The 2017 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 were the events that made up the Pro Tour. There were 40 PDC Pro Tour events held – 22 Players Championships, six UK Open Qualifiers and 12 European Tour events.
Prize money Prize money for each European Tour event increased from £115,000 to £135,000. The UK Open Qualifiers and Players Championship events stayed the same as 2016.
This is how the prize money was divided:
Stage Winner £25,000 £10,000 £10,000 £2,000 Runner-up £10,000 £6,000 £5,000 £1,000 Semi-finalists £6,000 £3,000 £2,500 £500 £4,000 £2,250 £2,000 £300 Last 16 £3,000 £1,500 £1,500 £200 Last 32 £2,000 £1,000 £750 £100 Last 48 £1,000 N/A N/A N/A Last 64 N/A £500 £250 £50 Total £135,000 £75,000 £60,000 £10,000
PDC Tour Card 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 2017 Tour Cards were awarded to: (64) The top 64 players from the PDC Order of Merit after the 2017 World Championship. (32) The 32 2016/17 Tour Card Holders not ranked in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit following the World Championship. (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2016 Challenge Tour ( and ). (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2016 Development Tour ( and ). (16) The 16 qualifiers from 2017 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 2017, that means that a total of 12 players qualified this way.
Q-School The PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School takes place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan from January 19–22. The following players won two-year tour cards on each of the days played:
January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22
431 contestants 422 contestants 406 contestants 385 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 As with recent years, 6 qualifiers took place to determine seedings for the 2017 UK Open.
No. Date Venue Winner Score Runner-up Ref. 1Friday 3 February Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 6 – 4 2 6 – 4 3Sunday 5 February 6 – 5 4Friday 10 February 6 – 3 5 Saturday 11 February 6 – 3 6Sunday 12 February 6 – 3
Players Championships Compared to the previous year, there were two Players Championship events added to the calendar, increasing the number to 22. In addition, the top 64 of the Players Championship qualified for the Players Championship Finals.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 25 February Barnsley, Barnsley Metrodome 2 Sunday 26 February 6 – 1 3 Saturday 11 March 6 – 5 4 Sunday 12 March 6 – 3 5 Saturday 1 April Milton Keynes, Arena MK 6 – 3 6 Sunday 2 April 6 – 1 7 Saturday 8 April Barnsley, Barnsley Metrodome 6 – 3 8 Sunday 9 April 6 – 5 9 Saturday 29 April Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 6 – 2 10 Sunday 30 April 6 – 3 11 Saturday 20 May Milton Keynes, Arena MK 6 – 3 12 Sunday 21 May 6 – 5 13 Saturday 17 June Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 6 – 3 14 Sunday 18 June 6 – 1 15 Saturday 8 July Barnsley, Barnsley Metrodome 6 – 1 16 Sunday 9 July 6 – 4 17 Saturday 5 August 6 – 2 18 Sunday 6 August 6 – 5 19 Friday 29 September Dublin, Citywest Hotel 6 – 2 20 6 – 4 21 Tuesday 10 October Barnsley, Barnsley Metrodome 6 – 3 22 Wednesday 11 October 6 – 1
European Tour Compared to 2016, there were two European Tour events added on the calendar. In addition, the top 32 of the European Tour Order of Merit ranking qualified for the European Championship.
No. Date Event Location Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 215-17 AprilGerman Darts Masters Jena, Sparkassen-Arena 6 – 2 321-23 April German Darts Open Saarbrücken, Saarlandhalle 6 – 5 45-7 May European Darts Grand Prix Sindelfingen, Glaspalast 6 – 0 512-14 May Gibraltar Darts Trophy Gibraltar, 6 – 4 69-11 June European Darts Matchplay Hamburg, Edel-optics.de Arena 6 – 3 723-25 June Austrian Darts Open Vienna, Multiversum Schwechat 6 – 5 830 June-2 JulyEuropean Darts Open Leverkusen, Ostermann-Arena 6 – 2 91-3 SeptemberDutch Darts Masters Maastricht, MECC Maastricht 6 – 1 108-10 SeptemberGerman Darts Grand Prix Mannheim, Maimarkthalle 6 – 3 1122-24 SeptemberInternational Darts Open Riesa, SACHSENarena 6 – 5 1213-15 OctoberEuropean Darts Trophy Göttingen, Lokhalle 6 – 4
PDC Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour consisted of 5 weekends of 4 events.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 25 March Milton Keynes, Arena MK 5 – 1 2 5 – 0 3 Sunday 26 March 5 – 4 4 5 – 2 5 Saturday 15 April Barnsley, Barnsley Metrodome 5 – 2 6 5 – 1 7 Sunday 16 April 5 – 2 8 5 – 2 9 Saturday 13 May Milton Keynes, Arena MK 5 – 1 10 5 – 3 11 Sunday 14 May 5 – 4 12 5 – 4 13 Saturday 10 June 5 – 3 14 5 – 4 15 Sunday 11 June 5 – 4 16 5 – 2 17Saturday 9 September Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 5 – 2 18 5 – 4 19Sunday 10 September 5 – 3 20 5 – 3
PDC Development Tour The Development Tour consisted of 5 weekends of 4 events.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 18 February Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 5 – 1 2 5 – 2 3 Sunday 19 February 5 – 1 4 5 – 2 5 Saturday 18 March 5 – 4 6 5 – 2 7 Sunday 19 March 5 – 3 8 5 – 3 9 Saturday 27 May Hildesheim, Halle 39 5 – 1 10 5 – 0 11 Sunday 28 May 5 – 2 12 5 – 1 13 Saturday 16 September Barnsley, Barnsley Metrodome 5 – 4 14 5 – 3 15 Sunday 17 September 5 – 2 16 5 – 1 17 Saturday 4 November Wigan, Robin Park Tennis Centre 5 – 3 18 5 – 2 19 Sunday 5 November 5 – 4 20 5 – 3
Professional Darts Corporation Nordic & Baltic The Scandinavian Darts Corporation was renamed as the Professional Darts Corporation Nordic & Baltic (PDCNB). There were 10 events held over 5 weekends.
No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Saturday 18 February Copenhagen, Hotel Park Inn by Radisson 6 – 2 2 Sunday 19 February 6 – 0 3 Saturday 18 March Gothenburg, Apple Hotel 6 – 1 4 Sunday 19 March 6 – 3 5 Saturday 20 May Oslo, Comfort Hotel Runway Gardermoen 6 – 3 6 Sunday 21 May 6 – 5 7 Saturday 12 August Helsinki, Original Sokos Hotel Vantaa 6 – 0 8 Sunday 13 August 6 – 4 9 Saturday 4 November Riga, Bellevue Park Hotel 6 – 2 10 Sunday 5 November 6 – 2
Dartplayers Australia Grand Prix Pro Tour The Dartplayers Australia Grand Prix rankings are calculated from events across Australia. Gordon Mathers was the top player in the rankings, and therefore has automatically qualified for the 2018 World Championship.
No. Date Also known as Winner Legs Runner-up Ref. 1 Friday 3 February DPA World Series Qualifier 1 6 – 5 2 Saturday 4 February Australian Pro Tour Event 1 6 – 4 3 Sunday 5 February Australian Pro Tour Event 2 6 – 1 4 Friday 17 February DPA World Series Qualifier 2 6 – 4 5 Saturday 18 February Australian Pro Tour Event 3 6 – 2 6 Sunday 19 February Australian Pro Tour Event 4 6 – 5 7 Friday 10 March DPA World Series Qualifier 3 6 – 3 8 Saturday 11 March Australian Pro Tour Event 5 6 – 4 9 Sunday 12 March Australian Pro Tour Event 6 6 – 4 10 Friday 24 March DPA World Series Qualifier 4 6 – 5 11 Saturday 25 March Australian Pro Tour Event 7 6 – 2 12 Sunday 26 March Australian Pro Tour Event 8 6 – 3 13 Friday 7 April DPA World Series Qualifier 5 6 – 2 14 Saturday 8 April Australian Pro Tour Event 9 6 – 1 15 Sunday 9 April Australian Pro Tour Event 10 6 – 3 16 Friday 28 April DPA World Series Qualifier 6 6 – ? 17 Saturday 29 April Australian Pro Tour Event 11 6 – 2 18 Sunday 30 April Australian Pro Tour Event 12 6 – 5 19 Friday 12 May DPA World Series Qualifier 7 6 – ? 20 Saturday 13 May Australian Pro Tour Event 13 6 – 4 21 Sunday 14 May Australian Pro Tour Event 14 6 – 4 22 Friday 16 June DPA World Series Qualifier 8 6 – 3 23 Saturday 17 June Australian Pro Tour Event 15 6 – 0 24 Sunday 18 June Australian Pro Tour Event 16 6 – 2 25 Sunday 26 November Harrows Oceanic Classic 6 – 4
EuroAsian Darts Corporation (EADC) Pro Tour The 6 EADC Pro Tour events and the 2018 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 25 February Moscow, Omega Plaza Business Center 6 – 2 2 Sunday 26 February 6 – 3 3 Saturday 25 March 6 – 3 4 Sunday 26 March 6 – 3 5 Saturday 29 April 6 – 5 6 Sunday 30 April 6 – 0
World Championship International Qualifiers Date Event Winner Score Runner-up Ref. Sunday 9 July DPNZ Qualifier 7 – 2 Thursday 13 July North American Championship 6 – 5 Sunday 10 September PDJ Japanese Qualifier 5 – 2 Saturday 23 September Central/South American Qualifier 6 – 1 Saturday 30 September Eastern Europe Qualifier 6 – 2 Saturday 7 October Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay 6 – 4 Sunday 8 October South & West Asia Qualifier 2 – 1 Saturday 21 October Southern Europe Qualifier 6 – 5 Sunday 22 October Russian Qualifier 3 – 1 Saturday 28 October North & East Asia Qualifier 2 – 0 Sunday 29 OctoberHarrows Oceanic Masters 6 – 5 Sunday 5 November China Qualifier 2 – 1 Saturday 18 November German Qualifier 10 – 3 Sunday 19 November Central Europe Qualifier 6 – 4 Sunday 26 November World Youth Championship 6 – 3
World Championship PDPA Qualifier The winner qualified directly for the first round of the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. The runner-up qualified for the preliminary round, as did the winner of the third-place playoff.
Date Venue Winner Score Runner-up Third place Score Fourth place Ref. Monday 27 November Milton Keynes, Arena MK 5 – 1 5 – 3
References