PDC Pro Tour

The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). They comprise Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals.

Players Championships

Players Championships, originally known as PDPA Players Championships, are organised by the Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) and have increased in number in recent years. They are known as "floor tournaments", because they usually feature 16 darts boards in close proximity on an arena floor where the tournament is played in the space of a day. Televised events differ by having just one main board on a stage with the audience and cameras situated around it.

Eligibility for these events are usually restricted to PDPA members only, however tournaments in Belgium, Holland, Germany for instance often allow entry to non-PDPA members who are residents of the country staging the tournament. Some overseas players from the BDO take the opportunity of playing in PDC Players Championships in their home countries.

Number of events

Number of PDPA Player Championships events per year:

• 2004: 5
• 2005: 8
• 2006: 9
• 2007: 21
• 2008: 31
• 2009: 33
• 2010: 37

Prize money

In 2004, the first year of Players Championships - each tournament winner received £5,000. The total prize fund for each 2005 event was £19,600 with the champion still receiving £5,000. The prize money has risen for the 2010 season to £31,200 per event.

• Winner £6,000
• Runner-up £3,000
• Semi-finalists £1,500
• Quarter-finalists £1,000
• Last 16 £500
• Last 32 £300
• Last 64 £200

The events in Australia and Canada attract slightly less prize money:

• Winner £5,000
• Runner-up £2,500
• Semi-finalists £1,250
• Quarter-finalists £700
• Last 16 £300
• Last 32 £200
• Last 64 £100

Order of Merit

The prize money won in Players Championship counts towards the PDC Order of Merit which contributes to each players world ranking, so there is some significance to the events, even though they are not televised.

During 2007, the PDC and PDPA added further importance to Players Championships by changing qualification criteria for major televised events. A separate Players Championship Order of Merit was introduced which calculates players earnings for these tournaments only each calendar year. The players who won the most money (without having already made it automatically) were awarded qualifying places at the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and World Championship, amongst others. Previously, a sudden-death knockout qualifying tournament decided the players which meant players could miss out on tournaments because of unlucky matches or unlucky draws. The World Championship, however still maintains an additional qualifying tournament - from which Kirk Shepherd emerged and went on to reach the world final itself in 2008. This was dropped for the 2010 running of the event, however it has been reinstated for 2011 with one qualifier to come from an event to be held in November 2010.

2004 Players Championship Finals

• Blackpool, England, 24 July: Phil Taylor beat Andy Jenkins
• Newport, Wales, 25 September: Wayne Mardle 3-2 Colin Lloyd
• Ireland, 16 October: Colin Lloyd beat Phil Taylor
• Scotland, 13 November: Mark Dudbridge 3-1 Peter Manley
• Rotterdam, 6 November: Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Andy Smith

2005 Players Championship Finals

• Hayling Island, Isle of Wight, 18 June: Ronnie Baxter 3-2 Roland Scholten
• Hayling Island, Isle of Wight, 19 June: Colin Lloyd 3-1 Andy Jenkins
• Blackpool, England, 23 July: Phil Taylor 3-0 Wayne Mardle
• Newport, Wales, 24 September: Phil Taylor 3-2 Colin Lloyd
• Dublin, 22 October: Phil Taylor 3-2 Bob Anderson
• Magnum Centre, Irvine, 5 November: Adrian Lewis 3-0 Mick McGowan
• Netherlands, 12 November: Phil Taylor 3-0 Colin Lloyd
• Netherlands, 13 November: Phil Taylor 3-0 Steve Maish

2006 Players Championship Finals

• Gibraltar, 21 January: Dennis Priestley 3-2 Terry Jenkins
• Hayling Island, Isle of Wight, 17 June: Colin Lloyd 3-1 Barrie Bates
• Hayling Island, Isle of Wight, 18 June: Raymond van Barneveld 3-1 Adrian Lewis
• Blackpool, England, 22 July: Phil Taylor 3-1 Roland Scholten
• Newport, Wales, 24 September: Phil Taylor 3-1 James Wade
• Dublin, 21 October: Phil Taylor 3-2 Bob Anderson
• Scotland, 4 November: Adrian Lewis 3-1 Mick McGowan
• Netherlands, 11 November: Colin Lloyd 3-0 Mick McGowan
• Netherlands, 12 November: Barrie Bates 3-2 Phil Taylor

2007 Players Championship Finals

for expanded results see 2007 PDC Pro Tour

• Gibraltar, 20 January: Raymond van Barneveld 3-1 Adrian Lewis
• Gibraltar, 21 January: Andy Hamilton 3-1 Colin Lloyd
• Frankfurt, 24 March: Raymond van Barneveld 3-1 Ronnie Baxter
• Antwerp Darts Trophy, 15 April: Terry Jenkins 3-1 Colin Lloyd
• Open Holland Masters, 29 April: Peter Manley 3-0 James Wade
• Thialf Darts Trophy, Heerenveen, 3 June: Roland Scholten 3-1 Chris Mason
• Hayling Island, 16 June: Terry Jenkins 3-0 Wes Newton
• Hayling Island, 17 June: John Part 3-1 Mervyn King
• Las Vegas, 1 July: Raymond van Barneveld 3-2 Terry Jenkins
• Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy, Blackpool, 21 July: Phil Taylor 3-1 Adrian Lewis
• Peachtree Open, Atlanta, Georgia, 26 August: Wayne Mardle 3-2 James Wade
• Ireland Open Classic, County Mayo, Rep. Ireland, 9 September: Denis Ovens 3-0 Colin Osborne
• Windy City Open, Chicago, 16 September: Ronnie Baxter 3-1 James Wade
• Newport, Wales, 22 September: Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Alex Roy
• Dublin, 6 October: Phil Taylor 3-0 James Wade
• Irvine, 20 October: Andy Smith 3-0 James Wade
• German Darts Trophy, 27 October: Wayne Mardle 3-1 James Wade
• John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic, Killarney, 4 November: Jelle Klaasen 3-2 Vincent van der Voort
• Lisse, Netherlands, 10 November: Phil Taylor 3-0 Chris Mason
• Lisse, Netherlands, 11 November: Phil Taylor 3-2 Raymond van Barneveld

2008 Players Championship results

for expanded results see 2008 PDC Pro Tour

• Gibraltar, 19 January: John Part 3-1 Chris Mason
• Gibraltar, 20 January: James Wade 3-1 Denis Ovens
• South, 1 March: Phil Taylor 3-0 James Wade
• North-West, 15 March: Alan Tabern 3-0 Chris Mason
• Germany, 22 March: Phil Taylor 3-1 Raymond van Barneveld
• Germany, 23 March: Phil Taylor 3-1 Wayne Jones
• Midlands, 29 March: Phil Taylor 3-0 Colin Lloyd
• Antwerp Darts Trophy, 12 April: Phil Taylor 3-0 Andy Smith
• Scotland, 19 April: Mervyn King 3-0 Mark Dudbridge
• Open Holland Masters, 26 April: Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Colin Osborne
• Thialf Darts Trophy, Heerenveen, 1 June: cancelled ^[1]
• Bristol (replaces Hayling Island), 14 June: Phil Taylor 3-0 Alan Tabern
• Bristol (replaces Hayling Island), 15 June: Dennis Priestley 3-2 Kevin Painter
• Las Vegas, 29 June: Phil Taylor 3-1 Ronnie Baxter
• Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy, Blackpool, 19 July: Phil Taylor 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
• Australia Open, Shoalhaven, 10 August: Robert Thornton 3-1 Paul Nicholson
• Kitchener Open, Canada, 17 August: Dennis Priestley 3-1 Lionel Sams
• Peachtree Open, Atlanta, 24 August: Alan Tabern 3-1 Andy Hamilton
• Veldhoven, Netherlands, 30 August: Phil Taylor 3-1 James Wade
• Veldhoven, Netherlands, 31 August: Phil Taylor 3-0 Terry Jenkins
• Ireland Open Classic, 7 September: Felix McBrearty 3-1 Chris Mason
• Windy City Open, 14 September: Colin Lloyd 3-2 Wayne Mardle
• Newport, Wales, 20 September: Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Jamie Caven
• Newport, Wales, 21 September: Alan Tabern 3-2 Colin Osborne
• Dublin, 4 October: Phil Taylor 3-2 James Wade
• Dublin, 5 October: Dennis Priestley 3-1 Raymond van Barneveld
• Scotland, 18 October: Alex Roy 3-2 Denis Ovens
• Scotland, 19 October: James Wade 3-1 Mark Walsh
• Dinslaken, Germany, 25 October: Colin Osborne 3-2 Carlos Rodriguez
• Killarney Pro Tour, 2 November: Terry Jenkins 3-0 Andy Jenkins
• Holland, 8 November: Mervyn King 3-2 Raymond van Barneveld
• Holland, 9 November: James Wade 3-2 Mark Walsh

2009 Players Championship results

for expanded results see 2009 PDC Pro Tour

• Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy, 10 January: Terry Jenkins 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
• Gibraltar, 17 January: Phil Taylor 6-2 Alan Tabern
• Gibraltar, 18 January: Phil Taylor 6-1 Mark Dudbridge
• Germany, 28 February: Phil Taylor 6-0 Adrian Lewis
• Germany, 1 March: Phil Taylor 6-1 Adrian Lewis
• Scotland, 7 March: Robert Thornton 6-5 Dennis Priestley
• North-West, 14 March: Dennis Priestley 6-1 Colin Lloyd
• South, 21 March: Phil Taylor 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
• Midlands, 28 March: Mark Walsh 6-4 Phil Taylor
• Nuland, 4 April: Phil Taylor 6-5 Gary Anderson
• Nuland, 5 April: Phil Taylor 6-2 Gary Anderson
• South-West, 11 April: Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
• East-Midlands, 18 April: James Wade 6-4 Colin Lloyd
• Wales, 9 May: Gary Anderson 6-2 Mervyn King
• Barnsley, 13 June: Mark Walsh 6-4 Jamie Caven
• Barnsley, 14 June: Colin Osborne 6-2 Gary Anderson
• Dinslaken, 20 June: Andy Smith 6-5 Colin Lloyd
• Dinslaken, 21 June: Mark Walsh 6-5 Andy Hamilton
• Las Vegas, 30 June: Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Phil Taylor
• Australia, 8 August: Paul Nicholson 6-1 Robert Thornton
• Canada, 16 August: Dennis Priestley 6-4 Wes Newton
• Austria, 5 September: Adrian Lewis 6-4 Carlos Rodriguez
• Austria, 6 September: Jamie Caven 6-2 Steve Beaton
• Ireland, 3 October: Adrian Lewis 6-4 Andy Hamilton
• Ireland, 4 October: Phil Taylor 6-1 Wes Newton
• Killarney Pro Tour, 18 October: Phil Taylor 6-0 Paul Nicholson
• Nuland, 24 October: Steve Beaton 6-1 Wes Newton
• Nuland, 25 October: James Wade 6-2 Brendan Dolan
• Scotland, 7 November: Wes Newton 6-5 Steve Beaton
• Scotland, 8 November: Colin Osborne 6-4 Michael van Gerwen

2010 Players Championship results

for expanded results see 2010 PDC Pro Tour

• Gibraltar, 6 February: Colin Lloyd 6-2 Wayne Jones
• Gibraltar, 7 February: Denis Ovens 6-5 Gary Anderson
• Swindon, 20 February: Mervyn King 6-3 Andy Hamilton
• Derby, 27 February: Phil Taylor 6-1 Terry Jenkins
• Gladbeck, Germany, 6 March: Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Wayne Jones
• Gladbeck, Germany, 7 March: Adrian Lewis 6-4 Mark Walsh
• Wigan, 13 March: Phil Taylor 6-0 Mark Dudbridge
• Crawley, 20 March: Barrie Bates 6-5 Denis Ovens
• Barnsley, 10 April: Simon Whitlock 6-4 Gary Anderson
• Derby, 17 April: Simon Whitlock 6-4 Colin Lloyd
• Wigan, 24 April: Wes Newton 6-2 Andy Smith
• Wigan, 8 May: Simon Whitlock 6-0 Andy Hamilton
• Salzburg, Austria, 15 May: Simon Whitlock 6-4 Steve Beaton
• Salzburg, Austria, 16 May: Phil Taylor 6-4 Simon Whitlock
• Barnsley, 12 June: Gary Anderson 6-1 Mark Walsh
• Barnsley, 13 June: Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Denis Ovens
• Haarlem, Netherlands, 19 June: Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Wayne Jones
• Haarlem, Netherlands, 20 June: Andy Smith 6-4 Alan Tabern
• Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 27 June: Phil Taylor 6-3 Denis Ovens
• Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 28 June: Gary Anderson 6-4 Simon Whitlock
• Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 29 June: Co Stompé 6-3 James Wade
• Revesby, Australia, 22 August: Dennis Priestley 6-3 Mark Hylton
• Ontario, Canada, 28 August: Jamie Caven 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
• Ontario, Canada, 29 August: Colin Lloyd 6-1 Jamie Caven
• Crawley, 4 September: Adrian Lewis 6-4 Steve Farmer
• Crawley, 5 September: Colin Lloyd 6-4 Simon Whitlock
• Nuland, Netherlands, 18 September: James Wade 6-4 Terry Jenkins
• Nuland, Netherlands, 19 September: Steve Farmer 6-4 Kevin Painter
• Ireland, 2 October: Simon Whitlock 6-1 Dennis Priestley
• Ireland, 3 October: Jamie Caven 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
• Killarney Pro Tour, 17 October: Gary Anderson 6-1 Denis Smith
• Bad Nauheim, Germany, 23 October: Mark Webster 6-4 Richie Burnett
• Bad Nauheim, Germany, 24 October: Simon Whitlock 6-4 Richie Burnett
• Barnsley, 6 November: Wes Newton 6-3 Colin Lloyd
• Barnsley, 7 November: Wes Newton 6-1 Mark Webster
• Derby, 27 November: Phil Taylor 6-3 Mark Walsh
• Derby, 28 November: Mark Walsh 6-4 Phil Taylor

2011

1. Jan 29th Gerry Weber Centre, Halle Mervyn King 6–1 Vincent van der Voort

Dave Chisnall hits 9 darter

2.Jan 30th Gerry Weber Centre, Halle Ronnie Baxter 6–4 Antonio Alcinas

3.Feb 19th Moorways Centre, Derby Jamie Caven 6–2 Adrian Lewis John Henderson hits 9 Darter

4.Feb 20th Moorways Centre, Derby John Part 6-0 Mark Walsh

5.Mar 26th K2 Centre, Crawley Paul Nicholson 6–4 Adrian Lewis

6.Mar 27th K2 Centre, Crawley Wes Newton 6–4 Paul Nicholson

7.May 14th Wiener Neustadt, Vienna John Part 6–0 Denis Ovens

8.May 15th Wiener Neustadt, Vienna Vincent van der Voort 6–5 Phil Taylor

9.May 21st K2 Centre, Crawley Gary Anderson 6–3 Terry Jenkins

10.May 22nd K2 Centre, Crawley Paul Nicholson 6–3 Terry Jenkins

11.June 11th Metrodome, Barnsley Paul Nicholson 6–4 Steve Brown

12.June 12th Metrodome, Barnsley Andy Smith 6–2 Dave Chisnall

Simon Whitlock hits 9 darter

13.June 18th Nuland, Netherlands Gary Anderson 6–5 Wes Newton

Simon Whitlock hits 9 darter

14.June 19th Nuland, Netherlands Gary Anderson 6–3 Andy Smith

Justin Pipe hits 9 darter

15.Aug 27th Ontario, Canada John Part 6–4 Wes Newton

16.Aug 28th Ontario, Canada Ronnie Baxter 6–2 Kevin Painter

17.Sept 3rd Moorways Centre, Derby Raymond van Barneveld 6–2 John Part

18.Sept 4th Moorways Centre, Derby Gary Anderson 6–2 Peter Wright

19.Sept 24th Nuland, Netherlands Gary Anderson 6–2 Colin Lloyd

20.Sept 25th Nuland, Netherlands Richie Burnett 6–4 Dave Chisnall

21.Oct 1st New Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin Phil Taylor 6–3 Michael van Gerwen

22.Oct 2nd New Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin Justin Pipe 6–5 Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor hits 9 darter

Raymond van Barneveld hits 9 darter

23.Oct 16th National Event Centre, Killarney Justin Pipe 6–5 Gary Anderson

UK Open Regional Finals/Qualifiers

The UK Open is a major tournament which takes place at Bolton's Reebok Stadium each year in June. Prior to the televised event, there are eight Regional Open Finals stages (name changed to UK Open Qualifiers in 2010), where the prize money won is collated into a UK Open Order of Merit table which determines 128 qualifiers for the UK Open finals in Bolton.

The tournaments are organised in a similar fashion to the Players Championships in that 32 boards are in operation for a non-televised "floor tournament", completed inside one day. During the 2007-08 UK Open, sponsors Blue Square^{[disambiguation needed ]} had streamed live coverage of these Regional Finals on the internet.

Prize money

Prize money was identical to the Player's Championship prize fund until the 2007-08 UK Open when there was increase from £19,600 to £25,000 for each of the eight finals. Prize money for the 2010 qualifiers has increased to £31,200 for each of the eight finals.

• Winner £6,000
• Runner-up £3,000
• Semi-finalists £1,500
• Quarter-finalists £1,000
• Last 16 £500
• Last 32 £200
• Last 64 £100

Player eligibility

For the 2010 season, a player must compete in at least three Qualifiers before being able to qualify for the televised stages. Until 2007-08, the tournaments were open to all darts players, which meant that players from both darts organisations, the PDC and the BDO were able to compete. They are now restricted to PDPA members only.

For the 2011 season, a player must only compete in two Qualifiers before being able to qualify for the televised stages.

2002-2003 UK Open Regional Finals

21 July 2002 (Wales) Phil Taylor beat Roland Scholten

October (Ireland) Phil Taylor

November (Scotland) Peter Manley beat Roland Scholten

1 December (Laurel UK Open) Andy Jenkins beat Colin Lloyd

12 January 2003 (North East) Peter Manley beat Phil Taylor

February (South West) John Part

23 March (North West) Mark Dudbridge 2-0 Bob Anderson

13 April (Midlands) Peter Manley 2-0 Roland Scholten

2003-2004 UK Open Regional Finals

19 October 2003 (All Ireland) Ronnie Baxter beat Dennis Smith

9 November (Wales) Peter Manley beat Darren Webster

30 November (South) Phil Taylor beat Peter Manley

11 January 2004 (North East) Alan Caves beat Dennis Priestley

24 January (Scotland) Steve Maish beat Steve Parsons

15 February (South-West) Kevin Painter 2-0 Roland Scholten

21 March (North-West) Mark Robinson beat Mark Dudbridge

4 April (Midlands) Wayne Mardle beat Andy Jenkins

2004-2005 UK Open Regional Finals

26 September 2004 (Wales) Phil Taylor 2-0 Tommy Wilson

17 October (All-Ireland) Phil Taylor 2-0 Mark Walsh

19 November (Scotland) Andy Smith 2-1 Gary Anderson

19 January 2005 (North East) Steve Hine 2-0 Bob Anderson

6 February 2005 (South West) Andy Smith 2-0 Andy Jenkins

6 March (South) Denis Ovens 2-1 Mark Dudbridge

March (North West) Alex Roy 2-1 Ronnie Baxter

9 April (Midlands) Jimmy Mann 2-0 Mark Walsh

2005-2006 UK Open Regional Finals

25 September 2005 (Wales) Mark Walsh 2-1 Phil Taylor

23 October (Ireland) Colin Lloyd 2-1 Andy Smith

6 November (Scotland) Adrian Lewis 2-0 Colin Lloyd

8 January 2006 (North-East) Kevin Painter 2-0 Colin Lloyd

12 February (South-West) Mark Dudbridge 2-0 Dennis Priestley

5 March (South) Chris Mason 2-1 Barrie Bates

19 March (North-West) Alan Tabern 2-1 Steve Maish

9 April (Midlands) Raymond van Barneveld 2-0 Ronnie Baxter

2006-2007 UK Open Regional Finals

24 September 2006 (Wales) Phil Taylor 2-1 Adrian Lewis

22 October (Ireland) Raymond van Barneveld 2-1 Colin Lloyd

5 November (Scotland) Raymond van Barneveld 2-0 Barrie Bates

6 January 2007 (North-East) Raymond van Barneveld 2-0 Roland Scholten

11 February (South-West) Dennis Priesley 2-0 James Wade

4 March (South) Phil Taylor 2-0 Wayne Mardle

18 March (North-West) James Wade 2-0 Terry Jenkins

1 April (Midlands) Andy Hamilton 2-0 James Wade

2007-2008 UK Open Regional Finals

semi-finals and finals reverted from sets to matchplay

23 September 2007 (Wales): James Wade 8-7 Raymond van Barneveld

7 October (Ireland): Raymond van Barneveld 8-2 Kevin McDine

21 October (Scotland): James Wade 8-2 Ronnie Baxter

13 January 2008 (North East): Colin Osborne 8-6 Denis Ovens

10 February South-West: Colin Lloyd 8-6 Andy Hamilton

2 March, South: Colin Lloyd 8-6 Phil Taylor

16 March, North-West: Phil Taylor 8-7 Adrian Lewis

30 March, Midlands: Phil Taylor 8-0 Brendan Dolan

2009 UK Open Regional Finals

11 January 2009 (North East): Colin Lloyd 6-1 Colin Osborne

8 March 2009 (Scotland): Robert Thornton 6-2 Dennis Priestley

15 March 2009 (North West): James Wade 6-3 Kevin McDine

22 March 2009 (South): Phil Taylor 6-4 Terry Jenkins

29 March 2009 (Midlands): Phil Taylor 6-5 Wayne Jones

12 April 2009 (South-West): Phil Taylor 6-0 Andy Hamilton

19 April 2009 (East-Midlands): Mark Walsh 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld

10 May 2009 (Wales): Jamie Caven 6-5 Alan Tabern

2010 UK Open Qualifiers

Qualifier 1 (Swindon, 21 February): Mervyn King 6-1 Simon Whitlock

Qualifier 2 (Derby, 8 February): Mark Walsh 6-2 Phil Taylor

Qualifier 3 (Wigan, 14 March): Phil Taylor 6-0 Jamie Caven

Qualifier 4 (Crawley, 21 March): Gary Anderson 6-5 Wesley Newton

Qualifier 5 (Barnsley, 11 April): Mark Walsh 6-3 John Part

Qualifier 6 (Derby, 18 April): Phil Taylor 6-2 Peter Wright

Qualifier 7 (Wigan, 25 April): Colin Lloyd 6-3 Colin Osborne

Qualifier 8 (Wigan, 9 May): James Wade 6-2 Gary Anderson

2011 UK Open Qualifiers

26 February 2011 (Barnsley) Steve Brown 6-3 Ian White 27 February 2011 (Barnsley) Michael Smith 6-5 Dave Chisnall 12 March 2011 (Wigan) Adrian Lewis 6-4 Robert Thornton 13 March 2011 (Wigan) Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld 16 April 2011 (Barnsley) Gary Anderson 6-4 Phil Taylor Wayne Atwood and Dennis Priestley hit nine-dart finishes. 17 April 2011 (Barnsley) Phil Taylor 6-1 Joe Cullen

References

1. ^ Thialf Darts Trophy cancelled planetdarts.tv

External links

• Darts Database calendar