The 2017 PDC Pro Tour is a current series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. This year there are 40 PDC Pro Tour events being held – 22 Players Championships, six UK Open Qualifiers and 12 European Tour events.
Prize money
Prize money for each European Tour event has increased from £115,000 to £135,000. The UK Open Qualifiers and Players Championship events stays the same as 2016.[1][2]
This is how the prize money is divided:
Stage
ET
PC
UKQ
CT/DT
Winner
£25,000
£10,000
£10,000
£2,000
Runner-up
£10,000
£6,000
£5,000
£1,000
Semi-finalists
£6,000
£3,000
£2,500
£500
Quarter-finalists
£4,000
£2,250
£2,000
£300
Last 16
£3,000
£1,500
£1,500
£200
Last 32
£2,000
£1,000
£750
£100
Last 48
£1,000
N/A
N/A
N/A
Last 64
N/A
£500
£250
£50
Total
£135,000
£75,000
£60,000
£10,000
PDC Tour Card
128 players are granted Tour Cards, which enables them to participate in all Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events.
Afterwards, the playing field was complemented by the highest qualified players from the Q School Order of Merit until the maximum number of 128 Pro Tour Card players had been reached. In 2017, that means that a total of 12 players qualified this way.[3]
^Dean Reynolds turned down his Tour Card, which was subsequently awarded to Aden Kirk.
Q-School
The PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School takes place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan from January 19–22. The following players won two-year tour cards on each of the days played:
A Q School Order of Merit was also created by using the following points system:
Stage
Points
Last 8
9
Last 16
5
Last 32
3
Last 64
2
Last 128
1
To complete the field of 128 Tour Card Holders, places were allocated down the final Qualifying School Order of Merit. The following players picked up Tour Cards as a result:
Compared to the previous year, there were two Players Championship events added to the calendar, increasing the number to 22. In addition, the top 64 of the Players Championship qualified for the Players Championship Finals.
Compared to last year, there are two European Tour events added on the calendar. In addition, the top 32 of the European Tour will qualify for the European Championship.
The Scandinavian Darts Corporation was renamed as the Professional Darts Corporation Nordic & Baltic (PDCNB). There were 10 events held over 5 weekends.[68]
The Dartplayers Australia Grand Prix rankings are calculated from events across Australia. Gordon Mathers was the top player in the rankings, and therefore has automatically qualified for the 2018 World Championship.
The winner qualified directly for the first round of the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. The runner-up qualified for the preliminary round, as did the winner of the third-place playoff.