This article is about the PDC's 2026 Players Championship series, European Tour and accompanying secondary tours. For an overview of PDC darts in 2026, see 2026 in PDC.
On 31 March 2025, the PDC announced a mass increase in prize money for PDC Pro Tour tournaments, along with increases for the PDC's secondary tours.[2][3] The breakdown for each tour is shown below:
12Pre-qualified players from the PDC and PDC Pro Tour Orders of Merit who lose in their first match of the event shall not be credited with prize money on any Order of Merit. A player who qualifies as a qualifier, but later becomes a seed due to the withdrawal of one or more other players shall be credited with their prize money on all Orders of Merit regardless of how far they progress in the event.
↑Last 64 prize money is only paid out if a minimum of 128 participants take part in a Women's Series event.
PDC Tour Card
128 players are granted PDC Tour Cards, which enables them to participate in all Players Championship events, the UK Open, and qualifiers for all European Tours and select televised events.
Niko Springer, who also earned a Tour Card through the 2024 Development Tour, entered the top 64 in his first year on tour. Therefore, one extra Tour Card will be awarded to a 2026 Q-School qualifier.
Afterwards, the playing field will be complemented by the highest qualified players from the Q-School Order of Merit until the maximum number of 128 Pro Tour Card players has been reached.
Q-School
PDC Qualifying School (or Q-School) is split into two different events: UK Q-School for British and Irish players, held at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes, England; and European Q-School for the rest of Europe, held at Wunderland Kalkar in Kalkar, Germany. Non-European players can choose which Q-School to compete in.[4][5]
There are two stages in Q-School:
The First Stage, played between 5–7 January, is entered by any darts player who registered to compete. The eight quarter-finalists from each of the three days qualifies for the Final Stage alongside other players coming from a First Stage Order of Merit ranking to produce a full list of 128 players for each Final Stage.
The Final Stage, held between 8–11 January, consists of all players qualified from the First Stage plus the players exempted to the Final Stage; players who were exempted were those who lost their PDC Tour Cards after the 2026 World Championship, and those who finished from third to sixteenth in the 2025 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit who did not have PDC Tour Cards yet. The final two players of each day's play in the Final Stage are given a PDC Tour Card.[6]
The PDC Players Championships (PC) are a series of non-televised darts events that are part of the PDC Pro Tour. The number of events was the same as the previous year, with a total of 34 Players Championship events.
The Players Championship Order of Merit is determined based on the total prize money won by each player in the Players Championship events throughout the year. The top 64 players on this ranking will qualify for the Players Championship Finals.
The PDC European Tour (ET) is a series of darts events that are part of the PDC Pro Tour. In 2026, the total number of events expanded to fifteen, one more than the previous year. European Tour events in Poland and Slovakia will be held for the first time.[7]
The PDC European Tour Order of Merit is determined based on the total prize money won by each player in the European Tour events throughout the year. The top 32 players on this ranking will qualify for the European Championship.
↑"PDC Rankings Rules | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 2 January 2026. Tour Cards shall be awarded to the last two players of each day's play in Final Stage at both the UK and European Q School
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EXPO Kraków 
Lokhalle, Göttingen 
Oktoberhallen, Wieze 
Stadthalle Graz 
Incheba, Bratislava 
MVM Dome, Budapest 
PVA EXPO, Prague 
St. Jakobshalle, Basel 
MECC Maastricht