Whether watching darts from iconic American venues or playing down at your nearest hostelry, thoughts often drift to whether you too can toss the tungsten with Phil Taylor, Luke Littler the rest?
Absolutely. But there’s only one way in - and it’s as gruelling as it is glorious. Welcome to Q-School, the gladiator arena for darting hopefuls. It's survival of the fittest. By that, we mean survival of the ones who are generally the best at darts.
Every January, thousands descend on two locations: one in Milton Keynes for UK entrants, and what appears to be a disused theme park in Kalkar, Germany for everyone else - additional venues may soon follow. All hoping to win one of the limited, coveted Tour Cards. This year, 29 were awarded across both venues, although that number changes annually depending on how many players drop off the tour.
Entry and expenses will set you back about £1000 or $1500 - nerves of steel and a decent breakfast not included. Over several days of knockout competition, players earn points for wins. Tour Cards are awarded either to the daily KO winner or to those finishing high on a league table built across the week.
Q-School has two stages. The first is open to absolutely anyone and their dog - although perhaps that’s a stretch (though if your dog can throw darts with any great prowess, try it in a Formula One car). Over three days, players compete in separate giant tournaments where wins mean points on a gigantic league ladder. Similar to golf - make the cut to advance.
Reach stage two - and you’ll be joined by a new wave of players, many of whom recently lost their Tour Card and are, frankly, quite good. Each day is a new tournament. Win the day? Golden ticket. Otherwise, rack up enough points over those four days to earn your spot via the leaderboard.
Win a Tour Card and you’re in the big leagues for two years, with automatic access to all 34 Players Championships and March’s UK Open. After that? You’ll need to be inside the top 64 on the Main Order of Merit after that two years to stay on tour - or it’s back to Q-School.
In some ways professional dart sis hybrid of the systems operated by professional tennis and golf. The Q-Schools and tier system is similar to golf but once you have a PDC Pro Tour Card the structure is perhaps closer to tennis.
PDC Darts: How does it all work
Alternatively, you could rejoin the amateur or tier tour circuit, where there’s still decent money on offer, or take up gardening.
Just remember: owning a Tour Card doesn’t guarantee an income - it guarantees access. Lose in the first round of a Players Championship and you get nothing. But the upside? Huge.
The next PDC World Champion will earn £1 million ($1.5million) - and that’s not even counting sponsorships, exhibition fees, TV fame and signing your own face on thousands of photos. You could even hire a manager - if they’ll have you - to take care of bookings and logistics - though they’ll take a cut, obviously.
So next time you’re watching darts at Madison Square Garden and wondering how a plumber from Wigan ended up throwing arrows in front of thousands of fans, remember this: it all started with £1000, a steady hand, and a darting dream.
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