Kurt Van De Rijck, Steve West, Stuart Kellett and Michael Barnard won their tour cards on day two of the PDC's Qualifying School.
Van De Rijck, West, Kellett and Barnard successful on day two in Barnsley
Kurt Van De Rijck, Steve West, Stuart Kellett and Michael Barnard won their tour cards on day two of the PDC's Qualifying School at the Barnsley Metrodome.
Belgian ace Van De Rijck, 39, followed up his recent qualification for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship by earning a tour card to compete full-time on the PDC circuit in 2012.
Van De Rijck, who lays parquet flooring for a living in Antwerp, overcame Norfolk's Andrew Gilding 6-5 in a dramatic final game as he won his Tour Card - with the Englishman missing double 12 for a 141 checkout which would have given him a tour card.
Van De Rijck stepped in and hit double nine to follow his earlier wins over Manuel Croskery, Michael Gorst, Kevin Dowling, Ian Lever and Johnny Haines with the success which sees him join fellow countryman Kim Huybrechts on the PDC circuit.
"I'm very happy and relieved," said Van De Rijck. "I was 5-2 up in the last game and Andrew came back to five-all, so I was very nervous.
"It was the third game I won 6-5 on the day but I played well and I think that I deserved the tour card in the end.
"I'm hoping to make progress this year and my next goal is playing in the World Cup with Kim Huybrechts next month - my target there is to make the semi-finals."
Brothers
Steve West, meanwhile, emulated brother Tony's achievement in winning a tour card on Thursday by progressing through the 206-player field in Barnsley.
The 36-year-old from Waltham Abbey in Essex defeated Carlos Rodriguez, Matt Padgett, Ian Moss, Connie Finnan and Gino Vos to win his tour card, as he follows up qualification for five previous Lakeside Championships by moving onto the PDC circuit.
"It feels great," said West. "I think that I probably played better on Thursday but ended up getting beaten in the last 64, but today I got what I deserved.
"Tony's win was an inspiration for me and I'll look forward to playing alongside him this year."
Former World Masters runner-up Kellett will follow the West brothers in moving onto the PDC circuit, having defeated Ireland's Paddy Meaney 6-4 in his deciding game.
Kellett, a 30-year-old website designer from Northwich, defeated Lewis Venes, Stefanie Luck, Anthony Littleton, Darren Webster and Matthew Edgar in his other games on Friday in an impressive display to win his tour card.
"I played well all day and I'm very happy," said Kellett. "I've always wanted to have a go at the PDC circuit and play amongst the big names that are here and it's great to have that opportunity now.
"I'll try to get to as many tournaments as I can, and the World Championship in December's my initial goal, but I can have a good crack at this over the next two years now."
Tough
Romford's Barnard, 35, defeated a string of top names in winning a tour card to retain his place on the PDC circuit.
After seeing off former Lakeside Championship winner Les Wallace in his opener, he defeated Holland's Jerry Hendriks, English pair Martyn Turner and Steve Grubb and experienced Andy Jenkins to reach the final game.
There, he took a 6-2 win over former Widnes rugby league player John Bowles to secure his tour card, and admitted: "It feels really good.
"I've dropped down the rankings but I played well all day and I'm really happy. I had some tough matches in there, especially Andy Jenkins and John Bowles.
"Behind qualifying for the World Championship, this is probably the best day of my career - but I want to get back into the top 64 again now and make sure I never have to do Qualifying School again!"
Irish youngster Meaney had earlier knocked out Dean Winstanley in their last 16 clash on the day, with a key error from the former Lakeside Championship finalist at four-all in the game - when he burst his score when needing 138 - letting the Irishman in to take the initiative.
Former world number one Peter Manley was a second round victory, losing to Darren Webster, while Edgar suffered disappointment in the latter stages for the second successive day, having reached the last eight on Friday.
The remaining players will return to the Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday for the third of four days' play in Qualifying School, with a further four tour cards on offer on the day alongside ranking points.
