Josh Payne and Jeffrey de Zwaan regain PDC Tour Cards at Qualifying School

Josh Payne and Jeffrey de Zwaan regained places on the PDC circuit after coming through Qualifying School on Saturday.

Payne, a two-time Players Championship winner, joined Arron Monk and Graham Usher in progressing as an automatic qualifier from UK Qualifying School in Milton Keynes.

The former UK Open quarter-finalist failed to pick up a single point on Thursday or Friday, but returned to winning ways in superb style on Day Three at the Marshall Arena.

Payne battled his way past Mark Challenger and Andy Boulton in the early rounds, before averaging 99 in a whitewash of Ryan Furness to continue his charge.

The 29-year-old also accounted for Mark McGeeney and Conan Whitehead to set up a Semi-Final tie against Graham Hall, where he narrowly missed double 12 for a nine-darter before sealing the deal in ten darts.

This set up a decisive tie against former Tour Card Holder Chris Quantock, and Payne produce a fine comeback, recovering from 5-3 down to prevail with legs of 13 and 15 darts in the closing stages.

Quantock, who was also without a point heading into Day Three, defied a spirited fightback from Jim McEwan in Round One, and later recorded wins over Lewis Gurney and Dylan Slevin en route to the final.

Irish star Slevin hit back from 5-0 down to stun Scott Mitchell 6-5 in Round Three, while also claiming the scalps of Danny Lauby and Keegan Brown to advance to the Last Four alongside Hall.

Hall and Slevin are tied in fourth and fifth spot on the UK Q School Order of Merit respectively, while Saturday’s quarter-finalists Lee Evans and former World Youth champion Brown are on seven points alongside Friday’s runner-up Adam Warner.

Elsewhere, 2012 World Championship runner-up Andy Hamilton and Women’s World Matchplay winner Fallon Sherrock both remain in contention following runs to the Last 16 on Saturday.

At European Qualifying School, former World Matchplay semi-finalist De Zwaan performed magnificently in Kalkar to secure an immediate return to the PDC circuit.

The Dutchman, who dropped off the tour at the end of last season, dropped just 14 legs in his seven matches, defeating his compatriot Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3 in the final.

De Zwaan kicked off his run with an emphatic 6-1 win over compatriot Stefan Schroder, before overcoming Belgium’s Remo Mandiau and Japan’s Yoshihisa Baba to reach the Last 16.

The 26-year-old then recorded a stunning 107 average to dispatch Friday’s runner-up Pascal Rupprecht 6-2, before breezing past Alex Spellman and Arjan Konterman in quick-fire fashion.

This set up an all-Dutch showdown against Kuivenhoven, and De Zwaan was not to be denied, conjuring up back-to-back 13-dart legs to confirm his return to the professional circuit.

Kuivenhoven, a semi-finalist on Friday, is also assured of a Tour Card via the European Q School Order of Merit after taking his tally to 11 points courtesy of reaching Saturday’s decider.

The 34-year-old opened up with a whitewash of 2022 UK Open quarter-finalist Sebastian Bialecki, before dumping out German star Max Hopp in Round Two.

Kuivenhoven also edged in-form Daniel Klose in a deciding leg in the Quarter-Finals, before denying Belgium’s former World Cup finalist Ronny Huybrechts in the Semi-Finals.

Huybrechts is poised to re-join his brother Kim on the PDC circuit after following up his run to Thursday’s final with another strong showing, while Konterman’s Semi-Final run has catapulted him into the provisional qualification places.

Rupprecht and Huybrechts sit in second and third spot respectively on nine points, with Klose and Czech star Karel Sedlacek further back on seven points.

The action continues in Milton Keynes and Kalkar on Sunday for the final day of 2023 Qualifying School.

Two automatic Tour Cards will be up for grabs, as well as a further 19 Tour Cards awarded on a pro-rata basis to players from the respective Orders of Merit – ten in Europe and nine in the UK.

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UK Qualifying School Final Stage – Day Three Results

Saturday January 14

Last 128
Justin Hood 6-3 Christopher Wickenden
John Bowles 6-5 Benjamin Johnson
Chris Quantock 6-5 Jim McEwan
Cam Crabtree 6-1 Dom Taylor
Shane Hayward 6-4 Nicky Denoon
Tommy Morris 6-5 Christian Perez
Christopher Gilliland 6-4 Ryan Harrington
Lewis Gurney 6-4 Matthew Dennant
Prakash Jiwa 6-1 David Evans
Sam Cromwell 6-3 Adam Smith-Neale
Lee Palfreyman 6-3 Jeremy Fagg
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Cliff Prior
Adam Warner 6-5 Paul Mitchell
Lee Cocks 6-3 Tom Martin
Dylan Slevin 6-4 Danny Lauby
Llew Bevan 6-5 Steven Beasley
Scott Mitchell 6-1 Stu Wilson
Eddie Lovely 6-5 Robert Thompson
Jack Main 6-2 Jenson Walker
Michael Flynn 6-3 Adam Mould
Ryan O’Connor 6-1 Wayne Jones
Colin Osborne 6-3 James Richardson
Robert Rickwood 6-5 Lee Budgen
Darryl Pilgrim 6-5 Daniel Day
Keegan Brown 6-0 Jim Moston
Callum Goffin 6-3 Carl Sneyd
Steven Plumstead 6-2 Jason Heaver
David Wawrzewski 6-3 Peter Jacques
John Cook 6-0 Stuart Kellett
Jim Walker 6-2 Peter Hudson
Conan Whitehead 6-5 Pete Burgoyne
Shaun McDonald 6-4 Michael Barnard
Lewis Pride 6-1 Pat Scurfield
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Scott Baker
Jack Vincent 6-4 James Howard Hughes
John Henderson 6-3 Chris Bird
Mark McGeeney 6-4 Adam Atkinson
Owen Bates 6-1 Scott Artiss
Reece Robinson 6-4 Gary Jackson
Kevin Thomas 6-5 Jake Jones
Ryan Furness 6-3 Kevin Lowe
Brett Claydon 6-5 Robert Collins
Andy Boulton 6-1 Scott Walters
Josh Payne 6-4 Mark Challenger
Adam Lipscombe 6-4 Nick Kenny
Stephen Burton 6-4 Jarred Cole
Stephen Rosney 6-2 Shaun Fox
Shane McGuirk 6-5 Dan Read
Joshua Richardson 6-4 Stephen McNally
Liam Meek 6-3 Dale Gadsby
Graham Hall 6-2 Ian Jones
Adam Hunt 6-3 Ryan Murray
Gary Blades 6-4 Mike Warburton
Kieron Bridgwater 6-5 William Borland
Lee Evans 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Fallon Sherrock 6-4 Nathan Girvan
Thomas Lovely 6-5 Luke Smith
David Sumner 6-1 Christopher Holt
Alec Small 6-4 Michael Huntley

Last 64
James Hurrell 6-3 Justin Hood
Chris Quantock 6-3 John Bowles
Shane Hayward 6-4 Cam Crabtree
Tommy Morris 6-3 Christopher Gilliland
Lewis Gurney 6-2 Ryan Hogarth
Sam Cromwell 6-4 Prakash Jiwa
Andy Jenkins 6-1 Lee Palfreyman
Adam Warner 6-5 Lee Cocks
Dylan Slevin 6-5 Niall Culleton
Scott Mitchell 6-2 Llew Bevan
Eddie Lovely 6-4 Jack Main
Michael Flynn 6-2 Ryan O’Connor
Robert Rickwood 6-3 Colin Osborne
Keegan Brown 6-3 Darryl Pilgrim
Callum Goffin 6-3 Steven Plumstead
David Wawrzewski 6-4 John Cook
Conor Heneghan 6-1 Jim Walker
Conan Whitehead 6-3 Shaun McDonald
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Lewis Pride
Jack Vincent 6-5 John Henderson
Mark McGeeney 6-5 Owen Bates
Kevin Thomas 6-4 Reece Robinson
Ryan Furness 6-3 Brett Claydon
Josh Payne 6-5 Andy Boulton
Alan Tabern 6-1 Adam Lipscombe
Stephen Burton 6-3 Stephen Rosney
Shane McGuirk 6-3 Joshua Richardson
Graham Hall 6-0 Liam Meek
Gary Blades 6-4 Adam Hunt
Lee Evans 6-1 Kieron Bridgwater
Fallon Sherrock 6-2 Thomas Lovely
Alec Small 6-2 David Sumner

Last 32
Chris Quantock 6-4 James Hurrell
Tommy Morris 6-4 Shane Hayward
Lewis Gurney 6-3 Sam Cromwell
Adam Warner 6-1 Andy Jenkins
Dylan Slevin 6-5 Scott Mitchell
Michael Flynn 6-2 Eddie Lovely
Keegan Brown 6-2 Robert Rickwood
Callum Goffin 6-3 David Wawrzewski
Conan Whitehead 6-4 Conor Heneghan
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Jack Vincent
Mark McGeeney 6-2 Kevin Thomas
Josh Payne 6-0 Ryan Furness
Stephen Burton 6-5 Alan Tabern
Graham Hall 6-3 Shane McGuirk
Lee Evans 6-1 Gary Blades
Fallon Sherrock 6-3 Alec Small

Last 16
Chris Quantock 6-3 Tommy Morris
Lewis Gurney 6-3 Adam Warner
Dylan Slevin 6-2 Michael Flynn
Keegan Brown 6-4 Callum Goffin
Conan Whitehead 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Josh Payne 6-2 Mark McGeeney
Graham Hall 6-4 Stephen Burton
Lee Evans 6-3 Fallon Sherrock

Quarter-Finals
Chris Quantock 6-3 Lewis Gurney
Dylan Slevin 6-3 Keegan Brown
Josh Payne 6-4 Conan Whitehead
Graham Hall 6-2 Lee Evans

Semi-Finals
Chris Quantock 6-4 Dylan Slevin
Josh Payne 6-3 Graham Hall

Final
Josh Payne 6-5 Chris Quantock

European Qualifying School Final Stage – Day Three Results

Saturday January 14

Last 128
Derk Telnekes 6-2 Marc Vleghert
Francois Schweyen 6-2 Owen Roelofs
Richard Veenstra 6-2 Gilbert van der Meijden
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Vitezslav Sedlak
Jeroen Mioch 6-4 Marco Grafweg
Steffen Siepmann 6-4 Steven Strobbe
Chris Landman 6-3 Felix Schiertz
Moreno Blom 6-5 John Michael
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Kevin Blomme
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Miroslaw Grudziecki
Thibault Tricole 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp
Berry van Peer 6-5 Jimmy van Schie
Oliver Mueller 6-3 Patrick Tringler
Ronny Huybrechts 6-1 Benjamin Freudenreich
Ricardo Perez 6-3 Andrew Beeton
Jacob Taylor 6-4 Andy Baetens
Patrick Maat 6-1 Marco Obst
Daniel Klose 6-1 Jody Tobback
Toni Alcinas 6-1 Marcel Gerdon
Paavo Myller 6-1 Nick Crouwel
John Desreumaux 6-3 Marcel Hausotter
Patrick Ploetz 6-2 Jan de Weerdt
Jeroen Caron 6-5 Jamai van den Herik
David Schlichting 6-0 Reinhard Schumacher
Sander van Ockenburg 6-4 Jesus Noguera
Max Hopp 6-1 Christopher Toonders
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-0 Sebastian Bialecki
Vinay Ramnath 6-3 Marcel Gugger
Robbie Knops 6-3 Luc Snels
Joaquim Goncalves 6-4 Kenny Neyens
Christian Kist 6-2 Nico Kurz
Michele Turetta 6-4 Gino Vos
José Marquês 6-4 Marco Verhofstad
Jonas Masalin 6-1 Gabriel Rollo
Alex Spellman 6-5 Alexander Masek
Patrick van den Boogaard 6-4 Tomas Houdek
Vincent Van der Meer 6-5 Jamie Lawrence
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-0 Danny Tessmann
Pascal Rupprecht 6-4 Lukas Wenig
Roemer Mooijman 6-4 Grant Sampson
Jordy Van den Broek 6-3 Heikki Hyvonen
Yoshihisa Baba 6-5 Jens Ziegler
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-1 Stefan Schroder
Remo Mandiau 6-4 Paulo Ferreira
Rainer Sturm 6-4 Jiri Brejcha
Marcel Walpen 6-1 Fabian Stuetz
Arjan Konterman 6-4 Bram van Dijk
Tytus Kanik 6-5 Diogo Portela
Alexander Merkx 6-4 Stefan Nilles
Daniel Zygla 6-2 Martijn Wanders
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-3 Marko Kantele
Jelle Klaasen 6-0 Roy van de Griendt
Ryan De Vreede 6-1 Cedric Coryn
Sebastian Steyer 6-2 Julio Barbero Gonzalez
Kevin Van Wauwe 6-3 Neven Resetar
Davy Proosten 6-1 Andreas Toft Jorgensen
Davyd Venken 6-1 Steven Morrison
Jacques Labre 6-1 Arno Looijen
Stefaan Henderyck 6-5 Larry Butler

Last 64
Teemu Harju 6-3 Derk Telnekes
Richard Veenstra 6-1 Francois Schweyen
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Jeroen Mioch
Chris Landman 6-4 Steffen Siepmann
Jeremy van der Winkel 6-3 Moreno Blom
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Benito van de Pas
Thibault Tricole 6-4 Berry van Peer
Ronny Huybrechts 6-4 Oliver Mueller
Ricardo Perez 6-4 Jitse Van der Wal
Jacob Taylor 6-2 Patrick Maat
Daniel Klose 6-3 Toni Alcinas
John Desreumaux 6-3 Paavo Myller
Jeroen Caron 6-4 Patrick Ploetz
David Schlichting 6-1 Sander van Ockenburg
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-2 Max Hopp
Vinay Ramnath 6-5 Robbie Knops
Gian van Veen 6-1 Joaquim Goncalves
Christian Kist 6-2 Michele Turetta
José Marquês 6-3 Jonas Masalin
Alex Spellman 6-4 Patrick van den Boogaard
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-1 Vincent Van der Meer
Pascal Rupprecht 6-3 Roemer Mooijman
Yoshihisa Baba 6-2 Jordy Van den Broek
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-3 Remo Mandiau
Franz Roetzsch 6-1 Rainer Sturm
Arjan Konterman 6-2 Marcel Walpen
Alexander Merkx 6-3 Tytus Kanik
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4 Daniel Zygla
Ryan De Vreede 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Kevin Van Wauwe 6-5 Sebastian Steyer
Davy Proosten 6-0 Davyd Venken
Stefaan Henderyck 6-1 Jacques Labre

Last 32
Richard Veenstra 6-4 Teemu Harju
Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Chris Landman
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Jeremy van der Winkel
Ronny Huybrechts 6-4 Thibault Tricole
Jacob Taylor 6-4 Ricardo Perez
Daniel Klose 6-1 John Desreumaux
Jeroen Caron 6-4 David Schlichting
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-0 Vinay Ramnath
Gian van Veen 6-5 Christian Kist
Alex Spellman 6-1 José Marquês
Pascal Rupprecht 6-4 Dennie Olde Kalter
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-2 Yoshihisa Baba
Arjan Konterman 6-1 Franz Roetzsch
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4 Alexander Merkx
Ryan De Vreede 6-4 Kevin Van Wauwe
Davy Proosten 6-4 Stefaan Henderyck

Last 16
Richard Veenstra 6-2 Karel Sedlacek
Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Daniel Klose 6-4 Jacob Taylor
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Jeroen Caron
Alex Spellman 6-2 Gian van Veen
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-2 Pascal Rupprecht
Arjan Konterman 6-3 Benjamin Pratnemer
Ryan De Vreede 6-4 Davy Proosten

Quarter-Finals
Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Richard Veenstra
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-5 Daniel Klose
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-2 Alex Spellman
Arjan Konterman 6-1 Ryan De Vreede

Semi-Finals
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-1 Arjan Konterman

Final
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven

UK Qualifying School Order of Merit

European Qualifying School Order of Merit