Ireland’s Steve Lennon and the Netherlands’ Martijn Dragt became the first players to win PDC Tour Cards at the 2024 Qualifying Schools in Milton Keynes on Thursday.
Former World Cup of Darts runner-up Lennon narrowly lost his Tour Card following the 2023/24 World Darts Championship but won it back with a 101.42 average in a 6-2 win over Leighton Bennett.
The Irishman then saw off Shaun Wilkinson and Brett Claydon to reach the last 16 before coming up against Matthew Dennant and survived seven match darts to reach the quarter-finals.
Lennon overcame Justin Hood in the quarter-finals and went on to defeat 27-year-old George Killington 6-2 in the semi-finals.
The 30-year-old then came back from 4-3 down to beat Borland 6-4 and reclaimed his place on the professional circuit.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Dragt defeated former Tour Card Holders Jesus Noguera, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez and Mario Vandenbogaerde on his way to the final.
UK Q School Order of Merit. Photo credit: PDC
Chris Landman took a 5-2 lead in the all-Ditch final before Dragt won four successive legs to win his first Tour Card.
Each daily winner in the UK and Germany competitions wins an automatic place on the 2024-25 tour, while cards are also available (13 in Europe and 10 in the UK) through the respective orders of merit.
The final stage of PDC Q Schools features 128 players competing for a total of 31 tour cards for 2024-25 across the qualifying events in the UK and Germany.