Hankey to Compete on The PDC Circuit & Q School 2012
Posted on January 18th, 2012
Over the weekend the PDC confirmed that all 4 Lakeside semi-fnalists would be offered 2 year tour cards to compete on the PDC circuit, following an agreement from the BDO to release said players from any of their contractual obligations.
Ted Hankey hasn’t shied away from expressing his intentions, however it appears that new BDO World Champion Kist, runner up O’Shea and the other losing semi-finalist Wesley Harms will not follow suit. The Count will add plenty of character and drama to the PDC, and if he runs true to form is sure to develop a ‘special’ relationship with the DRA.
He will though, in order to reap the potential prizemoney on offer, have to perform consistently on the demanding Pro Tour. There will be no easy games and success is far from guaranteed. A much speculated wildcard place in next years Premier League would surely only be offered subject to a reasonable level of tour success, and again is not a given by any means.For the rest of the BDO turncoats, 4 days of sloggin it out in Barnsley is their route to gaining a tour card, with both West brothers, Dean Winstanley and Stuart Kellet to name a few who signed up alongside over 200 other hopefuls.
The deadline for Q School entries at the Metrodome has now passed, and the PDC has confirmed that in addition to automatic tour cards being awarded to the four semi-finalists from each one-day tournament staged from January 19th-22nd. The top 24 players from the Q School Order of merit will also receive a Tour Card, the order of merit being a ranking list made up of points won per leg over the 4 day tournament.
Having scanned the list there are some obvious ones to watch who are seeking a return to big time darts such as Peter Manley, Alan Warriner-Little, Les Wallace, Colin Monk, Andy Fordham and Chris Mason. However, we will also be keeping an eye on young Joe Thompson who is looking to kick start his fledgling career in tungsten and Jeff Smith, a Canadian who can already boast the scalp of Paul Nicholson from last years North American leg of the pro tour.
It was also anticipated that a raft of top BDO players were likely to throw their hats into the ring at the last minute. However, following today’s deadline there are a few names missing which many thought would take the opportunity this year, for example Scott Waites and Darryl Fitton.
The Suit has taken a more in depth look at Q School for us, with his take on this years event which can be found here, and further details on the 2012 Q School from the PDC and PDPA can be found below.
TWO-TIME World Champion Ted Hankey has accepted his offer of a Tour Card to join the PDC circuit – while over 200 players will attempt to join him on the £5 million professional tour at Qualifying School this weekend.
Hankey, along with the other semi-finalists from the recent Lakeside Championship, has been offered a two-year Tour Card and will move onto the PDC circuit with immediate effect.
The 43-year-old from Shropshire, who won the Lakeside Championship in 2000 and 2009, has played in the Grand slam of Darts for the past three years but will now compete full-time alongside the likes of Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld.
“It’s an exciting time for me and I’m starting a new chapter in my career,” said Hankey. “I had 15 great years with the BDO and I thank them, but it’s time to move on now.
“This is a great opportunity for me and my family and one I’m really looking forward to. I can’t wait to play in Benidorm next week.”
While Hankey will make his debut in the two Players Championships in Benidorm on January 28 & 29, over 200 players – including Yorkshire’s Dean Winstanley, the 2011 Lakeside Championship runner-up who impressed in the Grand Slam of Darts last November – will be bidding for the right to win Tour Cards at Qualifying School this week.
The four-day event, being held from Thursday to Sunday at the Barnsley Metrodome, will see the players compete in four individual tournaments, with the four players on each day winning a Tour Card.
In addition, ranking points are given to the remaining players for their finishing position in each tournaments, where a further 24 Tour Cards will be handed out.
The top 64 from the PDC’s Order of Merit following the recent Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, and the 2011 Tour Card winners plus PDC Unicorn Youth Tour stars Paul Barham, Reece Robinson and James Hubbard, all bypass Qualifying School to compete on the PDC circuit this year.
The Qualifying School entrants include two former Lakeside Champions, Andy Fordham and Les Wallace, former world number one Peter Manley, 2001 World Grand Prix champion Alan Warriner-Little and 1996 World Matchplay champion Peter Evison.
A number of other experienced stars who have dropped out of the world’s top 64, headed by Andy Jenkins, Matt Clark, Colin Monk and Mick McGowan, are also bidding to win Tour Cards alongside new faces who are emerging from the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour.
Event winners Adam Hunt and Ryan Harrington have entered as they seek to step up to senior level, while a clutch of top young Dutchman are headed by Dirk van Duijvenbode, Co Stompe Jnr and Gino Vos and join leading Welsh youngster Jamie Lewis at Qualifying School.
Recent Ladbrokes World Darts Championship qualifiers Kurt van de Rijck and Geoff Kime are joined in entering by former World Masters runner-up Stuart Kellett and brothers Tony and Steve West, who recently played in the Lakeside Championship.
The 2012 PDC ProTour Card Holders are:
Top 64 from PDC Order of Merit:
Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, James Wade, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, Wes Newton, Andy Hamilton, Mark Webster, Raymond van Barneveld, Kevin Painter, Terry Jenkins, Mark Walsh, Wayne Jones, Vincent van der Voort, Colin Lloyd, Mervyn King, Paul Nicholson, Ronnie Baxter, Jamie Caven, Andy Smith, Denis Ovens, Justin Pipe, Colin Osborne, John Part, Alan Tabern, Co Stompe, Steve Brown, Brendan Dolan, Peter Wright, Steve Beaton, Richie Burnett, Dave Chisnall, Mark Hylton, Robert Thornton, Jelle Klaasen, Steve Farmer, Michael van Gerwen, Mark Dudbridge, Dennis Priestley, Barrie Bates, Scott Rand, John Henderson, Nigel Heydon, Kim Huybrechts, Dennis Smith, Roland Scholten, Kevin McDine, Joe Cullen, Mensur Suljovic, Antonio Alcinas, Michael Smith, Steve Maish, Ian White, Steve Hine, Kirk Shepherd, William O’Connor, Steve Evans, Chris Thompson, Tony Ayres, James Richardson, Magnus Caris, Jyhan Artut, Alex Roy, Arron Monk.
2011 Tour Card Winners:
Shaun Griffiths, Peter Hudson, Matt Jackson, Prakash Jiwa, Ian Jopling, Michael Mansell, Dyson Parody, Devon Petersen, Michael Rosenauer, Mick Todd, Brian Woods, Andy Brown, Adam Smith-Neale, Mark Jodrill, Jason Crawley, Terry Temple, Mark Jones, Ken Dobson, Jimmy Mann, Paul Rowley.
Youth Tour Cards:
Paul Barham, Reece Robinson, James Hubbard.
Lakeside Championship Semi-Finalists:
Ted Hankey
2012 Qualifying School:
40 places, with 16 coming from each day’s four semi-finalists, plus the top 24 from the Q School Order of Merit rankings.
This will create 128 Tour Card Holders, with the remaining players granted Associate Membership of the PDPA.
Associate Members will still be able to enter UK Open Qualifiers, qualifiers for European Tour events and non-UK Players Championships, as well as topping up the field of UK-based Players Championships should any of the 128 Tour Card holders not enter.
All players will also be able to enter the PDPA Qualifier for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship in November.
Information from the Pdpa Website
Q School – January 19-22 2012
Venue: Barnsley Metrodome, Queen’s Rd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S71 1AN
Registration & Toe The Oche
9:00 Doors will open to players and their guests
09:30 -11:00 Registration – any player not registered by 11am will be disqualified from that day’s play
12:00 Toe The Oche
19:00 (Approx) Play Concluded
AS THE DRAWS FOR THESE TOURNAMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED ON THE DAY, ALL PLAYERS MUST REGISTER BY 11AM ON THE DAY OR THEY WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE DRAW. NO EXCUSES, NO EXCEPTIONS!
Players will be allowed one NON-TRANSFERABLE bona-fide guests each and must provide their name to PDC security if requested. Please note that no one wearing football shirts of any kind or children under 11 years old will be admitted.
Prize Fund
There will be no Prize Money involved in this event.
Playing Format
The format is best of eleven legs throughout with an open draw on each day.. The player on the left of the draw will throw first for the bull to determine who throws first in odd-numbered legs.
Marking
This will be a loser marks event with each losing player marking the next game on their board or a board assigned to them by the Tournament Officials. There may be some volunteer markers.
Any player who does not carry out their marking duties may be disqualified from the entire event at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
Draw
The draws will be made by the PDC’s Tournament Director Tommy Cox following the procedure agreed between the PDC and PDPA and finalised at the deadline for registration on the day of each event.
The list of entries will be published on pdc.tv once the closing dates have passed.
Rules & Dress Code
Darts Regulation Authority rules and regulations will be in place for these tournaments, including dress code of: no jeans, trainers, t-shirts or shorts etc. Players are required to wear dark trousers, collared shirts and black shoes.
Players are advised to refer to the PDC’s published Order of Merit rules for 2012, which are available on pdc.tv.
Smoking & Drinking
Players are not permitted to smoke, or drink anything but water during play. This includes having a drink from the table behind you whilst your opponent is throwing or between legs. This rule must be strictly observed.
The PDC is introducing barriers behind each board, beyond which only players are permitted. The area between the barriers and the boards is a designated ‘no alcohol’ zone. Players MUST not take any alcohol in to this area.
On arrival all players will be issued with their PDPA 2012 players pack, there will be a lot of players at this event so give yourself plenty of time
Should any player have any queries whatsoever about these events please call Tournament Director Tommy Cox on 07738 015811 during office hours
Photo Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Tags: Allan Warriner-Little, BDO, Chris Mason, Dean Winstanley, PDC Darts, PDC Darts Q School 2012, PDPA, Peter Manley, Q School, Q School Entry, Ted Hankey switches
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