Tom Bissell caused a shock and picked up the first PDC Tour Card from the Final Stage of Q-School in a 6-5 final win over Bradley Brooks.
It was Bissell’s first time in Milton Keynes for Q-School having never played on the PDC circuit before and now, he will have a guaranteed two years on the professional circuit.
In the European Q-School Final Stage, Viktor Tingstrom beat Jimmy van Schie 6-4 to earn his Tour Card for 2025.
It was a closely contested final, the game going with throw until Bissell broke Brooks in the sixth leg, Brooks hitting straight back in the eighth with the game level a 4-4.
With the game tensely poised at 5-5 in a race to six, a 14-dart leg from Bissell gave him the win and earned him a Tour Card.
“I think I am ready for it,” Brissell said afterwards, looking ahead to facing the likes of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries on tour.
“I’m really chuffed, just overwhelmed. I’ve probably been playing about 10 years… I’ve always been a bit humble with it, never backed myself really, but today I had to and it paid off.”
Former World Youth Champion Brooks averaged a brilliant 103 in his semi-final against Aden Kirk, while Bissell beat Tom Sykes to book his spot in the final, also beating John Henderson 6-5 on the way.
The ‘Queen of the Palace’ Fallon Sherrock made it all the way to the top 32 before losing 6-3 in a tough battle with Adam Lipscombe.
Sherrock averaged 91.83 across the day after starting with a 6-0 whitewash of Arron Monk before beating John Brown 6-1 in the top 64.
After picking up a 6-4 win against Steve Hine, Beau Greaves suffered a 6-3 loss to Josh Payne in the top 64, putting her 51st in the rankings with two days of the Final Stage remaining.
The ‘Wizard’ Simon Whitlock made it into the top 32 before losing 6-4 to Adam Smith-Neale while Mervyn King went out in the top 64 on day one of the Final Stage with a 6-3 loss to Ryan O’Connor.
How does the Final Stage of Q-School work?
There will be a total of 29 PDC Tour Cards on offer in the Final Stage from January 9 to January 12, with each of the daily winners in the UK and Europe receiving an automatic Tour Card.
The remaining 21 Tour Cards will be allocated to players from the UK and European Q School Final Stage Orders of Merit, with a further 12 Tour Cards on offer via European Q School, while nine players will come through the UK rankings.
Any ties in the respective Q School Orders of Merit will be split as follows based on all match results: Leg Difference, Legs Won, then DartConnect average. If players still cannot be split, a play-off would be organised.
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Source : Sky Sports
