Another four golden tickets were torn from the furnace today, stamped, signed and thrust into grateful hands as the PDC Q-School drama rolled relentlessly onward across Milton Keynes and Kalkar. Two familiar travellers found their way back onto the motorway they once knew so well, while two others now stand on the brink of a maiden journey into darts’ unforgiving landscape.
Relief, redemption, disbelief – all served in equal measure. Let’s meet the latest quartet to survive the gauntlet.
JEFFREY SPARIDAANS
Twenty-four hours can feel like a lifetime at Q-School. Yesterday, Sparidaans was left staring into the void after letting multiple match darts slip through his fingers against Arno Merk, the dream evaporating with every missed wire. Today, fate blinked.
Against Italy’s Michele Turetta, the Dutchman flipped the script, held his nerve in another last-leg crucible and finally exhaled. Justice, perhaps delayed, was not denied.
Jefke – as he is known on the oche – is no stranger to professional life. He lived every inch of the Pro Tour grind across 2023 and 2024, turning up relentlessly even if the results rarely sang. Seven last-16 runs told a story of competence without payoff.
Yet 2025 brought vindication in the form of the WDF Dutch Open, a reminder that his ceiling still exists. Now reinstated, Sparidaans will hope this second stint carries more joy than survival.
CRISTO REYES
The Spaniard’s return reads like a long-awaited encore. Five years away from the Pro Tour is an eternity in modern darts, yet Reyes arrives not as a relic but as a renewed contender.
At 38, with seven World Championship appearances and a reputation forged under Ally Pally lights, the Tenerife thrower knows exactly what this life demands.His first PDC chapter was quietly impressive – quarter-finals, a semi-final and a fond relationship with Barnsley boards. More recently, he reminded everyone of his pedigree by pushing eventual World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen in a display that screamed unfinished business. Now, The Spartan marches back into battle.
CARL SNEYD
From Oldham to the oche, Sneyd finally steps into the professional sunlight. A powerful figure on the amateur scene and a former rugby man before tungsten took over, The Bomber arrives armed with physical presence and raw intent. At 38, this is not a late gamble – it’s a calculated strike.A Challenge Tour title last season hinted loudly that he was ready. Now, with two full years guaranteed, Sneyd has the runway to see just how far that explosive scoring can carry him.
NIALL CULLETON
Kilkenny’s latest export completes the set. Culleton has paid his dues in the quieter corners of the game, impressing often, breaking through occasionally, and now finally earning the chance to test himself against the elite. His Challenge Tour outings last year showed flashes of promise; the Pro Tour will demand more – and deliver it.
Surrounded by familiar Irish company in Rock, Gurney, O’Connor, Dolan, Mansell and Barry, Culleton steps forward knowing amongst those and many more, improvement is no longer optional. It’s mandatory.
Four cards. Four stories. Four very different paths – all now converging on the same unforgiving road
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
