Alan Soutar has taken aim at the PDC’s revamped European Tour format, describing it as a system that makes life “extremely hard” for anyone outside darts’ inner circle.
Under the new rules, the top 16 players on the main Order of Merit receive automatic byes to the second round of European Tour events – while those ranked below must slog their way through qualifiers and early rounds just to stand on the same stage. The gulf between darts’ aristocracy and the working class has never looked wider.
For players like Soutar, currently world No. 54, the ladder to success is looking more like a greased pole. The Scot says the format favours the elite and leaves mid-ranked professionals fighting uphill battles before a dart is even thrown.
He explained on the Mission Darts Podcast: “Yeah, I’m not getting the dizzy heights of the top 32 or starting to approach that. But unfortunately, the PDC and the rule change of the Euro Tours has made it extremely hard to close the gap on the guys in the top 32.”
Soutar admits he’s now one of the circuit’s middle-order grafters. “So I think I’m one of those players now that sits in that 33 to 64, and that’s reality. And I’m not a professional dart player full time. So yeah.”
Criticism inevitably followed his comments, but the Scot isn’t backing down. “I got a bit of slagging for it when I spoke out about it in an interview with the PDC, and everyone was like, ‘No, no, he’s right’, ‘No, no, he’s wrong’, ‘Stop moaning, get better’ and all that kind of thing.”
“But the reality is it’s very hard to close that gap, and it’s kind of free money for those guys that are already in the top 32, top 16 in the rankings. So yeah, it’s extremely difficult. And if you speak to any of the players that are in my sort of area in the rankings, they’ll all say the same thing.”
Despite the structural hurdles, Soots has had a solid 2025 – three Players Championship quarter-finals, a fifth-round run at the UK Open, and a Tour Card looking safe in his pocket.
He summed up his season with typical pragmatism: “Yeah, do you know what? I quantify it always by November, December. So, you know you’re going to keep your Tour Card, but also you’re going to be in the Player Championship Finals and you’re going to be in Ally Pally. And I’ve done both of them. So pretty good for me, I think. I’m sitting 54th in the world, which is safe for my Tour Card.”
Soutar may be satisfied with his season – but not with a system he believes rewards comfort over competition.
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Images: PDC
