The 2016 PDC Pro Tour was a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. In 2016 there were 36 PDC Pro Tour events held – 20 Players Championships, six UK Open Qualifiers and ten European Tour events.
Prize money Prize money for each Players Championship increased from £60,000 to £75,000 per event. The UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events stayed the same as in 2015.
This is how the prize money is divided: Stage Winner £25,000 £10,000 £10,000 £2,000 Runner-up £10,000 £6,000 £5,000 £1,000 Semi-finalists £5,000 £3,000 £2,500 £500 £3,500 £2,250 £2,000 £300 Last 16 £2,000 £1,500 £1,500 £200 Last 32 £1,500 £1,000 £750 £100 Last 48 £1,000 N/A N/A N/A Last 64 N/A £500 £250 £50 Total £115,000 £75,000 £60,000 £10,000
PDC Tour Cards 128 players are granted Tour Cards, which enables them to participate in all Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events.
Tour Cards The 2016 Tour Cards are awarded to: (63) The top 64 players from the PDC Order of Merit after the 2016 World Championship. resigned his card. (27) The 27 of 34 qualifiers from 2015 Q-School not ranked in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit following the World Championship. resigned his card. (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2015 Challenge Tour ( and ). Jan Dekker is also in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit, and therefore, a Pro Tour Card was awarded to , who finished third on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2015 Development Tour ( and ). Bradley Kirk turned down his Tour Card, which was subsequently awarded to . (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2014 Challenge Tour ( and ). (1) Two highest qualifiers from 2014 Development Tour ( and ). Dimitri Van den Bergh is also in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit, and therefore, one extra Tour Card was awarded to a Q-School qualifier. (1) The winner of the 2015 Scandinavian Order of Merit (). (16) The 16 qualifiers from 2016 Q-School. Afterwards, the playing field was complemented by the highest qualified players from the Q School Order of Merit until the maximum number of 128 Pro Tour Card players had been reached. In 2016, that meant a total of 14 players qualified this way.
Q-School The PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School took place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan from January 13–16. The following players won two-year tour cards on each of the days played:
January 13 January 14 January 15 January 16
371 contestants 372 contestants 364 contestants 350 contestants
A Q School Order of Merit was also created by using the following points system: Stage PointsLast 8 9Last 16 5Last 32 3Last 64 2Last 128 1
To complete the field of 128 Tour Card Holders, places were allocated down the final Qualifying School Order of Merit. The following players picked up Tour Cards as a result:
UK Open Qualifiers Six qualifiers took place to determine seedings for the 2016 UK Open.
No. Date Venue Winner Score Runner-up Ref. 1 Friday 5 February Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 6 – 2 2 Saturday 6 February 6 – 4 3 Sunday 7 February 6 − 2 4 Friday 19 February 6 – 1 5 6 – 2 6 Sunday 21 February 6 – 2
Players Championships
The PDC Players Championships (PC) are a series of non-televised darts events that are part of the PDC Pro Tour. As with the last two years, the number of events remained at 20 Players Championship events per year.
+ 2016 PDC Players Championship season No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up 1 Saturday 12 March Barnsley Metrodome 6 – 5 2 Sunday 13 March 6 – 4 3 Friday 8 April 6 – 3 4 Saturday 9 April 6 – 5 5 Sunday 10 April 6 – 0 6 Saturday 30 April 6 – 5 7 Sunday 1 May 6 – 3 8 Saturday 21 May Coventry Arena 6 – 1 9 Sunday 22 May 6 – 0 10 Saturday 2 July Barnsley Metrodome 6 – 2 11 Sunday 3 July 6 – 3 12 Saturday 6 August 6 – 5 13 Sunday 7 August 6 – 4 14 Tuesday 20 September 6 – 0 15 6 – 3 16 Thursday 22 September 6 – 5 17 Friday 30 September Citywest Hotel, Dublin 6 – 1 18 Saturday 1 October 6 – 5 19 Friday 21 October Barnsley Metrodome 6 – 4 20 Saturday 22 October 6 – 1
European Tour Compared to 2015, one European Tour event was added to the calendar. In addition, the top 32 of the European Tour qualified for the European Championship.
No. Date Venue Location Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Dutch Darts Masters 6 – 2 2 26–28 March German Darts Masters Munich, Ballhausforum 6 – 4 3 6–8 May Gibraltar Darts Trophy 6 – 2 4 13–15 May Hamburg, Inselparkhalle 6 – 5 5 10–12 June 6 – 4 6 29–31 July European Darts Open Düsseldorf, Maritim Hotel 6 – 5 7 2–4 September International Darts Open Riesa, SACHSENarena 6 – 5 8 European Darts Trophy Mülheim, RWE-Sporthalle 6 – 5 9 European Darts Grand Prix Sindelfingen, Glaspalast 6 – 2 10 14–16 October Hildesheim, Halle 39 6 – 5
PDC Challenge Tour The PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour was open to all PDPA Associate Members who failed to win a Tour Card at Qualifying School. The players who finished first and second received two-year Tour Cards to move onto the PDC Pro Tour in 2017 and 2018. In addition, the players who finished from third to eighth will receive free entry to the 2017 PDC Q-School.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 19 March Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 5 – 3 2 5 – 4 3 Sunday 20 March 5 – 0 4 5 – 4 5 Saturday 28 May 5 – 1 6 5 – 3 7 Sunday 29 May 5 – 2 8 5 – 4 9 Saturday 25 June Milton Keynes, Arena MK 5 – 4 10 5 – 2 11 Sunday 26 June 5 – 2 12 5 – 3 13 Saturday 10 September Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 5 – 1 14 5 – 1 15 Sunday 11 September 5 – 0 16 5 – 1
PDC Development Tour The PDC Unicorn Development Tour is open to players aged 16–23. The Development Tour is expanded from 16 to 20 tournaments, where event number 20 is the PDC Youth World Championship from the Last 64 onwards. The players who finish first and second on the Order of Merit will receive two-year Tour Cards to move onto the PDC Pro Tour in 2017 and 2018. In addition, the players who finish from third to eighth will receive free entry to the 2017 PDC Q-School.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 26 March Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 4 – 0 2 4 – 2 3 Sunday 27 March 4 – 1 4 4 – 2 5 Saturday 23 April Mülheim, Harbecke Sporthalle 4 – 2 6 4 – 2 7 Sunday 24 April 4 – 1 8 4 – 3 9 Saturday 14 May Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 4 – 3 10 4 – 2 11 Sunday 15 May 4 – 3 12 4 – 3 13 Saturday 3 September 4 – 2 14 4 – 2 15 Sunday 4 September 4 – 3 16 4 – 1 17 Saturday 15 October 4 – 3 18 4 – 2 19 Sunday 16 October 4 – 3
Scandinavian Darts Corporation Pro Tour The Scandinavian Pro Tour had eight events in 2016, with a total of €40,000 on offer. The top player and the runner-up on the SDC Order of Merit 2016 will play in the 2017 World Championship preliminary round.
Leading the overall table, Kim Viljanen and Magnus Caris won their places in the 2017 World Championship.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 30 January Tuusula, Hotel Gustavelund 6 – 4 2 Sunday 31 January 6 – 3 3 Saturday 19 March Copenhagen, Hotel Park Inn by Radisson 6 – 5 4 Sunday 20 March 6 – 1 5 Saturday 27 August Gothenburg, Apple Hotel 6 – 0 6 Sunday 28 August 6 – 2 7 Saturday 8 October 6 – 4 8 Saturday 9 October 6 – 4
EuroAsian Darts Corporation (EADC) Pro Tour The 6 EADC Pro Tour events and the 2017 World Championship Qualifier were played at Omega Plaza Business Center, Moscow. Players from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine are eligible to play.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 27 February Moscow, Omega Plaza Business Center 6 – 4 2 Sunday 28 February 6 – 3 3 Saturday 26 March 6 – 5 4 Sunday 27 March 6 – 1 5 Saturday 23 April 6 – 3 6 Sunday 24 April 6 – 5
Australian Grand Prix Pro Tour The Australian Grand Prix rankings are calculated from events across Australia. The top player in the rankings automatically qualified for the 2017 World Championship.
Corey Cadby secured top spot in the Australian Grand Prix rankings and will qualify for the 2017 World Championship. David Platt also won a place in the 2017 World Championship by winning the Oceanic Masters and therefore he will join Cadby and DPNZ qualifier Warren Parry to compete in the World Championship.
No. Date Also known as Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Friday 5 February Chester Hill Open 1 6 – 5 2 Saturday 6 February Chester Hill Open 2 6 – 2 3 Sunday 7 February Chester Hill Open 3 6 – 2 4 Friday 4 March Victoria Open 1 6 – 2 5 Saturday 5 March Victoria Open 2 6 – 5 6 Sunday 6 March Victoria Open 3 6 – 2 7 Saturday 19 March DPA Perth Open 1 6 – 3 8 Sunday 20 March DPA Perth Open 2 6 – 4 9 Saturday 2 April Warilla Bowls Club Open 1 6 – 5 10 Sunday 3 April Warilla Bowls Club Open 2 6 – 5 11 Saturday 30 April NDDA Open 1 6 – 4 12 Sunday 1 May NDDA Open 2 6 – 1 13 Thursday 26 May DPA Australian Singles 6 – 1 14 Friday 27 May DPA Australian Open 6 – 1 15 Friday 24 June Queensland Open 1 6 – 2 16 Saturday 25 June Queensland Open 2 6 – 3 17 Sunday 26 June Queensland Open 3 6 – 0 18 Saturday 30 July Sydney Masters Qualifier 1 6 – 5 19 Sunday 31 July Sydney Masters Qualifier 2 6 – 5 20 Monday 1 August Sydney Masters Qualifier 3 6 – 4 21 Friday 4 November Harrows Australian GP 21 6 – 0 22 Saturday 5 November Harrows Australian GP 22 6 – 5 23 Sunday 6 November Harrows Oceanic Masters 6 – 0 24 Sunday 20 November Harrows Oceanic Classic 6 – 4
Chinese Tour Stages One to Three will count towards the 2016 PDC World Cup of Darts, Stages Four to Seven for the inaugural 2016 Shanghai Darts Masters event and Stage Eight was a qualifier for the 2016 PDC World Youth Championship. Stage Thirteen was for the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship Qualification (see below at International Qualifiers).
No. Date Venue Winner Sets (Legs) Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 2 April Qingdao 2 − 1 (0 − 3, 3 − 1, 3 − 2) 2 Saturday 9 April Guangzhou 2 − 1 (3 − 2, 1 − 3, 3 − 1) 3 Saturday 23 April Ningbo 2 − 1 (3 − 1, 2 − 3, 3 − 2) 4 Saturday 14 May Jinan 2 − 0 (3 − 1, 3 − 0) 5 Saturday 28 May Hangzhou 2 − 0 (3 − 0, 3 − 2) 6 Thursday 9 June Chongqing 2 − 0 (3 − 1, 3 − 1) 7 Friday 24 June Shanghai 2 − 1 (1 − 3, 3 − 2, 3 − 1) 8 July Qingdao 6 − 4 9 Saturday 27 August Shenyang 2 − 1 (1 − 3, 3 − 2, 3 − 2) 10September Changsha 2 − 0 (3 − 2, 3 − 2) 11 September Yinchuan 2 − 1 (2 − 3, 3 − 1, 3 − 1) 12 Saturday 29 October Suzhou 2 − 0 (3 − 1, 3 − 2)
World Championship PDPA Qualifier The winner directly qualified for the first round, whereelse the runner-up and the two losers of the semi-finals entered the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship in the preliminary round. Date Venue Winner Score Runner-up Third Fourth Ref. Monday 28 November Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 5 − 2
World Championship International Qualifiers Date Event Winner Score Runner-up Ref. Sunday 10 July DPNZ Qualifier 7 − 3 Sunday 21 August North American Qualifier 3 – 0 Saturday 8 October Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay 6 – 5 22–23 October EADC Qualifier 3 – 1 Sunday 23 October Philippine Qualifier 4 – 1 Sunday 23 October Southern Europe Qualifier 6 – 0 Sunday 30 October Greater China Qualifier 3 – 2 Sunday 6 NovemberHarrows Oceanic Masters 6 − 0 Sunday 6 November PDJ Japanese Qualifier 6 − 4 Saturday 12 November Eastern Europe Qualifier Saturday 19 November German Qualifier 10 – 6 Sunday 20 November South Asia Qualifier 3 – 2 Sunday 20 November Central Europe Qualifier 6 – 4
References