James Wade continued his resurgent form to secure qualification for October’s German Darts Championship on Wednesday.
Wade was among the 24 players to progress through Wednesday’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Barnsley, as over 100 players competed for a place in the final European Tour event of 2023.
The German Darts Championship (ET13) will be held at Halle 39 in Hildesheim from October 13-15, as the sport’s biggest names battle it out for the £30,000 top prize across three days of action.
Wade, who completed a European Tour qualification double in Hildesheim last week, continued his recent revival to move closer to sealing his qualification for next month’s European Championship.
The ten-time TV title winner recovered from 5-2 down to edge out Belgium’s Brian Raman in the first round of qualifying, before averaging almost 106 to see off Richie Burnett and confirm his place at ET13.
Wade will be joined in Hildesheim by Masters champion Chris Dobey, exciting Dutch talent Gian van Veen and Florian Hempel, who accounted for Mike De Decker to secure his return to home soil.
Daryl Gurney and Stephen Bunting maintained their remarkable record in European Tour qualification to seal their places in October’s showpiece, as former UK Open runner-up Vincent van der Voort booked his big stage return.
American ace Jules van Dongen registered averages of 102 and 105 to defeat Callan Rydz and Jermaine Wattimena in sealing his qualification, while Steve Lennon averaged 103 in his decisive tie against Callum Goffin.
George Killington also posted a ton-topping average to dispatch Mervyn King in his decider, while Mickey Mansell won through a last-leg shoot-out against European Champion Ross Smith to qualify.
Canada’s Jeff Smith, Croatia’s Boris Krcmar and Latvia’s Madars Razma were among the other players to win through Wednesday’s qualifier, alongside Czech World Cup star Karel Sedlacek.
Sedlacek dumped out Raymond van Barneveld in the opening round of qualifying, and the Dutch legend was one of several high-profile names to miss out on this year’s European Tour finale.
Gary Anderson, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Andrew Gilding also suffered opening round defeats in Barnsley, with European Champion Smith the biggest casualty in the final round of qualification.
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ET13 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers: Mickey Mansell, Chris Dobey, Steve Lennon, Jules van Dongen, Vincent van der Voort, Jeff Smith, James Wade, Danny Jansen, Martin Lukeman, Scott Waites, Boris Krcmar, Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, Ryan Joyce, Dylan Slevin, Alan Soutar, Daryl Gurney, Lee Evans, Florian Hempel, Madars Razma, Karel Sedlacek, James Wilson, George Killington, Arron Monk.