Qualifying School Entries Update

ENTRIES for the PDC ProTour Qualifying School have now reached 160, and include 2011 Grand Slam of Darts star Dean Winstanley.

The second Qualifying School will be held from Thursday January 19-Sunday January 22 at the Barnsley Metrodome, offering ANY darts player the chance to win a Tour Card to compete on the PDC's £5 million circuit.

Entries are open until 12pm on Wednesday, with entry costing £200 and available through www.pdpa.co.uk.

The field of entries has now hit the 160 mark, with 2011 Lakeside Championship finalist Dean Winstanley - who was a narrow second round loser to Mark Walsh in the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts last November - amongst the players bidding to join the PDC circuit full-time.

Former World Masters winner Tony West and brother Steve, who both competed alongside Winstanley in the Lakeside Championship last week, have also entered Qualifying School.

Adam Hunt, who won the first PDC Unicorn Youth Tour event last year, is joined by a clutch of Dutch youngsters in entering, with Dirk van Duijvenbode, Co Stompe Jnr, Jerry Hendriks and Gino Vos seeking to become full-time professionals.

Entry to the PDC ProTour Qualifying School is still available through the PDPA, costing £200 and available at www.pdpa.co.uk. Entries close at 12pm on Wednesday January 18 2012.

Play at Qualifying School will see Tour Cards awarded to the four semi-finalists from each one-day tournament staged from January 19-22.

In addition, ranking points will allocated for finishing positions in each event to give a ranking list from which further players will receive a Tour Card.

All players who do not win Tour Cards will be awarded PDPA Associate Membership, allowing them to enter the UK Open Qualifiers, non-UK Players Championships and qualifiers for European Tour events, in addition to being able to enter UK-based Players Championships in ranking order should there be a shortfall of 128 players.

Click here for Qualifying School information on the PDPA website