Reigning WDF World Champion Jimmy van Schie is officially packing his bags for the PDC, securing a two-year Tour Card in Germany, ultimately meaning he won’t be able to defend his crown at the end of 2026.
The Lakeside Champion was very much aware of the likelihood prior to packing his bags for Q-School. The Dutchman bowed out at the semi-final stage, edged out in a deciding leg thriller by Germany’s Yorick Hofkens, but crucially had sufficient credit from the previous final stage days to make the result irrelevant – well for him anyway.
Enough points were banked, the maths was friendly, and if there was ever a perfect time to lose at Q School, that was it.
Hofkens pinched the decisive leg, punched his own golden ticket, and both arrow-smiths walked away smiling – a rare outcome in that particular pressure cooker.
The other semi followed a similar script. Another last leg, another nerve shredder, and this time it was Matthias Ehlers who kept his cool to deny Belgium’s Lennart Faes who now heads into the final day hovering nervously around the automatic Tour Card spots.
It was, all told, a cracking day for the lads on home soil. Alongside Arno Merk, Germany now boasts three success stories at European Q School – and there is one more day to go.
Over in the UK, the Tour Cards continued the previous afternoon’s pattern – shared between England and Ireland. After Carl Sneyd and Niall Culleton struck gold yesterday, it was the turn of Tom Sykes and Shane McGuirk.
McGuirk, the former Lakeside champion at Frimley Green, clearly kept some of that fairy dust. Nicknamed The Arrow, he finally fires his way onto the PDC circuit after seeing off recent Ally Pally breakout Charlie Manby in the final. It seems Sykes, meanwhile, steps into completely uncharted waters.
The 33-year-old Yorkshireman can seriously play and will relish the chance to test himself against the elite when the ProTour begins next month. Fresh from a quarter final exit at the ADC Global Championships, he barely stopped to breathe before heading to Milton Keynes and getting the job done.
The man Sykes beat in his semi-final, Stephen Burton, sits pretty on ten points, three clear of Derek Coulson in fifth. One more decent day and Burton could be back in the PDC without even needing to throw another dart.Winning the WDF World Championship proved to be a very good omen today, as the current champion, Van Schie and his predecessor, McGuirk both enjoyed success.
One day remains. Anyone who’s lived through Q School knows what that means – nerves, calculators, broken hearts, and dreams realised. Buckle up.
EUROPEAN Q-SCHOOL (Final Stage – Day Three)
Semi-Finals
Matthias Ehlers 6-5 Lennert Fae
Yorick Hofkins 6-5 Jimmy van Schie
UK Q-SCHOOL (Final Stage – Day Three)
Semi-Finals
Shane McGuirk 6-2 Charlie Manby
Tom Sykes 6-4 Stephen Burton
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
