The 2016
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 European Tour events. Only four players ...
was a series of non-televised
darts
Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard.
Point ...
tournaments organised by the
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Wor ...
(PDC). Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. In 2016 there were 36 PDC Pro Tour events held – 20 Players Championships, six UK Open Qualifiers and ten European Tour events.
Prize money
Prize money for each Players Championship increased from £60,000 to £75,000 per event. The UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events stayed the same as in 2015.
This is how the prize money is divided:
PDC Tour Cards
128 players are granted Tour Cards, which enables them to participate in all Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events.
Tour Cards
The 2016 Tour Cards are awarded to:
*(63) The top 64 players from the
PDC Order of Merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded ...
after the
2016 World Championship.
** resigned his card.
*(27) The 27 of 34 qualifiers from 2015 Q-School not ranked in the top 64 of the
PDC Order of Merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded ...
following the World Championship.
** resigned his card.
*(2) Two highest qualifiers from 2015 Challenge Tour ( and ).
** Jan Dekker is also in the top 64 of the
PDC Order of Merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded ...
, and therefore, a Pro Tour Card was awarded to , who finished third on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit.
*(2) Two highest qualifiers from 2015 Development Tour ( and
).
** Bradley Kirk turned down his Tour Card, which was subsequently awarded to .
* (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2014 Challenge Tour ( and ).
* (1) Two highest qualifiers from 2014 Development Tour ( and ).
** Dimitri Van den Bergh is also in the top 64 of the
PDC Order of Merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded ...
, and therefore, one extra Tour Card was awarded to a Q-School qualifier.
* (1) The winner of the 2015 Scandinavian Order of Merit ().
* (16) The 16 qualifiers from 2016 Q-School.
Afterwards, the playing field was complemented by the highest qualified players from the Q School Order of Merit until the maximum number of 128 Pro Tour Card players had been reached. In 2016, that meant a total of 14 players qualified this way.
Q-School
The PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School took place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
from January 13–16. The following players won two-year tour cards on each of the days played:
A Q School Order of Merit was also created by using the following points system:
To complete the field of 128 Tour Card Holders, places were allocated down the final Qualifying School Order of Merit. The following players picked up Tour Cards as a result:
UK Open Qualifiers
Six qualifiers took place to determine seedings for the
2016 UK Open.
Players Championships
There were 20
Players Championship events. The top 64 on the Players Championship Order of Merit ranking qualified for the
Players Championship Finals.
European Tour
Compared to 2015, one European Tour event was added to the calendar. In addition, the top 32 of the European Tour qualified for the
European Championship.
PDC Challenge Tour
The
PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour was open to all PDPA Associate Members who failed to win a Tour Card at Qualifying School. The players who finished first and second received two-year Tour Cards to move onto the PDC Pro Tour in 2017 and 2018. In addition, the players who finished from third to eighth will receive free entry to the 2017 PDC Q-School.
PDC Development Tour
The
PDC Unicorn Development Tour is open to players aged 16–23. The Development Tour is expanded from 16 to 20 tournaments, where event number 20 is the PDC Youth World Championship from the Last 64 onwards. The players who finish first and second on the Order of Merit will receive two-year Tour Cards to move onto the PDC Pro Tour in 2017 and 2018. In addition, the players who finish from third to eighth will receive free entry to the 2017 PDC Q-School.
Scandinavian Darts Corporation Pro Tour
The
Scandinavian Pro Tour had eight events in 2016, with a total of €40,000 on offer. The top player and the runner-up on the SDC Order of Merit 2016 will play in the
2017 World Championship preliminary round.
Leading the overall table,
Kim Viljanen and
Magnus Caris won their places in the 2017 World Championship.
EuroAsian Darts Corporation (EADC) Pro Tour
The
6 EADC Pro Tour events and the
2017 World Championship Qualifier were played at Omega Plaza Business Center,
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Players from
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
,
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
,
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
,
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
,
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
are eligible to play.
Australian Grand Prix Pro Tour
The Australian Grand Prix rankings are calculated from events across Australia. The top player in the rankings automatically qualified for the
2017 World Championship.
Corey Cadby secured top spot in the Australian Grand Prix rankings and will qualify for the 2017 World Championship.
David Platt also won a place in the 2017 World Championship by winning the Oceanic Masters and therefore he will join Cadby and DPNZ qualifier
Warren Parry to compete in the World Championship.
Chinese Tour
Stages One to Three will count towards the
2016 PDC World Cup of Darts, Stages Four to Seven for the inaugural
2016 Shanghai Darts Masters event and Stage Eight was a qualifier for the
2016 PDC World Youth Championship. Stage Thirteen was for the
2017 PDC World Darts Championship Qualification (see below at International Qualifiers).
World Championship PDPA Qualifier
The winner directly qualified for the first round, whereelse the runner-up and the two losers of the semi-finals entered the
2017 PDC World Darts Championship in the preliminary round.
World Championship International Qualifiers
References
{{2016 in PDC darts
PDC Pro Tour
2016 in darts