Rob Cross was among the four names to secure a place at the 2026 World Series of Darts Finals after Monday’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Leicester.
Following the Australian Darts Masters, the Mattioli Arena hosted the final chance for Tour Card holders to reach the £450,000 event. Ninety-one players competed for the last four spots in Amsterdam.
The 2020 runner-up will make his eighth appearance at the World Series Finals after seeing off World Matchplay semi-finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode. Cross opened with a 6-0 demolition of Carl Sneyd, followed with a 6-2 win over Brendan Dolan, edged past Peter Wright in a last-leg shoot-out and finished the job with a 6-3 victory against van Duijvenbode.
Dutchman Kevin Doets also booked his ticket to AFAS Live. He came from 5-4 down to beat Ricky Evans 6-5, then overcame Andrew Gilding before sealing a third successive appearance with a 6-3 win over Maik Kuivenhoven.Czech number one Karel Sedlacek will make his World Series of Darts Finals debut.
He backed up successive ton-plus averages against Jimmy van Schie and Ryan Meikle with a 105.22 average in a 6-4 triumph over Owen Bates in their winner-takes-all last-eight clash.
Callan Rydz completed the quartet and will also make his maiden appearance in Amsterdam. The North-East player put together five victories, including wins over Niko Springer, Rob Owen and finally Daryl Gurney.
Several high-profile names missed out. Top seed Luke Woodhouse was edged in a last-leg decider by Owen in his second match of the day.
Former world champions Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld fell short against Cross and van Duijvenbode respectively, while German number one Martin Schindler and former World Grand Prix winner Mike De Decker exited in their opening matches.
2022/23 world champion Michael Smith, Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, Ricardo Pietreczko and Dave Chisnall were also among the casualties.
The four qualifiers complete the 32-player field for the 2026 World Series of Darts Finals.
Defending champion and top seed Michael van Gerwen and world number one Luke Littler headline the line-up.
The event takes place at AFAS Live in Amsterdam from 17-20 September, with the sport’s biggest stars competing for the £100,000 top prize.
Last Eight
Callan Rydz 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Rob Cross 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kevin Doets 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Owen Bates
Images: PDC
