Report, Ranking after Day 1
Arron Monk and Jeffrey Sparidaans became the first players to win PDC Tour Cards at the 2023 Qualifying Schools on Thursday.
2011 World Youth Champion Monk was victorious at UK Q School in Milton Keynes, while surprise package Sparidaans reigned supreme at European Q School in Kalkar, Germany.
Monk, who first burst onto the scene in 2010, defeated Dom Taylor 6-3 in the final to regain his place on the professional circuit for the first time since 2019.
The 32-year-old posted averages over 95 in wins over Cliff Prior and Luke Smith en route to the quarter-finals, where he whitewashed Mark McGeeney 6-0.
This was followed by a 6-1 rout of Stephen Burton in the semi-finals, before he averaged 94.6 to defeat Taylor and seal his Tour Card.
Elsewhere at the Marshall Arena, Fallon Sherrock reached the quarter-finals for the first time, while former World Championship runner-up Andy Hamilton also made it as far as the last eight.
At the Wunderland in Kalkar, Sparidaans won a Tour Card for the first time on just his second Q School appearance.
The Dutchman, whose only PDC experience came at 2020 Q Schools, defeated former Tour Card Holder Maik Kuivenhoven in the last 16, before averaging 101.62 in his semi-final win over Jacques Labre.
Sparidaans scored a 6-2 victory over veteran Ronny Huybrechts in the final to book his place on tour in 2023 and 2024.
Friday will offer a further chance for players to win Tour Cards, with play commencing at 1200 CET in Kalkar and 1200 GMT in Milton Keynes.
In addition to the daily Tour Card winners, a further 19 Tour Cards will be awarded on a pro-rata basis to players from the respective UK/European Qualifying School Final Stage Orders of Merit following Day Four - ten in Europe, and nine in the UK.
UK Qualifying School Order of Merit after first day
Rank | Name | Leg-Diff | Legs Won | Points |
1 | Dom Taylor | 16 | 39 | 5 |
2 | Stephen Burton | 8 | 31 | 4 |
3 | Christian Perez | 8 | 25 | 4 |
4 | Andy Hamilton | 14 | 26 | 3 |
5 | Fallon Sherrock | 9 | 29 | 3 |
6 | Graham Usher | 5 | 27 | 3 |
7 | Mark McGeeney | 2 | 24 | 3 |
8 | John Henderson | 10 | 23 | 2 |
9 | Nick Kenny | 9 | 23 | 2 |
10 | Luke Smith | 7 | 22 | 2 |
11 | Scott Baker | 6 | 22 | 2 |
12 | Andy Boulton | 5 | 22 | 2 |
13 | Owen Bates | 5 | 20 | 2 |
13 | Nathan Girvan | 4 | 22 | 2 |
15 | Ryan Harrington | 3 | 23 | 2 |
16 | Adam Hunt | 8 | 17 | 1 |
17 | Dan Read | 5 | 16 | 1 |
18 | Graham Hall | 5 | 16 | 1 |
19 | Shane Hayward | 5 | 16 | 1 |
20 | Scott Walters | 4 | 17 | 1 |
21 | Dylan Slevin | 4 | 15 | 1 |
22 | Scott Mitchell | 3 | 15 | 1 |
23 | Thomas Lovely | 3 | 14 | 1 |
24 | Lee Budgen | 2 | 14 | 1 |
25 | Mark Challenger | 1 | 17 | 1 |
26 | Robert Thompson | 1 | 15 | 1 |
27 | Shanes McGuirk | 1 | 14 | 1 |
28 | Conan Whitehead | 1 | 13 | 1 |
29 | Adam Lipscombe | 0 | 15 | 1 |
30 | Cliff Prior | 0 | 15 | 1 |
31 | David Pallett | -1 | 12 | 1 |
European Qualifying School Order of Merit after first day
Rank | Name | Leg-Diff | Legs won | Points |
1 | Ronny Huybrechts | 22 | 38 | 5 |
2 | Jacques Labre | 9 | 34 | 4 |
3 | Niels Zonneveld | 8 | 31 | 4 |
4 | Pascal Rupprecht | 11 | 27 | 3 |
5 | John Michael | 9 | 28 | 3 |
6 | Thibault Tricole | 9 | 27 | 3 |
7 | Owen Roelofs | 4 | 28 | 3 |
8 | Maik Kuivenhoven | 10 | 19 | 2 |
9 | Marcel Hausotter | 9 | 23 | 2 |
10 | Richard Veenstra | 9 | 23 | 2 |
11 | Andy Baetens | 8 | 23 | 2 |
12 | Max Hopp | 7 | 23 | 2 |
13 | Franz Roetzsch | 7 | 22 | 2 |
13 | Robbis Knops | 6 | 20 | 2 |
15 | Jeffrey de Zwaan | 4 | 21 | 2 |
16 | Jeroen Mioch | 8 | 17 | 1 |
17 | Jose Marques | 7 | 17 | 1 |
18 | Jacob Taylor | 7 | 15 | 1 |
19 | Jelle Klaasen | 6 | 17 | 1 |
20 | Daniel Klose | 6 | 16 | 1 |
21 | Gian van Veen | 6 | 16 | 1 |
22 | Ricardo Perez-Ibarra | 5 | 15 | 1 |
23 | Arjan Konterman | 4 | 16 | 1 |
24 | Teemu Harju | 3 | 16 | 1 |
25 | Toni Alcinas | 3 | 15 | 1 |
26 | Derk Telnekes | 2 | 15 | 1 |
27 | Benito van de Pas | 0 | 15 | 1 |
28 | Patrick van den Boogarrd | -1 | 13 | 1 |
29 | Patrick Tringler | -1 | 9 | 1 |
30 | Roemer Mooijman | -2 | 14 | 1 |
31 | Nick Crouwel | -2 | 13 | 1 |