2023 PDC Pro Tour

The 2023 PDC Pro Tour was a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Players Championships and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. There were thirty Players Championship events and thirteen PDC European Tour events, as well as 24 events for the Challenge and Development Tours, and the Women's Series.

On 21 November 2022, it was announced that the prize money for the Women's Series will be doubled in 2023.

The following day, it was announced that the prize money for Challenge/Development Tour events would also increase, with the prize fund going up from £10,000 to £15,000 per event.

On 15 February 2023, it was announced that the prize money for the PDC European Tour events was to increase by 25% with prize funds increasing from £140,000 to £175,000 per event.

This is how the prize money was divided:

128 players were granted Tour Cards, which enabled them to participate in all Players Championship events, the UK Open and qualifiers for all European Tour and select televised events.

The 2023 Tour Cards were awarded to:

• (64) The top 64 players from the PDC Order of Merit after the 2023 World Championship.
• (30) 30 qualifiers from 2022 Q-School not ranked in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit following the World Championship.
• (1) The winner of the 2021 UK Challenge Tour (Jim Williams).
  • Jim Williams was also in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit, and therefore, one extra Tour Card was awarded to a Q-School qualifier.
• (1) The winner of the 2021 European Challenge Tour (Matt Campbell).
• (1) The winner of the 2021 UK Development Tour (Bradley Brooks).
• (1) The winner of the 2021 European Development Tour (Rusty-Jake Rodriguez).
• (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2022 Challenge Tour (Robert Owen and Danny van Trijp).
• (2) Two highest qualifiers from 2022 Development Tour (Geert Nentjes and Jurjen van der Velde).
• (8) The daily winners from the 2023 Q-Schools.

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 has been reached. In 2023, that meant a total of 19 additional players qualified this way.

The PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School (or Q-School) was split into a UK and European Q-School. Players that are not from Europe could choose which Q-School to compete in.

Q-School was once again split into two stages; with all players who lost their tour cards after the 2023 World Championship and the players who finished from third to sixteenth in the 2022 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit exempted to the final stage. The first stage consisted a block of three days, with the last eight players on each day qualifying into the final stage. A ranking of other players was also produced with players qualifying via that ranking to produce a full list of 128 players for each final stage.

Stage One took place between 9–11 January; with the Final Stage being held between 12 and 15 January. The winner of each day's play in the Final Stage received a PDC Tour Card.

The UK Q-School was held at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England; with the European Q-School held at Wunderland Kalkar in Kalkar, Germany.

An Order of Merit was created for each Q School. For every win after the Last 64, the players were awarded 1 point.

To complete the field of 128 Tour Card Holders, places were allocated down the final stage Q-School Order of Merits in proportion to the number of participants, with 9 cards going to the UK Q-School and 10 going to the European Q-School.

The following players picked up Tour Cards as a result:

There were 30 Players Championship events in 2023.

The PDC European Tour remained at 13 events for 2023, although there was no event in Gibraltar, ending 10 years of darts on the peninsula.

The Challenge Tour will once again consist of 4 weekends of 5 events, and 1 weekend of 4 events. The top 2 players on the Order of Merit get a PDC Tour Card and a place at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, meanwhile the winner of the Order of Merit gets a spot at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts as well. The Challenge Tour rankings are additionally used to top up Players Championship events should not all 128 Tour Card holders choose to enter. Furthermore, the eight highest ranked players from the 2023 Challenge Tour without a tour card for the 2024 season qualified for the first round of the 2024 UK Open.

The Development Tour once again consisted of 4 weekends of 5 events, and 1 weekend of 4 events. The top 2 players on the Order of Merit received a PDC Tour Card and a place at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, meanwhile the winner of the Order of Merit received a spot at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts as well. The Development Tour rankings additionally formed a large part of qualification for the 2023 PDC World Youth Championship. Furthermore, the top 8 ranked players from the 2023 Development Tour Order of Merit, who did not manage to earn a Tour Card for the 2024 season, qualified for the first round of the 2024 UK Open.

The preliminary rounds of the 2023 World Youth Championship were held on 20 August 2023 at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes; while the final was held on 26 November 2023 at Butlin's Minehead as part of the 2023 Players Championship Finals. The winner qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

Josh Rock, who was not eligible to play on the Development Tour due to being in the top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit, was reigning champion and top seed going into the tournament. However he was defeated by Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals 6–5.

The top 2 from the 2023 PDC Development Tour series met in the final, with Luke Littler defeating Gian van Veen 6–4.

The results from the third round onwards are shown below.

	Third round (best of 11 legs) 20 August					Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) 20 August					Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) 20 August					Final (best of 11 legs) 26 November
	1	Josh Rock 91.06	6
		Jarno Bottenberg 90.98	4
						1	Josh Rock 88.90	5
						8	Gian van Veen 90.66	6
	8	Gian van Veen 95.78	6
	9	Dylan Slevin 88.99	3
											8	Gian van Veen 103.20	6
											21	Wessel Nijman 102.08	5
		Moreno Blom 79.89	4
	13	Owen Bates 91.08	6
						13	Owen Bates 82.32	2
						21	Wessel Nijman 102.95	6
	5	Nathan Rafferty 98.85	0
	21	Wessel Nijman 106.09	6
																8	Gian van Veen 97.48	4
																15	Luke Littler 102.16	6
	2	Keane Barry 85.35	3
	15	Luke Littler 92.94	6
						15	Luke Littler 90.76	6
							Jacob Gwynne 93.02	3
		Jacob Gwynne 84.61	6
	10	Jurjen van der Velde 82.75	3
											15	Luke Littler 101.86	6
											22	Sebastian Białecki 98.78	3
		Viktor Tingström 83.36	3
	19	Jitse Van der Wal 84.50	6
						19	Jitse Van der Wal 86.39	5
						22	Sebastian Białecki 87.46	6
	6	Bradley Brooks 74.79	1
	22	Sebastian Białecki 91.63	6

The 2023 PDC Women's Series was expanded from 20 to 24 events held over six weekends. The top 8 ranked players earned from the last 8 Women's Series events of 2022 and the first 12 events of 2023 qualified for the 2023 Women's World Matchplay in Blackpool. The top two players from the series qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, while the top non-qualified player qualified for the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts.

Following a break of three years, the PDC Asian Tour returned in 2023 with an expanded tour consisting of 24 events held over 8 weekends. The first 15 events were confirmed on 10 November 2022, with the remaining 9 confirmed at a later date. The top four players from the final 2023 PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

The Asian Championship also returned, this time taking place in Shimonoseki between 5–8 October. The PDC Asian Championship winner and runner-up will also qualify, and if either or both players have already qualified from the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit then the place(s) would be passed to the next-best-placed non-qualified player from the PDC Asian Championship (split by PDC Asian Tour OOM if required using standard PDC countback rules). In addition, the best-placed non-qualified Japanese player from the PDC Asian Championship (if no Japanese player reaches the final) will also qualify for the World Championship, with any ties to be split by PDC Asian Tour OOM if required using standard PDC countback rules. If one or both of the PDC Asian Championship finalists are Japanese, this place will pass to the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit.

The last two places were occupied by the PDC China Premier League qualifiers, which were held between June and August, with a final playoff at the end, and an Indian Qualifier from an event taking place on 28 October 2023.

Due to a tie, the fourth advancing place had to be decided by a decisive match:

The Asian Championship was held in Shimonoseki. The top 16 players from the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit qualified, as did the winners of sixteen national qualifiers and qualifiers from events held prior to the Championship, up to a count of 48 players. The finalists qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship; while the winner qualified for the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts.

The results from the second round onwards are shown below.

	Second round (best of 9 legs) 7 October					Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) 8 October					Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) 8 October					Final (best of 13 legs) 8 October
	1	Lourence Ilagan 85.71	4
		Motomu Sakai 92.59	5
							Motomu Sakai 85.08	6
						8	Paul Lim 72.48	0
	8	Paul Lim 82.66	5
	9	Rosendo Lubaton 81.58	4
												Motomu Sakai 82.02	1
											13	Haruki Muramatsu 87.38	6
		Alex Tagarao 91.93	2
	13	Haruki Muramatsu 101.76	5
						13	Haruki Muramatsu 92.60	6
							Raymond Copano 88.91	1
		Raymond Copano 79.99	5
	12	Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 76.19	4
																13	Haruki Muramatsu 91.08	7
																	Sandro Eric Sosing 81.53	6
	2	Tomoya Goto 79.89	4
	15	Sonny Millo Balagat 77.93	5
						15	Sonny Millo Balagat 81.03	1
							Sandro Eric Sosing 94.05	6
		Sandro Eric Sosing 89.37	5
		Jemel Modesto 81.68	1
												Sandro Eric Sosing 86.21	6
												Ryusei Azemoto 85.03	3
		Ryusei Azemoto 89.40	5
	14	Tatsunami Mitsuhiko 85.38	3
							Ryusei Azemoto 87.55	6
						11	Christian Perez 88.40	4
	6	Lok Yin Lee 79.20	2
	11	Christian Perez 80.07	5

The 2023 China Premier League playoff was held on August 27. The winner qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

	Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) 27 Aug					Final (best of 21 legs) 27 Aug
	1	Zong Xiao Chen (87.64)	10
	4	Bin Zheng (81.33)	3
						1	Zong Xiao Chen (90.62)	11
						3	Xicheng Han (80.72)	10
	2	Lihao Wen (85.88)	6
	3	Xicheng Han (90.30)	10

The PDC India Qualifier was held on 28 October, the winner qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship. The results from the quarter-final onwards are shown.

	Quarter-finals (best of 7 legs) 28 Oct					Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) 28 Oct					Final (best of 11 legs) 28 Oct
	Aal Nakeeran 73.05		4
	Nitin Kumar 74.39		2
						Aal Nakeeran 81.68		1
						Prakash Jiwa 78.28		5
	Amit Gilitwala 71.40		1
	Prakash Jiwa 93.94		4
											Prakash Jiwa 90.97		6
											Bhav Patel 71.50		1
	Bhav Patel 69.76		4
	Akshay Mehta 67.46		1
						Bhav Patel 77.47		5
						Phalgun Tiruvasu 57.77		0
	Phalgun Tiruvasu 57.12		4
	Vikehelie Suohu 54.52		2

On 15 January 2023, PDC Nordic & Baltic announced their 2023 calendar, which had 5 weekends in 5 different countries. The top 2 players on the Order of Merit received a place at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

The Dartplayers Australia Tour returned to a unified tour for 2023. Dates announced by Dartsplayer Australia. The winner after twenty tournaments received a place at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

The Dartplayers New Zealand Tour returned for an extended tour for 2023. There were 12 events held over 6 weekends.

Following the culmination of the 2023 DPNZ ProTour season, the top 16 players on the DPNZ Order of Merit competed in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship qualifier on 9 October in Christchurch. The results from the semi-final onwards are shown.

	Semi-finals (best of 13 legs) 09 Oct					Final (best of 15 legs) 09 Oct
	Ben Robb (88.85)		7
	Kayden Milne (82.84)		4
						Ben Robb (94.62)		8
						Haupai Puha (90.17)		4
	Darren Herewini (82.49)		0
	Haupai Puha (93.11)		7

The 2023 Oceanic Masters was held on October 22, the winner qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship. The results from the quarter-final onwards are shown.

	Quarter-finals (best of 2 sets) 22 Oct					Semi-finals (best of 3 sets) 22 Oct					Final (best of 3 sets) 22 Oct
	1	Mal Cuming 83.79	2
	8	Stu Irwin 77.17	0
						1	Mal Cuming 87.50	3
						12	Hipirini Tewhakaara 74.71	2
	4	Mark Cleaver 74.93	1
	12	Hipirini Tewhakaara 74.96	2
											1	Mal Cuming 89.67	1
											2	Haupai Puha 94.72	3
	2	Haupai Puha 88.44	2
	7	Joe Comito 82.47	1
						2	Haupai Puha 87.78	3
						3	Jeremy Fagg 84.74	1
	3	Jeremy Fagg 101.02	2
	11	Gordon Mathers 94.15	0

The Championship Darts Corporation continued in 2023. It hosted 12 events held over 4 weekends. The top players from the United States and Canada on the Tour Points qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

As in the previous year, the North American Championship was played on the he Saturday afternoon of the US Darts Masters.

Under PDC Rule 3.9, champion Jeff Smith (third year of Tour Card) was not eligible to qualify for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship or 2023 Grand Slam of Darts by virtue of winning the North American Championship.

	Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) 3 Jun					Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) 3 Jun					Final (best of 11 legs) 3 Jun
	1	Matt Campbell 92.68	6
		Jason Brandon 83.78	4
						1	Matt Campbell 92.41	6
						4	Alex Spellman 87.54	2
	4	Alex Spellman 90.34	6
		J.T. Davis 83.12	3
											1	Matt Campbell 91.20	5
											2	Jeff Smith 88.52	6
	2	Jeff Smith 91.02	6
		Jim Long 87.48	5
						2	Jeff Smith 93.08	6
						3	Jules van Dongen 77.54	1
	3	Jules van Dongen 79.30	6
		Jake Macmillan 81.49	5

Before the CDC main season started, there was also a new tournament called the Cross-Border Darts Challenge featuring 8 players from both Canada and the United States facing off against each other, with the winner earning a place at the 2023 US Darts Masters. The event took place at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey on 21–22 April.

 Joey Lynaugh replaces Danny Baggish in the tournament.

First round (best of 7 legs) 21 Apr

Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) 22 Apr

Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) 22 Apr

Final (best of 11 legs) 22 Apr

Joey Lynaugh 84.35

3

Keith Way 83.55

4

Keith Way 88.11

4

CAN4

Jim Long 88.58

5

CAN4

Jim Long 81.18

4

Chuck Puleo 85.94

3

CAN4

Jim Long 90.62

5

CAN2

Jacob Taylor 87.14

2

CAN2

Jacob Taylor 87.24

4

Gary Mawson 70.59

1

CAN2

Jacob Taylor 84.86

5

USA3

Alex Spellman 83.26

3

USA3

Alex Spellman 77.26

4

John Part 77.48

3

CAN4

Jim Long 69.57

0

Jeff Smith 79.81

6

CAN1

David Cameron 77.38

3

Jules van Dongen 78.21

4

Jules van Dongen 90.56

0

Jeff Smith 96.35

5

USA4

Larry Butler 80.77

2

Jeff Smith 82.01

4

Jeff Smith 86.38

5

Steve Warnock 81.71

0

USA2

Leonard Gates 82.35

1

Steve Warnock 86.24

4

Steve Warnock 89.30

5

CAN3

John Norman Jnr 85.13

3

CAN3

John Norman Jnr 81.23

4

Danny Lauby 80.63

1

The top 16 players in North America qualified for the CDC Continental Cup. The winner became CDC Tour Champion, with the winner also earning a place at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts as well as the 2024 US Darts Masters and 2024 North American Darts Championship.

	First round (best of 9 legs) 20 Oct					Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) 21 Oct					Semi-finals (best of 13 legs) 21 Oct					Final (best of 15 legs) 21 Oct
	1	Alex Spellman 89.46	5
	16	Ryan Vander Weit 66.26	0
						1	Alex Spellman 85.74	5
						8	Jason Brandon 87.33	6
	8	Jason Brandon 85.12	5
	9	Doug Boehm 84.73	3
											8	Jason Brandon 88.60	7
											4	David Cameron 87.10	4
	4	David Cameron 81.69	5
	13	Gary Mawson 73.92	3
						4	David Cameron 93.39	6
						5	Danny Lauby 91.38	5
	5	Danny Lauby 81.02	5
	12	Keith Way 78.32	3
																8	Jason Brandon 85.06	6
																2	Stowe Buntz 84.98	8
	2	Stowe Buntz 104.15	5
	15	Jake Macmillan 88.68	2
						2	Stowe Buntz 78.97	6
						10	Larry Butler 75.34	2
	7	Jim Long 88.30	4
	10	Larry Butler 83.23	5
											2	Stowe Buntz 83.10	7
											6	Jacob Taylor 83.20	2
	3	Leonard Gates 92.95	5
	14	Jake Womack 85.77	3
						3	Leonard Gates 71.19	1
						6	Jacob Taylor 90.44	6
	6	Jacob Taylor 93.94	5
	11	J.T. Davis 77.08	0

The CDC Evolution Tour 2023 final was held on the same day as the CDC Continental Cup, with the following results:

On 15 February 2023, it was announced that in co-operation with the African Darts Group, a first ever African Continental Tour would take place. It included qualifiers for the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts, as well as the 2023 PDC World Youth Championship and the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

The African Continental Tour Grand Final was held on 18 November 2023. The results from the quarter-final onwards are shown.

	Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) 18 Nov					Semi-finals (best of 13 legs) 18 Nov					Final (best of 15 legs) 18 Nov
	1	Cameron Carolissen 81.91	6
	9	Deon Oliver 59.79	1
						1	Cameron Carolissen 83.50	7
						5	Simon Adams 74.22	0
	13	Charles Losper Snr. 64.05	2
	5	Simon Adams 71.71	6
											1	Cameron Carolissen 91.61	8
											3	Vernon Bouwers 78.99	1
	15	Carl Gabriel 72.14	6
	10	Tyrone Shackleton 71.30	5
						15	Carl Gabriel 79.85	6
						3	Vernon Bouwers 83.89	7
	3	Vernon Bouwers 102.48	6
	6	Dameon Steffens 82.86	0

The African qualifier for the World Darts Championship was held on 24 September 2023. The results from the quarter-final onwards are shown.

	Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) 24 Sep					Semi-finals (best of 13 legs) 24 Sep					Final (best of 15 legs) 24 Sep
	1	Stefan Vermaak 69.03	6
	8	Charles Losper Snr. 69.01	5
						1	Stefan Vermaak 70.79	7
						5	Graham Filby 75.31	5
		Tyrone Shackleton 83.18	4
	5	Graham Filby 91.73	6
											1	Stefan Vermaak 73.12	0
											2	Simon Adams 93.94	8
	2	Simon Adams 70.04	6
		Benson Ngari 70.84	5
						2	Simon Adams 72.82	7
							Xander Faddel 72.11	6
		Xander Faddel 74.68	6
	11	Giovanni Mathee 74.72	5

The 2023 CDLC Tour began in the Costa Rican capital of San José from 4–6 August, with two warm-up events being followed by back-to-back CDLC Tour events on the weekend 5–6 August. The Hotel Torremayor in Santiago then hosted the second and final weekend from 13–15 October, with CDLC Tour Events Three and Four taking place in Chile. Following the conclusion of October's double-header, the player at the top of the CDLC Order of Merit qualified for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship at London's Alexandra Palace in December.