John Bowles, Simon Stevenson, Andy Parsons and Ricky Williams were the four players to secure PDC tour cards on the opening day of 2016 Q-School, whilst Ross Smith also recorded a nine-darter, at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.
Bowles was the most high-profile player to secure a tour-card on the opening day. The former rugby-league star, who came through Q-School in 2012, dropped just five legs in his opening three games, as he eased past the trio of Justin Broton, Fabian Herz and Colin Fowler.
He recorded an emphatic 5-1 victory over Harry Robinson in the last 32, before defeating Dick van Dijk 5-3 to set up a decisive clash against former Lakeside semi-finalist Brian Woods. Woods, who thrashed Steve Hine 5-1 in the last 16, couldn’t replicate this success against Bowles, with the Widnes star prevailing by a 5-2 scoreline to reclaim his card.
Simon Stevenson, who has competed on both the BDO and PDC circuits, became the second man to secure his tour card. Stevenson kicked off his Q-School campaign with a fine 5-2 victory over 2006 UK Open finalist Barrie Bates.
The 43-year-old from Plymouth, whose best TV major performance saw him reach the last 32 in the 2014 UK Open, defeated Peter Walford by the same scoreline, before edging past Gary Stone in a last-leg decider to reach the final 32 stage.
Stevenson then recorded successive 5-1 victories against Ted Evetts and Brett Claydon, to set up a decisive last eight clash against Robert Owen. For the second time today, Stevenson came through in a last-leg shootout, to claim a coveted tour card.
The final Q-School qualifier was Andy Parsons, who defeated Mark Barilli in a last-leg decider to secure the fourth and remaining tour card on Wednesday. Parsons secured a tour-card two years ago, but he failed to qualify for any TV tournaments which subsequently saw him lose his card.
However, the 34-year-old came agonisingly close to exiting in the preliminary stage, as he edged through 5-4 against Thanawat Gaweenuntawong, who was a preliminary qualifier at this year’s World Championships.
He secured a comprehensive 5-0 whitewash over Michael Gans, before beating Michael Dawson and Colin Littlecot 5-3 and 5-2 respectively. Parsons defeated Joey Palfreyman 5-2 to set up a last 16 clash against Ross Smith, but Parsons prevailed 5-3, before beating Barilli, to claim a tour card for the second time in his career.
Ricky Williams, nicknamed ‘Tricky’, certainly didn’t enjoy a serene passage through the opening day, winning three games by virtue of deciding legs. Williams claimed consecutive 5-2 wins over Lee Evans and Jeffrey Bekema, before dispatching Peter Martin 5-1.
He edged past Rhys Griffin 5-4 to reach the last 32 stage, where he claimed a major scalp; beating 2005 World Championship finalist Mark Dudbridge, 5-2. In his final two encounters, he held his nerve superbly, beating both Marvin Wehder and Rhys Hayden in deciding legs, to guarantee his place on the PDC Pro Tour until 2018.
Ross Smith hit the second PDC nine-darter of 2016 thus far, in his whitewash victory over Ryan de Vreede, who has made the switch from the BDO to the PDC. Smith posted a sensational average of 125.25, winning in legs of 9, 11, 11, 14 and 15. However, the average is yet to be officially recorded.
Nevertheless, this remarkable nine-dart salvo wasn’t enough to secure him an automatic tour-card, as he was defeated 5-3 by Parsons in the last 16. However, he’s established a strong platform to build upon in terms of the Q-School Order of Merit, and he’ll be hoping to go a couple of steps further tomorrow.
There were a number of high-profile stars who endured disappointing days. Two-time World Championship finalist Peter Manley was thrashed 5-1 in the opening round by Dick van Dijk, whilst former World-Youth Champions James Hubbard and Arron Monk, both failed to progress beyond the last 256 stage.
Former BDO world number 3 Jeffrey de Graaf suffered a disappointing opening day in Wigan. The 25-year-old kicked off his campaign with a whitewash victory over Par Riihonen, before he was dumped out in the last 128 by Ricky Sudale.
Kirk Shepherd, 2008 World Championship finalist, was knocked out at the last 64 stage by Lee Shewan in a deciding leg, whilst former UK Open finalist Mark Walsh was beaten 5-3 by Brett Claydon in the last 32.
2016 PDC Qualifying School
Day One – Wednesday January 13
Last 256
John Bowles 5-1 Justin Broton
Fabian Herz 5-1 Paul Goodwin
Colin Fowler 5-4 Callum Loose
Antonio Alcinas 5-3 Michael Malone
Dyson Parody 5-1 Garry Spedding
Harry Robinson 5-1 Callum Mackay
Robert Marijanovic 5-2 Trevor Burkhill
Kevin Lane 5-2 Lars Reinecke
Bernd Roith 5-4 Michael Rasztovits
Jack Hill 5-4 Warrick Scheffer
Jeffrey De Graaf 5-0 Par Riihonen
Ricky Sudale 5-1 Jeffrey van de Ven
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Peter Manley
Daniel Smith 5-4 Martin Thomas
Ben Adams 5-1 Lee Whitworth
Nigel Lamb 5-3 John Power
Paul Rowley 5-1 Simon Burt
Jay Murphy 5-2 Scott Taylor
Mark Oosterhuis 5-3 Jordan Patterson
Duvaan Ata 5-4 Jamie Landon
Alex Chubb 5-3 James Hubbard
Ian Withers 5-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Brian Woods 5-2 Lee Moffat
Marko Kantele 5-0 Colin Osborne
Dave Ladley 5-1 Antony Lopez
Paul Bettney 5-2 Andy Hutchings
Ryan Harrington 5-1 Lee Cusworth
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-0 Jordan Johnston
Mark Thorne 5-4 Leo Hendriks
Ian Lever 5-4 Per Laursen
Steve Hine 5-3 Richard Calvert
Robert McKenzie 5-3 Craig Lewis
Mark Walsh 5-0 Paul Murray
Jay Foreman 5-1 Ryan Short
James Hajdar 5-3 Andrew McAllister
Pete Dyos 5-3 Nick Fullwell
Jon Jukes 5-4 David Dodds
Thom Humphrey 5-4 Rene Eidams
Brett Claydon 5-4 John Michael
Mark Hylton 5-1 Arron Wike
Gary Stone 5-1 Kai Gotthardt
Sam Head 5-2 Kevin Bambrick
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Barrie Bates
Peter Walford 5-0 Michael Furlani
Ted Evetts 5-0 Shaun Lovett
Jason Tarry 5-3 Stuart Millar
Jason Marriott 5-3 Declan Salter
Chris McTernan 5-2 Jorg Hofmann
Daniel Ayres 5-3 John Court
Mick Todd 5-1 Rohit Rabadia
Ian Moss 5-4 Vernon Sheppard
Jamie Bain 5-4 Scott Dale
Kirk Shepherd 5-1 Ryan Palmer
Matthew Golding 5-3 Stuart Stubbs
Shane Reidy 5-4 Michael Harrison
Lee Shewan 5-3 Matt Clark
Robert Owen 5-0 Kentaro Suzuki
Tony Newell 5-4 Manuel Vilerio
Steve Brown 5-3 Kurt Parry
Sven Groen 5-2 Joshua Clements
Allan Candlish 5-2 Shane Harvey
Les Marson 5-3 Mike Symes
Ray Campbell 5-1 Kelvin Hart
Ernie Brown 5-2 Matt Padgett
Tony Oak 5-4 Richard Boucher
Peter Hudson 5-4 Mark Wilson
Dennis Smith 5-3 Simon Preston
Kevin Simm 5-2 Jamie Gemmell
David Fatum 5-0 James Welding
Michael Beal 5-0 Ewan Hyslop
Ryan De Vreede 5-4 Evander Stevenson
Ross Smith 5-4 Jerry Hendriks
Colin Littlecott 5-2 Mark Lawrence
Michael Barnard 5-3 Richie Howson
Michael Dawson 5-1 Nicholas Ellis
Andy Parsons 5-0 Michael Gans
Joey Palfreyman 5-1 Rhys Jackson
Karl Forrington 5-2 David Copley
Nick Jones 5-3 Mark Forman
Jamie Kelling 5-1 Mick Hasse
Kevin Thomas 5-0 Joe Croft
Ron Schouten 5-1 Steve Randall
Mark Barilli 5-2 Luke Woodhouse
Joey Ten Berge 5-1 Richard Hosey
Michael Power 5-1 Thomas Quinn
Andrew Wood 5-3 Dylan Duo
Paul Boyle 5-1 Gareth Thomas
Michael Pearson 5-4 John Porter
James Young 5-1 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Robert Rickwood 5-2 Robert Thompson
Ben Ward 5-2 Chris Hill
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Marc Dewsbury
Bradley Williams 5-0 Stephen Butkeraitis
Ross Rimmer 5-2 Andrew Johnson
Lee Watts 5-3 Kiernan Devine
Steven Smith 5-2 Jonathan Worsley
Stephen Gallimore 5-4 Christian Bober
Michael Baynham 5-4 Cory Evans
Yuji Eguchi 5-0 Campbell Jackson
Ryan Meikle 5-1 Ben Simpson
Tommy Legius 5-4 Christopher Dale
Michael Burgoine 5-0 Daniel Godfrey
Mark Stephenson 5-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Rhys Hayden 5-0 Arron Fairweather
Yuki Yamada 5-1 Kieran Evans
Ciaran Sullivan 5-2 Matthew Hayes
Vincent Kamphuis 5-3 Mick McGowan
Ritchie Edhouse 5-0 Adam Hunt
Carl Moorhouse 5-0 Matthew Twyford
Martyn Turner 5-3 David Jamieson
Terry Temple 5-0 Darrell Claydon
Diogo Portela 5-4 Damian Smith
Stephen Limer 5-1 Jeffrey Beekhuis
David Simpson 5-2 Daniel Starkey
Mark Dudbridge 5-4 Eddie Dootson
Steve Atkinson 5-2 John Newland
Mark Baxter 5-2 Sam Pennington
Rhys Griffin 5-2 Andreas Hajimina
Peter Martin 5-4 Coni Singh Nagi
Ricky Williams 5-2 Jeffrey Bekema
Anthony Brown 5-1 Jack Todd
Dave Honey 5-4 Eddie White
Adam Huckvale 5-4 Derek Brand
Tony Randell 5-0 Barry Tym
Marvin Wehder 5-0 Sam Thompson
Michael Blake 5-3 Martin Lukeman
Karl Merchant 5-0 Karsten Kornath
Stephen Gow 5-3 Chris Quantock
Last 128
John Bowles 5-2 Fabian Herz
Colin Fowler 5-0 Antonio Alcinas
Harry Robinson 5-2 Dyson Parody
Robert Marijanovic 5-2 Kevin Lane
Bernd Roith 5-3 Jack Hill
Ricky Sudale 5-4 Jeffrey De Graaf
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Daniel Smith
Nigel Lamb 5-4 Ben Adams
Paul Rowley 5-3 Jay Murphy
Mark Oosterhuis 5-2 Duvaan Ata
Ian Withers 5-1 Alex Chubb
Brian Woods 5-4 Marko Kantele
Paul Bettney 5-2 Dave Ladley
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-3 Ryan Harrington
Mark Thorne 5-3 Ian Lever
Steve Hine 5-3 Robert McKenzie
Mark Walsh 5-2 Jay Foreman
Pete Dyos 5-4 James Hajdar
Jon Jukes 5-0 Thom Humphrey
Brett Claydon 5-2 Mark Hylton
Gary Stone 5-3 Sam Head
Simon Stevenson 5-2 Peter Walford
Ted Evetts 5-1 Jason Tarry
Jason Marriott 5-2 Chris McTernan
Mick Todd 5-1 Daniel Ayres
Ian Moss 5-4 Jamie Bain
Kirk Shepherd 5-0 Matthew Golding
Lee Shewan 5-1 Shane Reidy
Robert Owen 5-2 Tony Newell
Sven Groen 5-3 Steve Brown
Allan Candlish 5-1 Les Marson
Ray Campbell 5-4 Ernie Brown
Peter Hudson 5-0 Tony Oak
Kevin Simm 5-2 Dennis Smith
Michael Beal 5-3 David Fatum
Ross Smith 5-0 Ryan De Vreede – Ross Smith hits nine-dart finish
Colin Littlecott 5-4 Michael Barnard
Andy Parsons 5-3 Michael Dawson
Joey Palfreyman 5-2 Karl Forrington
Jamie Kelling 5-2 Nick Jones
Kevin Thomas 5-3 Ron Schouten
Mark Barilli 5-1 Joey Ten Berge
Michael Power 5-2 Andrew Wood
Paul Boyle 5-4 Michael Pearson
Robert Rickwood 5-1 James Young
Chris Hartrey 5-0 Ben Ward
Bradley Williams 5-3 Ross Rimmer
Steven Smith 5-2 Lee Watts
Stephen Gallimore 5-3 Michael Baynham
Yuji Eguchi 5-4 Ryan Meikle
Michael Burgoine 5-4 Tommy Legius
Rhys Hayden 5-1 Mark Stephenson
Yuki Yamada 5-1 Ciaran Sullivan
Ritchie Edhouse 5-3 Vincent Kamphuis
Martyn Turner 5-3 Carl Moorhouse
Terry Temple 5-2 Diogo Portela
Stephen Limer 5-4 David Simpson
Mark Dudbridge 5-2 Steve Atkinson
Rhys Griffin 5-1 Mark Baxter
Ricky Williams 5-1 Peter Martin
Dave Honey 5-2 Anthony Brown
Tony Randell 5-3 Adam Huckvale
Marvin Wehder 5-4 Michael Blake
Stephen Gow 5-1 Karl Merchant
Last 64
John Bowles 5-2 Colin Fowler
Harry Robinson 5-1 Robert Marijanovic
Ricky Sudale 5-4 Bernd Roith
Dick van Dijk 5-1 Nigel Lamb
Mark Oosterhuis 5-3 Paul Rowley
Brian Woods 5-2 Ian Withers
Zoran Lerchbacher 5-2 Paul Bettany
Steve Hine 5-1 Mark Thorne
Mark Walsh 5-3 Pete Dyos
Brett Claydon 5-3 Jon Jukes
Simon Stevenson 5-4 Gary Stone
Ted Evetts 5-2 Jason Marriott
Ian Moss 5-2 Mick Todd
Lee Shewan 5-4 Kirk Shepherd
Robert Owen 5-1 Sven Groen
Alan Candlish 5-0 Ray Campbell
Peter Hudson 5-3 Kevin Simm
Ross Smith 5-2 Michael Beal
Andy Parsons 5-2 Colin Littlecott
Joey Palfreyman 5-3 Jamie Kelling
Mark Barilli 5-3 Kevin Thomas
Michael Power 5-0 Paul Boyle
Chris Hartrey 5-4 Robert Rickwood
Steven Smith 5-2 Bradley Williams
Yuji Eguchi 5-1 Stephen Gallimore
Rhys Hayden 5-3 Michael Burgoine
Ritchie Edhouse 5-4 Yuki Yamada
Martyn Turner 5-3 Terry Temple
Mark Dudbridge 5-2 Stephen Limer
Ricky Williams 5-4 Rhys Griffin
Dave Honey 5-4 Tony Randell
Marvin Wehder 5-4 Stephen Gow
Last 32
John Bowles 5-1 Harry Robinson
Dick van Dijk 5-4 Ricky Sudale
Brian Woods 5-4 Mark Oosterhuis
Steve Hine 5-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Brett Claydon 5-3 Mark Walsh
Simon Stevenson 5-1 Ted Evetts
Ian Moss 5-1 Lee Shewan
Robert Owen 5-1 Alan Candlish
Ross Smith 5-1 Peter Hudson
Andy Parsons 5-2 Joey Palfreyman
Mark Barilli 5-4 Michael Power
Steven Smith 5-4 Chris Hartrey
Rhys Hayden 5-1 Yuji Eguchi
Ritchie Edhouse 5-2 Martyn Turner
Ricky Williams 5-2 Mark Dudbridge
Marvin Wehder 5-3 Dave Honey
Last 16
John Bowles 5-3 Dick van Dijk
Brian Woods 5-1 Steve Hine
Simon Stevenson 5-1 Brett Claydon
Robert Owen 5-1 Ian Moss
Andy Parsons 5-3 Ross Smith
Mark Barilli 5-1 Steven Smith
Rhys Hayden 5-0 Ritchie Edhouse
Ricky Williams 5-4 Marvin Wehder
Last Eight
John Bowles 5-2 Brian Woods
Simon Stevenson 5-4 Robert Owen
Andy Parsons 5-4 Mark Barilli
Ricky Williams 5-4 Rhys Hayden
Tour Card Winners
John Bowles
Simon Stevenson
Andy Parsons
Ricky Williams
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