Sunday was the first of four days of the Final Stage of Q-School in Milton Keynes and Niedernhausen; the overall winner at each venue will secure a Tour Card on each of the four days, while Orders of Merit will be used to award a further 13 Tour Cards in the UK and eight in Europe
Monday 15 February 2021 13:19, UK
Kirk Shepherd and Geert De Vos claimed the first two PDC Tour Cards available as the Final Stage of Q-School got underway on Sunday.
Shepherd, who enjoyed a famous run to the 2008 PDC World Championship final before losing to John Part, regained his Tour Card in style with seven straight wins at the Marshall Arena.
The 34-year-old sealed the deal with a 6-1 victory over Jack Main in the decider.
"I'm relieved more than anything," Shepherd admitted. "I was behind in my first three games, I've had to dig deep today.
"I know what to do at the right times because I've done this before. I walked in the room and I felt like I was the one to watch, not in an arrogant way.
"I've prepared well, I'm practicing well and I'm playing well. The only person who was going to stop me getting my Tour Card was myself.
"The ambition now is to keep the Tour Card. I don't want to keep having to come back to Q School.
"I'm playing better now than I think I ever have. It's taken me 10 years to grow up and hopefully I can kick on now."
In Germany, former BDO World Trophy winner De Vos took his place among the PDC's elite for the first time. The Belgian thrower overcame Jerry Hendriks, Michael Unterbuchner, Richard Veenstra and Geert Nentjes along the way, as he saw off stiff opposition to qualify for the professional tour.
Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld came unstuck in the last 16, losing to Martin Schindler in a high-quality encounter in which both players averaged over 100.
Meanwhile, Fallon Sherrock suffered a second-round defeat to Sean Fisher, after the 'Queen of the Palace' overcame former BDO world champ Scott Mitchell in her opening game.
Sherrock was not the only big name to exit at the round of 64 in Milton Keynes, as Kevin Painter, Alan Norris and Danny Baggish also fell in the second round.
The overall winner at each venue will secure a Tour Card on each of the four days, while Orders of Merit will be used to award a further 13 Tour Cards in the UK and eight in Europe.
UK Qualifying School Final Stage Day One
Last 16
Chas Barstow 6-5 Brett Claydon
Kirk Shepherd 6-5 Matt Jackson
Martin Lukeman 6-0 Andrew Gilding
Martin Heneghan 6-4 Robert Thornton
Jack Main 6-4 Jason Askew
Lee Evans 6-0 Paul Holloway
Gavin Carlin 6-4 Alan Soutar
Jon Worsley 6-5 Sean Fisher
Quarter-Finals
Kirk Shepherd 6-1 Chas Barstow
Martin Lukeman 6-1 Martin Heneghan
Jack Main 6-4 Lee Evans
Jon Worsley 6-1 Gavin Carlin
Semi-Finals
Kirk Shepherd 6-5 Martin Lukeman
Jack Main 6-4 Jon Worsley
Final
Kirk Shepherd 6-1 Jack Main
European Qualifying School Final Stage Day One
Last 16
Geert De Vos 6-1 Michael Unterbuchner
Richard Veenstra 6-2 Ryan De Vreede
Lorenzo Pronk 6-3 Adam Gawlas
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-3 Jan Dekker
Wesley Plaisier 6-2 Toni Alcinas
Geert Nentjes 6-1 Robert Marijanovic
Martin Schindler 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-4 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Quarter-Finals
Geert De Vos 6-3 Richard Veenstra
Lorenzo Pronk 6-5 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Geert Nentjes 6-5 Wesley Plaisier
Martin Schindler 6-3 Zoran Lerchbacher
Semi-Finals
Geert De Vos 6-2 Lorenzo Pronk
Geert Nentjes 6-2 Martin Schindler
Final
Geert De Vos 6-4 Geert Nentjes
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