Steve ‘The Adonis’ Beaton is in prime position to reclaim his PDC Tour card after reaching the quarter-finals at the UK Q-School on Thursday.
Beaton lost 6-5 to Australia’s Adam Leek on the first day of the final stage event in Milton Keynes.
The former Lakeside world champion decided to step away from the red clay at the end of 2024, but after just one year in professional darts, the 61-year-old has made a dramatic U-turn as he joins 925 names seeking the coveted Tour card.
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Watch this bullseye checkout of vintage Beaton from the 2023 World Darts Championship in his victory over Wessel Nijman.
Beaton is just two wins away from securing his tour card at the first opportunity, but he’s still in a good position. He placed 5th in the rankings, with the top 5 being awarded tour cards after four days of action.
Arno Merk and Filip Bereza were the first players to secure their tour cards, defeating Jeffrey Sparidaans and Jeffrey De Zwaan respectively.
Merk produced a memorable debut as they came from 5-3 down to beat Sparidaans 6-5 at Alexandra Palace.
Poland’s Bereza survived nine match darts to beat former World Matchplay semi-finalist De Zwaan from 5-1 down.
Rhys Griffin and Beaton’s conqueror Leek became the second pair to earn a tour card.
Welshman Griffin returned to the PDC Tour for the first time as he claimed a 6-0 whitewash of Scott Waites, while Australian ace Leek edged out Tyler Thorpe in a deciding leg to secure a coveted PDC Tour card for the first time.
Sherrock, Manby and Part all fall early.
Fallon Sherrock went down early along with ‘Champagne’ Charlie Manby for zero points.
PDC Tour Cards are awarded to the last two players remaining in the final stage each day from both UK and European qualifying schools.
There are 128 players competing in each event, with the two finalists advancing to the PDC Tour and all other players being ranked in order of performance.
Some celebrities were knocked out in the first round at both the UK and EU Q-School, including fan favorites Fallon Sherrock and Charlie Manby.
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Debutant Charlie Manby defeated Ricky Evans in a memorable clash at Ally Pally.
Devon Peterson also fell at the hands of Beaton in the first round, while Jose De Sousa knocked out Matt Campbell in the next stage in Kalkar, Germany.
De Sousa and Mervyn King crashed in the final 32 stages.
De Sousa beat Davy Proosten and former tour card holder Campbell 6-3, before falling behind Ricardo Ulrich by the same score.
King won against Tom Lonsdale and Martin Grearson at a high average of 94.17 before losing to Ireland’s Stephen Rosney.
Other names include Boris Krcmar, Cristo Reyes, Jelle Klaasen, John Part, Mason Whitlock, Willie Borland and Nathan Rafferty.
Who will be the Premier League Darts winner this year? Luke Humphries is set to defend his title and you can watch the action every Thursday from February to May on Sky Sports. Stream the best sports including darts with NOW.
