5. UK & European Qualifying Schools

5.1 Both the UK and European Q Schools shall comprise a First Stage of three one-day Events followed by a Final Stage of four separate one-day Events, all played over a best of 11 leg format under standard ProTour rules.

Players from the UK, Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar shall play in the UK Q School. Players from all other European Nations shall play in the European Q School. Players from other nations may choose in which Q School to participate.

Players who lost their Tour Card at the end of 2020, along with the Top 16 players from the Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit who do not have Tour Cards for 2021 will be exempt to the Final Stage in either the UK or European Q Schools, depending on their eligibility by nationality.

NOTE: Due to ongoing travel restrictions, the PDC may permit players to participate in an alternative Q School to the above criteria if it is more practical for them to do so.

NOTE: In order to comply with ongoing restrictions, the First Stage shall be divided in to two three one-day Event blocks, drawn randomly with half the entrants in each section and each block shall produce half the number of players required for the Final Stage with the four semi-finalists each day qualifying automatically and the remaining places decided by a Points List with one point being awarded per win from the first full round drawn without byes.

5.2 Tour Cards shall be awarded to the winner of each day’s play in Final Stage at both the UK and European Q School. Once a player has been awarded a Tour Card they shall not play in the remainder of Q School Final Stage. The remaining Tour Cards will be awarded to the remaining players who occupy the qualifying positions in the Q School Points List which shall be comprised of points as awarded in 5.3. Places will allocated to the relevant UK & European Q School Points Lists on a pro-rata basis from the final number of players who compete in at least one day of Q School.

Entrance to Q School constitutes acceptance of a Tour Card, if so earned by a player’s performance. If a player earns a Tour Card by virtue of their performance at Q School but declines a Tour Card, they are not eligible to appear on the Q School Points List or play in ProTour (including qualifiers) or Secondary Tour Events in 2021.

5.3 A Points List for each Q School shall be compiled as per the rules below to determine the allocation of Final Stage Qualifiers and additional Tour Cards.

In the First Stage, players will receive one point per victory from the first full round onwards on each day (defined as a round played without byes caused by the draw), and the respective three-day blocks will operate their own Points List to provide further qualifiers for Final Stage, as follows: – UK Qualifying School First Stage 1A & 1B will each provide half the required players from their respective Points List. – European Qualifying School First Stage 1A & 1B will each provide half the required players from their respective Points List. – In the event of there being an odd number of players required for Final Stage, the final player for each Final Stage will be the next highest non-qualified player from the First Stage Points Lists. – Combined Points Lists will be used (combining players from Stage 1A and 1B who did not initially qualify for Final Stage) to create a reserve list should any player(s) be unable to compete in Final Stage at either venue. – In Final Stage, players will receive one point per victory from the Last 64 onwards on each day of Final Stage to form the Final Stage Orders of Merit. – The split of the required additional Tour Cards across both Qualifying Schools will be allocated pro-rata based on the final number of players who participate in Stage 1A and 1B combined at each Qualifying School plus the players exempt to Final Stage, and will be confirmed ahead of the commencement of Final Stage.

Wins by virtue of a walkover from this round onwards shall be counted as a 6-0 win. If a player withdraws midway through a match their opponent shall be awarded the win by six legs to however many legs the withdrawing player has won at the time of withdrawal. All rounds subsequent to this round shall count for points.

At any point during Q School, if two or more players are tied on points, they will be separated in the Points List by (in order until they can be split): legs difference, legs won, then DartConnect average based on their totals in their matches. Results from any disregarded rounds are not included in this countback. If the players cannot be split, a play-off will be organised. In the event of a discrepancy with DartConnect meaning averages cannot be verified then they will be disregarded.

5.4 Entry to the Q School shall cost £400 plus a £50 2021 DRA Sanction Fee and be paid in advance. The player shall then be deemed to be an Associate Member of the PDPA for the year providing the player participates in at least one day of Q School. Players who achieve their Tour Card must upgrade to Full PDPA membership at a cost of an additional £100 in order to be granted their Tour Card.

5.5 The players who finished in the top eight of the final 2020 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit and who were not awarded a Tour Card for 2021 will be invited in to the 2021 Q School at no cost. If any of these players achieve a Tour Card through the Q School, they must pay £100 for PDPA membership and £50 DRA Sanction Fee before a Tour Card is granted to them.