Tom Bissell and Viktor Tingstrom secured two-year PDC Tour Cards for the first time in their careers on Thursday, after the pair came through their respective Qualifying School fields in the UK and in Europe, with the Final Stage commencing in Milton Keynes and Kalkar, Germany.
The opening three days of 2025 PDC Qualifying School saw players battle it out in Stage One to secure spots into the Final Stage, with 48 automatic places given out, 24 in each field, with the remaining spots going to players via their respective Order of Merit’s, which was built up on winning games and picking up points.
UK Q School
Englishman, Bissell, who entered the Final Stage having finished 69th in the UK Order of Merit during Stage One, secured a landmark day, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Jarred Cole, Jamie Owens, John Henderson, Thomas Lovely, James Howard-Hughes and Tom Sykes, to set up a clash with Bradley Brooks.
The final began with five straight holds of throw between the pair, before Bissell broke his compatriot’s throw in Leg Six to move 4-2 ahead in a race to six. Brooks then fought back by winning back-to-back legs in 12 and 18 darts respectively to square the tie up at four apiece and make it a best of three contest.
The pair then held throw in the following two legs to set up a 11th and deciding leg, in which Bissell would have the advantage of throwing first.
Winning the
bull prior to the match commencing proved to be vital, as Bissell began the decider with a 180 and sealed the victory with a 14 darter to pick up a PDC Tour Card for the first time in his career.
Former World Youth Champion, Brooks, who sealed his spot into the Final Stage automatically on Day One of Stage One, reached the final by recording victories against Keegan Brown, Taylor Greaves, James Beeton, Jim McEwan, Jimmy Bristow and Aden Kirk, before being narrowly
denied by Bissell.
However, the 24-year-old sits top of the UK Order of Merit on 5 points following the opening day with nine Tour Card spots available come the conclusion of the Final
Stage.
European Q School
Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom produced a remarkable display to secure a two-year PDC Tour Card for the first time in his career, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Jose Justicia, Kevin Troppmann, Andrea Micheletti, Stefan Bellmont, Tytus Kanik and Karel Sedlacek,
to set up a clash with Dutchman Jimmy Van Schie.
The final began with three straight holds of throw between the pair, before Tingstrom broke Van Schie’s throw for the first time in Leg Four with an 18 darter, which was then followed by a 14 dart hold of throw to move 4-1 ahead in a race to six.
Van Schie then fought back by winning
three consecutive legs in a total of 46 darts to square the tie up at 4apiece. Tingstrom sealed
the victory by winning the following two legs in 15 and 12 darts respectively, pinning a 129
checkout along the way to secure a two-year Tour Card for the first time and join his fellow compatriot, Jeffrey De Graaf on the professional circuit.
Van Schie’s run to the final saw the Dutchman record victories on the day against Pascal
Devroey, Levy Frauenfelder, Darius Labanauskas, Ben Robb, Alexander Merkx and Cor Dekker, before being denied by Tingstrom, as he sits top of the European Order of Merit on 5 points and looks to become the latest Dutch star to join the PDC Pro Tour.
2025 PDC Qualifying School continues on Friday, in the UK and in Europe, as Day Two of the Final Stage takes place, with one automatic Tour Card up for grabs at each Q School.
Play will commence at 13:00 CET in Europe and 12:00 GMT in the UK. All live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com
UK Qualifying School Final Stage
Day One- Thursday 9th January
Quarter Finals
Tom Sykes 6-2 Adam Paxton
Tom Bissell 6-3 James Howard-Hughes
Bradley Brooks 6-3 Jimmy Bristow
Aden Kirk 6-5 Henry Coates
Semi Finals
Tom Bissell 6-3 Tom Sykes
Bradley Brooks 6-2 Aden Kirk
Final
Tom Bissell 6-5 Bradley Brooks
European Qualifying School Final Stage
Day One
Quarter Finals
Jimmy Van Schie 6-1 Alexander Merkx
Cor Dekker 6-2 Leon Weber
Viktor Tingstrom 6-2 Tytus Kanik
Karel Sedlacek 6-0 Krzysztof Kciuk
Semi Finals
Jimmy Van Schie 6-3 Cor Dekker
Viktor Tingstrom 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Final
Viktor Tingstrom 6-4 Jimmy Van Schi
