The PDC Q-School is not merely a tournament. It is a gruelling, soul-sapping crucible – a siege on body, brain and belief, where tungsten ability alone is nowhere near enough.
This is an endurance trial disguised as a darts competition, demanding psychological fortitude, emotional elasticity and the capacity to function while running on caffeine, adrenaline and the faint memory of sleep.
Most enter with hope. Many leave hollowed out. Only a select few stagger through the smoke with their professional status intact. But for four arrow-smiths drifting out of either Milton Keynes or Kalkar with tour cards clutched tightly in hand, the overwhelming sensation is not triumph alone – it is relief. Relief that there will be no white-knuckle wait on 5pm on the final. But more importantly, relief that the torture has ended early.
These are the first quartet to survive the assault. Whether boarding a train they once rode before, or taking their maiden journey into the deep end of professional darts, their destination is the same – and the real work is only just beginning.
RHYS GRIFFIN
The road back to the summit is rarely gentle, and almost never forgiving – yet Rhys Griffin stormed straight back through the front gates like a man who had simply popped out to fetch milk. Losing his tour card last season could have fractured lesser spirits. Instead, it sharpened him. One year later, he has reclaimed his professional status at the very first opportunity, a defiant rebuttal delivered in tungsten.At 28, the Welshman sits at that fascinating crossroads where experience begins to fuse with urgency. Talent has never been the issue. Neither, for that matter, has pedigree – now boasting The Lancashire Rose, Lisa Ashton as his mother-in-law following marriage to her daughter, Danielle.
The Pro Tour is a merciless journey, and Griffin knows all too well how quickly prize money evaporates once travel, accommodation, fuel, food and time are deducted. £14,500 across a season looks respectable on paper; in reality, it barely keeps the engine ticking over.
Wiser, tougher and battle-scarred from months spent criss-crossing Leicester, Wigan, Hildesheim and every nondescript leisure centre in between, Griffin returns not as a tourist, but as a survivor. This time, he intends to be far harder to remove.
ADAM LEEK
From the wide skies of Australia comes Adam Leek, stepping onto the Pro Tour runway with ambition in his carry-on luggage and anonymity still clinging to his name. His name may not yet resonate as loudly as World Cup winners, Simon Whitlock or Damon Heta, but every legacy starts as a whisper before it becomes a roar.Leek’s domestic numbers were solid rather than spectacular.
A mid 20s finish on the DPA Order of Merit won’t ignite fireworks, though his top-ten standing on the ADA circuit hints at deeper reserves. What he lacks in global exposure, he compensates for with steel-nerved composure – the kind required to survive Q-School, especially when you seize the opportunity on day one. That alone is a calling card.
With Mason Whitlock still finding his footing and Kiwi Ben Robb battling on, Leek could find himself as Heta’s sole ANZAC representative and an opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with The Heat in the next World Cup.
February’s Players Championships will tell us plenty, but one truth already stands: you don’t escape Q-School by accident. Especially with a few days to spare.
ARNO MERK
Before December 11th, Arno Merk was a relative unknow. After it, he was a headline. And now, with a tour card secured, he is officially part of the sport’s present tense. The German qualified for Ally Pally by conquering the PDCE DASH Super League – a competition that mirrors its champion in relative obscurity. Then fate handed him the curtain-raiser, alongside Kim Huybrechts, no less. On paper, a formality. In reality, a seismic upset. Merk dismantled The Hurricane, then went one step further by whitewashing Peter Wright.
Yes, it was not the Snakebite of imperial vintage – but you still have to do it.Michael van Gerwen eventually applied the full stop to Merk’s World Championship debut, but not before the German had announced himself with clarity and courage.
Fast forward to Q-School, and within minutes of dispatching Jeffrey Sparidaans, Merk claimed a tour card and a curious piece of trivia: the first winner of the 2026 World Championship and the first new tour card holder of this season’s Q-School. Store that away for quizzes to come.
FILIP BEREZA
The Eastern European arrow-smith arrived without fanfare, without spotlight, and largely without recognition. Which, historically, is exactly how trouble tends to arrive.Polish darts has quietly been assembling its own lineage, with Krzysztof Ratajski carrying the standard into the world’s biggest arenas. Bereza now joins that narrative at ground level, armed with belief and an unshakeable nerve.
His international résumé was thin prior to 2025, though a World Masters appearance hinted at intent.Then came Kalkar. And then came the comeback. Trailing 5-1 against former World Matchplay semi-finalist Jeffrey De Zwaan, Bereza stared into the abyss – and blinked last.
Dart by dart, leg by leg, the Pole clawed his way back, flipping despair into destiny and ripping the golden ticket from Dutch fingers at the final moment.Two years on the Pro Tour now stretch before him like an uncharted map.
Whether Bereza becomes Poland’s next standard-bearer remains unwritten. But every journey of consequence begins with a moment of nerve – and he has already proven he owns that in abundance.
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Images: PDC
