2016 PDC Pro Tour

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:

## 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.
	+ Kevin McDine 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.
	+ Steve Douglas resigned his card.
* (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2015 Challenge Tour (Jan Dekker and Richie Corner).
	+ Jan Dekker is also in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit, and therefore, a Pro Tour Card was awarded to Shaun Griffiths, who finished third on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit.
* (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2015 Development Tour (Mike De Decker and ~~Bradley Kirk~~).
	+ Bradley Kirk turned down his Tour Card, which was subsequently awarded to Berry van Peer.
* (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2014 Challenge Tour (Mark Frost and Alan Tabern).
* (1) Two highest qualifiers from 2014 Development Tour (Dimitri Van den Bergh and Josh Payne).
	+ 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 (Kim Viljanen).
* (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:

 Simon Stevenson
 Andy Parsons
 Ricky Williams
 James Richardson
 Ted Evetts
 Ryan Meikle
 Jeffrey de Graaf
 Tony Newell
 Brian Woods
 Ross Smith
 Yordi Meeuwisse
 371 contestants

A Q School Order of Merit was also created by using the following points system:

 Last 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:

1. Mark Walsh
2. John Michael
3. Dick van Dijk
4. Harry Robinson
5. Mark Barilli
6. Matt Clark
7. Terry Temple
8. Darron Brown
9. Dennis Smith
10. Mick McGowan
11. Simon Preston
12. Matthew Dennant
13. Robert Owen
14. Ron Meulenkamp

## UK Open Qualifiers

Six qualifiers took place to determine seedings for the 2016 UK Open.

## Players Championships

There were 20 Players Championship events. In addition, the top 64 of the Players Championship will qualify for the Players Championship Finals.

## European Tour

Compared to 2015, there's one European Tour event added on the calendar. In addition, the top 32 of the European Tour will qualify for the European Championship.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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).

## 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.

## References

1. ↑ Prize Fund Boosts Announced. PDC (29 December 2015).
2. ↑ 2016 PDC Qualifying School Day One. PDC.
3. ↑ PDC qualifying school: Four players win Tour Cards on the first day. Sky Sports.
4. ↑ 2016 PDC Qualifying School Day Two. PDC.
5. ↑ James Richardson, Jonathan Worsley, Ted Evetts and Ryan Meikle win PDC Tour Cards. Sky Sports.
6. ↑ 2016 PDC Qualifying School Day Three. PDC.
7. ↑ Jeffrey de Graaf secures Tour Card on 2016 PDC circuit. Sky Sports.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 2016 PDC Qualifying School Day Four. PDC.
9. ↑ Final PDC Tour qualifiers are confirmed in Wigan. Sky Sports.
10. ↑ Lewis Powers To Wigan Title. PDC (5 February 2016).
11. ↑ Super van Gerwen Wins in Wigan. PDC (6 February 2016).
12. ↑ Taylor Defeats van Gerwen To Take Title. PDC (7 February 2016).
13. ↑ Win Seals Anderson's UK Open Spot. PDC (19 February 2016).
14. ↑ Van Gerwen Continues Winning Run. PDC (20 February 2016).
15. ↑ Qualifying Treble For van Gerwen. PDC (21 February 2016).
16. ↑ Wright Edges Lewis For PC1 Victory. PDC.
17. ↑ Brilliant Bunting Denies Nine-Dart van Gerwen. PDC.
18. ↑ Barnsley Title for van Gerwen. PDC.
19. ↑ Maiden ProTour Win For Big Ben. PDC.
20. ↑ White's Whitewash Seals Barnsley Win. PDC.
21. ↑ Payne Edges Out Wade For Maiden Title. PDC.
22. ↑ Price Is Wright For Gerwyn in Barnsley. PDC.
23. ↑ Coventry Win Seals Price's Second Title. PDC.
24. ↑ Big Win For Big Ben In Coventry. PDC.
25. ↑ Chisnall Wins Players Championship Ten. PDC.
26. ↑ White Denies Cullen For Barnsley Win. PDC.
27. ↑ Anderson Takes Title In Barnsley. PDC.
28. ↑ Wonderful White Seals Barnsley Treble. PDC.
29. ↑ Untouchable van Gerwen Wins Again. PDC.
30. ↑ Nine-Dart van Gerwen's Barnsley Double. PDC.
31. ↑ Nine-Dart van Gerwen Completes Barnsley Treble!. PDC.
32. ↑ Invincible Run Continues For MvG. PDC.
33. ↑ Whitlock Edges To Dublin Triumph. PDC.
34. ↑ Nine-Dart Whitlock Enjoys Further Success. PDC.
35. ↑ Barnsley Triumph For Big Ben. PDC.
36. ↑ Superb van Gerwen's Dutch Masters Treble. PDC (14 February 2016).
37. ↑ Van Gerwen Retains German Masters Title. PDC (28 March 2016).
38. ↑ Van Gerwen Wins In Gibraltar Again. PDC (8 May 2016).
39. ↑ Wade Defeats Chisnall In European Matchplay Triumph. PDC (15 May 2016).
40. ↑ Taylor Wins 2016 Austrian Darts Open. PDC (12 June 2016).
41. ↑ Dusseldorf Delight For van Gerwen. PDC (31 July 2016).
42. ↑ First PDC Title For Magic Mensur. PDC (4 September 2016).
43. ↑ Van Gerwen Wins HappyBet European Darts Open. PDC (11 September 2016).
44. ↑ Six Of The Best For Van Gerwen!. PDC (18 September 2016).
45. ↑ Glory For Norris In Hildesheim. PDC (16 October 2016).
46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Quantock & Lynn Up To The Challenge!. PDC (19 March 2016).
47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Edhouse & de Hoog Win In Wigan. PDC (20 March 2016).
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Fullwell & Hunt Up To The Challenge!. PDC (31 October 2016).
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Searle & Taylor Win Maiden PDC Titles. PDC (31 October 2016).
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Padgett & Cross' Challenge Tour Wins. PDC (31 October 2016).
51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Challenge Tour Wins For Burnett & Hart. PDC (31 October 2016).
52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour 13-14. PDC (31 October 2016).
53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour 15-16. PDC (31 October 2016).
54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Development Tour Wins For Loose & Lennon. PDC.
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Payne & Hunt's Development Tour Success. PDC.
56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Hopp and Twell victorious in Germany. PDC.
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Neyens and Reynolds win in Muelheim. PDC.
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Wigan Wins For Reynolds & Twell. PDC.
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Development Tour Wins For Kirk & Twell. PDC.
60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Dean & Dimitri's Development Tour Wins. PDC.
61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 Development Tour Double For Reynolds. PDC.
62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Reynolds & Cadby's Development Tour Wins. PDC.
63. ↑ De Decker's Development Tour Joy. PDC.
64. ↑ Viljanen & Caris Top SDC Standings.
65. ↑ 2016 SDC Finland Results. Darts Database.
66. ↑ 2016 SDC Finland Results. Darts Database.
67. ↑ SDC Event 3.
68. ↑ SDC Event 4.
69. ↑ SDC Event 5.
70. ↑ SDC Event 6.
71. ↑ SDC Event 7.
72. ↑ SDC Event 8.
73. ↑ EADC PRO TOUR 1. EADC (30 May 2016).
74. ↑ EADC PRO TOUR 2. EADC (30 May 2016).
75. ↑ EADC PRO TOUR 3. EADC (30 May 2016).
76. ↑ EADC PRO TOUR 4. EADC (30 May 2016).
77. ↑ EADC PRO TOUR 5. EADC (30 May 2016).
78. ↑ EADC PRO TOUR 6. EADC (30 May 2016).
79. ↑ Cadby Day one Champion. DPA (6 November 2016).
80. ↑ Platt wins Day 2 Australian Grand Prix. DPA (6 November 2016).
81. ↑ Gordon Mathers successful return to DPA. DPA (6 November 2016).
82. ↑ DPA Team Rebel Victoria Open. DPA (6 November 2016).
83. ↑ CADBY SEALS VICTORY ON DAY 2. DPA (6 November 2016).
84. ↑ Corey Cadby makes it a clean sweep. DPA (6 November 2016).
85. ↑ David Platt wins in the West. DPA (6 November 2016).
86. ↑ Australian Grand Prix Double For Platt. DPA (6 November 2016).
87. ↑ Warilla Bowls Australian Grand Prix. DPA (6 November 2016).
88. ↑ Day 2 Warilla Bowls Australian Grand Prix. DPA (6 November 2016).
89. ↑ David Platt notches up another win in the City of Churches. DPA (6 November 2016).
90. ↑ Back to Back for Platt in South Australia. DPA (6 November 2016).
91. ↑ The 2016 DPA Australasian Singles. DPA (6 November 2016).
92. ↑ DPA Australasian Finals Day. DPA (6 November 2016).
93. ↑ DPA HARROWS AGP Brisbane, Queensland. DPA (6 November 2016).
94. ↑ Day 2 of the DPA Harrows AGP in Brisbane. DPA (6 November 2016).
95. ↑ Final Day in Brisbane. DPA (6 November 2016).
96. ↑ Rhys Mathewson defeat Jeremy Fagg to win the Russell Stewart Classic. DPA (6 November 2016).
97. ↑ All New Zealand final DPA Australian Matchplay. DPA (6 November 2016).
98. ↑ Harrows NSW Masters Set Play. DPA (6 November 2016).
99. ↑ HARROWS OCEANIC MASTERS 2016. DPA (6 November 2016).
100. ↑ DAY 2 HARROWS DPA OCEANIC MASTERS WEEKEND OF DARTS. DPA (6 November 2016).
101. ↑ 101.0 101.1 OCEANIC MASTER 2016. DPA (6 November 2016).
102. ↑ Zhang Wins Opening Chinese Event. PDC.
103. ↑ Ouyang Wins Second Chinese Event. PDC.
104. ↑ Pair Secure Chinese World Cup Spots. PDC.
105. ↑ Chinese Win For Yanlai Shi. PDC.
106. ↑ Ruan Wins Chinese Stage Five. PDC.
107. ↑ Chinese Stage Six Continues Shanghai Race. PDC.
108. ↑ China Stage Seven & Shanghai Qualifier Results. PDC.
109. ↑ 109.0 109.1 Chinese Wins For Zong & Liu. PDC.
110. ↑ 110.0 110.1 Chinese Wins For Wen & Wei. PDC.
111. ↑ 111.0 111.1 Sun Claims Chinese Qualifying Spot. PDC.
112. ↑ 2016 PDC World Championship Qualifiers Results. Darts Database.
113. ↑ Parry Secures World Championship Return. PDC (11 July 2016).
114. ↑ Snook Wins World Championship Spot (22 August 2016).
115. ↑ McGowan Retains Irish Matchplay Title. PDC (9 October 2016).
116. ↑ BORIS KOLTSOV THE PARTICIPANT OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 (23 October 2016).
117. ↑ Koltsov & Ulang Seal Qualification. PDC (27 October 2016).
118. ↑ PDC Avila Results. Dardos.es (9 October 2016).
119. ↑ News | PDC.
120. ↑ 2016 PDC World East European Qualifying Event Results. Darts Database.
121. ↑ 2016 PDC World Germany Qualifying Event Results. Darts Database.
122. ↑ 2016 PDC World South Asian Qualifying Event Results. Darts Database.
123. ↑ 2016 PDC World Central European Qualifying Event Results. Darts Database.