Sherrock still on track for PDC Tour Card despite quarter-final loss to Stephen Burton; Final Stage of Q-School is played each day from Thursday to Sunday, with the winner of each session automatically earning their Tour Card; Players can also earn their cards via an Order of Merit
Thursday 12 January 2023 19:37, UK
Fallon Sherrock is still on track to gain a PDC Tour Card for the first time despite a quarter-final exit in the Final Stage of Q-School on Thursday.
The Women's World Matchplay winner started her day with a 6-3 victory over Josh Payne, then defeated Mike Warburton, Robert Thompson and Ryan Harrington before losing 6-4 to Stephen Burton despite a late fightback to make it 5-4.
Sherrock currently sits in fifth place in the UK as she returns to Q-School on Friday and a similar run would move her closer to guaranteeing a spot on the pro tour via the 19 places given via the Order of Merit.
Arron Monk will make his return to the pro tour after a 6-3 win over Dom Taylor in the UK Q-School Final Stage, a 95 average helping the 2011 Youth World Champion finally make his long-awaited return to the professional ranks.
Victories over Cliff Prior and Luke Smith, plus a 6-0 whitewashing against Mark McGeeney in the quarter-finals, helped Monk secure his spot in the final, fighting back from 3-2 down to take four successive legs and claim the win.
Monk, who burst on the scene in 2010, will now return to the professional circuit for the first time since 2019.
Jeffrey Sparidaans was the shock first Tour Card winner at the European Q-school, the Dutchman defeating Ronny Huybrechts 6-2 to secure his place on the pro circuit for 2023 and 2024.
Sparidaans, whose only prior 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.
A total of 27 PDC Tour Cards will be on offer in the Final Stage from January 12-15, with each of the daily winners in the UK and Europe receiving an automatic Tour Card.
The remaining 19 Tour Cards will be allocated to players from the UK and European Q-School Final Stage Orders of Merit and split on a pro-rata basis of total participants in each region.
Any ties in the 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.
