Luke Littler, Berry van Peer, Chris Landman.
ET2 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers: Mike De Decker, Alan Soutar, Steve Lennon, Jeffrey De Zwaan, Niels Zonneveld, Lukas Wenig, Richard Veenstra, Kevin Doets, Jermaine Wattimena, Cameron Menzies.
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