Arno Merk, Arron Monk and Jamie Hughes were among the first 32 players to make it through PDC Qualifying Schools First Stage on Monday.
The opening day of the 2026 PDC Qualifying Schools saw First Stage begin in Milton Keynes and Kalkar, with over 900 players competing this week for the chance to become permanent fixtures on the PDC circuit over the next two years.
First Stage, taking place from January 5-7, sees players from across the globe attempting to qualify to compete in the Final Stage, where Tour Cards will be on offer from January 8-11.
World Championship star and PDC Europe Super League winner Merk was a leading name to advance to Final Stage, winning four straight games to secure his status.
Former World Youth Champion Monk was another among the 32 names to secure their progression to Final Stage, as he saw off three-time World Champion John Part on the way.
Hughes, a former winner of a European Tour title, also secured his spot in the Final Stage, as well as talented Irishman McGuirk.
Other notable names to advance to Final Stage include Dutchman Jimmy van Schie, Croatian World Cup star Romeo Grbavac, and PDC Nordic & Baltic Champion Teemu Harju.
First Stage will be held across three days, with the last 16 players from each day qualifying automatically for Final Stage, while the remaining places in Final Stage - featuring 128 players at each venue – are decided from a Ranking List, with one point being awarded per win.
At any point during Qualifying School, if two or more players are tied on points, they will be separated in the Ranking List by (in order until they can be split): leg difference, legs won, DartConnect average based on their totals in their matches. Results in all matches played at the relevant stage are included in this countback.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW LIVE SCORES FROM UK Q SCHOOL DAY ONE
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW LIVE SCORES FROM EU Q SCHOOL DAY ONE
2026 PDC Qualifying Schools
UK Qualifying School
First Stage Day One
Last 32
Tommy Lishman 5-3 James Evans-Bradford
Martin Grearson 5-2 Lloyd Walker
Arron Monk 5-2 Daniel Ayres
Jamie Chaplin 5-0 John Henderson
Robbie Martin 5-0 Keelan Kay
Derek Coulson 5-4 Killian McCormack
Shaun Fox 5-3 Joe Croft
Simon Stevenson 5-0 Damien Grimes
Tom Lonsdale 5-3 Jake Eichen
Shane McGuirk 5-4 Steve Beaton
Danny Goddard 5-1 Charlie Large
Tom Sykes 5-2 Joseph Heywood
Lewis Pride 5-1 Jamie Tilley
Jamie Hughes 5-2 Paul Lewis
James Welding 5-1 Jamie Kelling
Llew Bevan 5-2 James Howard Hughes
2026 European Qualifying School
First Stage Day One
Last 32
Patrick Maat 5-3 Michael De Meyer
Benjamin Pratnemer 5-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jimmy van Schie 5-1 Kris Mievis
Danny Blom 5-1 Luitsen Elzinga
Stefan Dees 5-2 Jarno Bottenberg
Arno Merk 5-3 Michael Hurtz
Pascal Rupprecht 5-0 Mitja Gustorf
Danny Jansen 5-1 Tomislav Rosandic
Florian Preis 5-0 Jiri Brejcha
Romeo Grbavac 5-2 Gilbert van der Meijden
Simon Teysen 5-4 Brian Raman
Marvin Kraft 5-4 Sietse Lap
Filip Bereza 5-0 Michael Van De Ven
Daniel Klose 5-1 Jose Justicia
Teemu Harju 5-4 Jeffrey Keen
Paul Krohne 5-2 Dennis Van Bergem
First Stage - January 6-7
UK Qualifying School
Start Time: Approx 1200 GMT
Last 16 players each day progress to Final Stage
European Qualifying School
Start Time: Approx 1100 CET
Last 16 players each day progress to Final Stage
Format: All matches best of nine legs
In addition to the daily automatic players and the players exempt to Final Stage, further players up to total of 128 will be taken from the respective UK/European Qualifying School First Stage Rankings following Day Three.