£280,000 ON OFFER ON PDC'S DEVELOPMENT TOURS AS INFORMATION CONFIRMED
THE format, prize funds and other information for the 2014 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour and PDC Unicorn Youth Tour have been confirmed, with £280,000 prize money on offer in the PDC's Development Tours this year.
The PDC's expansion will continue with separate Challenge Tour and Youth Tour circuits to held during the year, with each offering 16 tournaments for players.
The PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour will be open to all PDPA Associate Members who fail to win a Tour Card at Qualifying School - giving these players a series of 16 events worth £10,000 apiece in prize money, with £2,000 to the winner of each tournament.
PDPA Associate Members will also be able to compete in the six UK Open Qualifiers, eight European Tour Qualifiers and the World Championship PDPA Qualifier later this year, providing further opportunities to break through at the top level.
The PDC Unicorn Youth Tour, meanwhile, will allow players aged 16-21 to compete in 16 events which each have a £5,000 prize fund, with £1,000 to the winner.
The players who finish first and second on the respective 2014 Challenge Tour Order of Merit and Youth Tour Order of Merit will receive two-year Tour Cards to move onto the PDC ProTour in 2015 and 2016.
In addition, the players who finish from third to eighth on each Order of Merit will receive free entry to the 2015 PDC Qualifying School.
The PDC will also stage the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship this year, with the leading 48 players aged 21 or under from the 2013 Challenge Tour Order of Merit joined by 16 qualifiers to compete for the title and £40,000 in prize money.
The early rounds of the World Youth Championship will be held on Friday April 4 in Reading, when the 64 qualifiers play down to the final, which will take place at The O2 in London on Thursday May 22 during the Premier League Darts Play-Offs.
New PDC World Champion Michael van Gerwen is a former Youth Tour Order of Merit table-topper, while reigning World Youth Champion Michael Smith - another former winner on the Youth Tour - knocked out 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor at Alexandra Palace.
2013 Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner Ross Smith and runner-up Ben Ward also competed at Alexandra Palace, while Arron Monk, Joe Cullen, Ricky Evans and Jamie Lewis were other players who took part in the World Championship who have progressed through the PDC's Development Tours in recent years.
Former World Youth Champion James Hubbard has joined those stars on the PDC ProTour, while Ben Ward and Adam Hunt will move onto the ProTour full-time this year after earning Tour Cards with their Challenge Tour success in 2013.
The eight weekends on on the PDC Development Tour in 2014 will begin with a double-header of Youth Tour events on the Saturday, before two Challenge Tour events are held on the Sunday.
PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events will only be open to PDPA Associate Members who do not gain a Tour Card at Qualifying School, which will be held from January 15-18 in Wigan.
For Q School entry information, please see http://www.pdpa.co.uk/about/membership/ and enter before 12pm on Monday January 13.
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour events will be open to players who are aged from 16-21 on January 1 2014, with players who turn 16 during 2014 eligible to play once their birthday has passed. Players who turn 22 during 2014 are still eligible to play in all events during the year.
Entry to PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events will cost £50 per tournament, with PDC Unicorn Youth Tour events costing £25 per tournament. Entry will be available through the PDC Online Entry System and will close at 5pm (UK time) on the Friday preceding the weekend's events.
All tournaments on the PDC's Development Tours will be an open draw with no seedings. Challenge Tour events will be the best of nine legs throughout, and Youth Tour events will be the best of seven legs throughout.
2014 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour
Schedule of Tournaments
Sunday March 2 - Events 1 & 2, Wigan
Sunday March 30 - Events 3 & 4, Reading
Sunday April 6 - Events 5 & 6, Reading
Sunday April 27 - Events 7 & 8, Wigan
Sunday June 1 - Events 9 & 10, Wigan
Sunday July 6 - Events 11 & 12, Barnsley (venue subject to possible change)
Sunday September 28 - Events 13 & 14, Barnsley
Sunday November 2 - Events 15 & 16, Wigan
Entry
£50 per event
Prize Fund
Winner £2,000
Runner-Up £1,000
Semi-Finalists £500
Quarter-Finalists £300
Last 16 £200
Last 32 £100
Last 64 £50
Total £10,000
2014 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour
Schedule of Tournaments
Saturday March 1 - Events 1 & 2, Wigan
Saturday March 29 - Events 3 & 4, Reading
Friday April 4 - PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Last 64
Saturday April 5 - Events 5 & 6, Reading
Saturday April 26 - Events 7 & 8, Wigan
Saturday May 31 - Events 9 & 10, Wigan
Saturday July 5 - Events 11 & 12, Barnsley (venue subject to possible change)
Saturday September 27 - Events 13 & 14, Barnsley
Saturday November 1 - Events 15 & 16, Wigan
Entry
£25 per event
Prize Fund
Winner £1,000
Runner-Up £500
Semi-Finalists £250
Quarter-Finalists £150
Last 16 £100
Last 32 £50
Last 64 £25
Total £5,000
Please note: Venues & Dates of events above are correct at time of publishing but may be subject to change under PDC Rules.