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So far tour cards have been won by Alan Tabern, Robert Owen, Mario Robbe, Corey Cadby, Eddie Dootson and Jeffrey de Zwaan.
An update on some of the big names to have a go at getting tour cards:
Tony O'Shea - lost twice in the first round
Darryl Fitton - second round defeat today, lost in the third round yesterday
Jamie Hughes - fifth round defeat today, lost in the fourth round yesterday
Colin Lloyd - 2 second round defeats
Barrie Bates - lost in the third round today, lost in the first round yesterday
Jeff Smith - lost in the fourth and third rounds respectively
Cameron Menzies - lost in the fifth and third rounds respectively
Wes Newton - defeats in the first and second round. Played Tony O'Shea in the first round yesterday
Danny Noppert - lost in the semis of the European Q-school yesterday and the fourth round today
Over 600 players are taking part to try and earn 33 tour cards. No matter how good you might be, that's got to be a bit of a lottery. Win 8 games in a day and you get a tour card, otherwise winning around double that over 4 days might be enough.
Two early defeats for Dean Winstanley too.
Love this 9-darter from 2012, best celebration ever. I may be imagining it but it seemed like he was on the way up till this happened then downhill ever since. Probably just a coincidence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R91-YHdg5zs
I'd forgotten about him. Yes, that was the greatest 9 dart celebration!Originally Posted by Loramski
Just before that he got to the semi final of the Grand Slam. He got to the 3rd round of the World Championships in 2015 and that's really been it since that 9 darter.
I see none of the British BDO defectors got a tour card. In truth, none of them got close. Darryl Fitton was ranked joint 188th (and didn't compete for the last two days), Tony O'Shea was joint 135th, Jeff Smith was joint 79th, Jamie Hughes was joint 60th while Cameron Menzies was the highest placed at joint 24th. Wes Newton, Colin Lloyd, Barrie Bates and Dean Winstanley got nowhere as well.
Danny Noppert finished high enough in the European Q-school order of merit to get a tour card.
What will happen to O'Shea, Fitton etc now will be interesting. Do they return, tail between their legs, back to the BDO, or go on the Unicorn Challenge Tour (basically the 2nd division of the PDC)?
I'm not sure what O'Shea and Fitton are playing at, Jamie Hughes made a big thing about leaving the BDO and thanked them for everything- it will be interesting to see what these guys do next, as you say. Even getting through Q-School would have been no guarantee for success. Last year's 24 qualifiers didn't exactly take the PDC by the storm, Richard North is the highest ranked at 52, Steve Lennon's at 60 with Alcinas and Schindler just behind him. Players like Richie Burnett, John Part and Paul Nicholson got in, for all the good it did them (124, 164 and 93 respectively in the rankings).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_P..._Tour#Q-School
It's very difficult starting out in the PDC. Making a TV tournament is tough until you've earned enough from qualifiers and floor events to qualify by right, though there are separate qualifiers for the UK Open and Grand Slam.
North got to a floor final, 4 quarter finals, also made the last 16 4 times, which got him high enough in the Pro Tour order of merit. He'll rise further up the rankings in his second year as he has no winnings to defend.
Barney, Stephen Bunting and Rob Cross (that I can think of) were seeded for their first World Championships. Two had the game to win Lakeside, the other won the World Championship at his first attempt. If you have a poor first year, you've got a major problem. If you do well in the first year, you need to kick on the following year.
Ted Hankey has so far been the biggest flop to move across the divide. He was another who made a huge song and dance about leaving the BDO, but then didn't want to put the effort in and decided not to bother with Q-school after he lost his card. I think O'Shea is virtually finished as a player. Fitton as well, if he's getting a bit fed up of all the travelling.
Jamie Hughes possibly has the biggest problem!
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