WELCOME to the Professional Darts Corporation's 2016 Rules.
Section 6 below refers to the Challenge Tour, Youth Tour & World Youth Championship.
6. Challenge Tour / Development Tour / World Youth Championship
6.1 Entry to Challenge Tour events is open to all players who participated in the 2016 Q School but did not obtain a Tour Card.
Entry is also open to players who did not compete in the 2016 Q School but have paid the £250 Challenge Tour eligibility fee to the PDPA.
6.2 Entry to Development Tour events is open to all players who are aged 23 or under and 16 or over after the World Championship at the start of the year unless they are ranked in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit on this date. Players who turn 16 during 2016 shall be eligible to enter Development Tour events once their 16th birthday has passed.
Any player aged between 16 and 23 who can not compete in the Development Tour by virtue of their PDC Order of Merit position shall automatically be entered in to the Last 64 of the World Youth Championship for that year.
6.3 The World Youth Championship starts at the Last 64 stage and is comprised of up to 16 international invitations, plus any players who under rule 6.2 have qualified by virtue of their PDC Order of Merit position with all remaining places up to 64 being taken from the final 2016 Development Tour Order of Merit, using countback over the last four events if required to determine positions.
6.4 Challenge Tour and Development Tour events and the World Youth Championship are played under the same rules and regulations as ProTour events where not otherwise specified in this section.
6.5 Development Tour matches are played over the best of seven legs. Challenge Tour matches are played over the best of nine legs. The World Youth Championship is played over the best of 11 legs.
6.6 Challenge Tour and Development Tour events are drawn as an open draw with no seedings or exemptions. There are generally two events per day, however this is subject to change.
The World Youth Championship Last 64 will include eight seeds, being the top eight ranked participating players from the final 2016 Development Tour Order of Merit, and will play down to a final. The final will then be scheduled during a PDC Premier or Invitational event at a later date (expected to be at the 2016 Players Championship Finals).
6.7 All prize money in Challenge Tour and Development Tour events won will count towards separate one-year Orders of Merit. Players only have to play in one event for their money to count on these annual Orders of Merit.
6.8 The Development Tour entry fee is £25 per event. Challenge Tour entry is £50 per event. Entries must be made online prior to 1400 the Friday preceding the weekend’s events. There is no entry fee for the World Youth Championship.
6.9 The following incentives are on offer to players competing in the Challenge Tour, Development Tour and World Youth Championship:
* The finalists of the 2015 World Youth Championship receive a one-year invitation to the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts subject to the entry criteria as stated in rule 3.1 of this document.
* The winner of the 2016 World Youth Championship receives an invitation to the 2016/17 World Championship.
NOTE: in the event of the players who achieve the above otherwise qualifying for the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts or 2016/17 World Championship, no further places shall be offered.
* The 2016 Challenge and Development Tour Order of Merit winners and runners-up will receive two-year Tour Cards for 2017 and 2018.
NOTE: in the event that any of the players who achieve the above qualify otherwise for a Tour Card, places will not be offered further down the Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit.
* The players who finish third to eighth (countback applied in event of ties) on the 2016 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit will receive free entry to the 2017 Q School.