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.[1]
On 21 November 2022, it was announced that the prize money for the Women's Series will be doubled in 2023.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
This is how the prize money is divided:
| Stage | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | £30,000 | £12,000 | £2,500 | £2,000 | |
| Runner-up | £12,000 | £8,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 | |
| Semi-finalists | £8,500 | £4,000 | £750 | £500 | |
| Quarter-finalists | £6,000 | £3,000 | £500 | £300 | |
| Last 16 | £4,000 | £2,000 | £300 | £200 | |
| Last 32 | £2,500 | £1,250 | £200 | £100 | |
| Last 48 | £1,250 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Last 64 | N/A | £750 | £75 | £50 | |
| Total | £175,000 | £100,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 |
128 players are granted Tour Cards, which enables them to participate in all Players Championships events, the UK Open and qualifiers for all European Tour and select televised events.[5]
See main article: List of players with a 2023 PDC Tour Card. The 2023 Tour Cards were awarded to:[5]
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 means that 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 will also be produced with players qualifying via that ranking to produce a full list of 128 players for each final stage.[6]
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 will be given 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.
| UK Q-School | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=145px | January 12 | width=145px | January 13 | width=145px | January 14 | width=145px | January 15 |
| Arron Monk[7] | Graham Usher[8] | Josh Payne[9] | Adam Smith-Neale[10] | ||||
| 127 players | 125 players | 123 players | 117 players | ||||
| European Q-School | |||||||
| width=145px | January 12 | width=145px | January 13 | width=145px | January 14 | width=145px | January 15 |
| Jeffrey Sparidaans | Corey Cadby | Jeffrey de Zwaan | Robbie Knops | ||||
| 127 players | 125 players | 123 players | 106 players | ||||
An Order of Merit was created for each Q School. For every win after the Last 64, the players will be awarded 1 point.
To complete the field of 128 Tour Card Holders, places will be allocated down the final 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:
UK Q-School Order of Merit[10]
European Q-School Order of Merit[10]
There were 30 Players Championship events in 2023.
| No. | Date | Venue | Winner | Legs | Runner-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday 11 February | Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley | 8 – 4 | [11] | ||
| 2 | Sunday 12 February | 8 – 3 | [12] | |||
| 3 | Saturday 18 February | 8 – 1 | [13] | |||
| 4 | Sunday 19 February | 8 – 2 | [14] | |||
| 5 | Saturday 11 March | 8 – 6 | [15] | |||
| 6 | Sunday 12 March | 8 – 4 | [16] | |||
| 7 | Sunday 19 March | Halle 39, Hildesheim | 8 – 4 | [17] | ||
| 8 | Monday 20 March | 8 – 5 | [18] | |||
| 9 | Saturday 15 April | Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan | 8 – 1 | [19] | ||
| 10 | Sunday 16 April | 8 – 3 | [20] | |||
| 11 | Saturday 20 May | Morningside Arena, Leicester | 8 – 3 | [21] | ||
| 12 | Sunday 21 May | 8 – 5 | [22] | |||
| 13 | Monday 12 June | Halle 39, Hildesheim | 8 – 7 | [23] | ||
| 14 | Tuesday 13 June | 8 – 2 | [24] | |||
| 15 | Monday 10 July | Morningside Arena, Leicester | 8 – 7 | [25] | ||
| 16 | Tuesday 11 July | 8 – 4 | [26] | |||
| 17 | Saturday 26 August | Halle 39, Hildesheim | 8 – 5 | [27] | ||
| 18 | Sunday 27 August | 8 – 1 | [28] | |||
| 19 | Sunday 3 September | Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley | 8 – 7 | [29] | ||
| 20 | Monday 4 September | 8 – 6 | [30] | |||
| 21 | Tuesday 5 September | 8 – 6 | [31] | |||
| 22 | Wednesday 27 September | 8 – 7 | [32] | |||
| 23 | Thursday 28 September | 8 – 3 | [33] | |||
| 24 | Friday 29 September | 8 – 4 | [34] | |||
| 25 | Wednesday 18 October | 8 – 4 | [35] | |||
| 26 | Thursday 19 October | 8 – 7 | [36] | |||
| 27 | Friday 20 October | 8 – 5 | [37] | |||
| 28 | Saturday 21 October | 8 – 6 | [38] | |||
| 29 | Wednesday 1 November | 8 – 3 | [39] | |||
| 30 | Thursday 2 November | 8 – 4 | [40] |
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.
| No. | Date | Event | Location | Winner | Legs | Runner-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24–26 February | Baltic Sea Darts Open | Kiel, Wunderino Arena | 8 – 5 | [41] | ||
| 2 | 24–26 March | European Darts Open | Leverkusen, Ostermann-Arena | 8 – 7 | [42] | ||
| 3 | 31 March–2 April | International Darts Open | Riesa, SACHSENarena | 8 – 4 | [43] | ||
| 4 | 8–10 April | German Darts Grand Prix | Munich, Kulturhalle Zenith | 8 – 5 | [44] | ||
| 5 | 21–23 April | Austrian Darts Open | Premstätten, Steiermarkhalle | 8 – 6 | [45] | ||
| 6 | 28–30 April | Dutch Darts Championship | Leeuwarden, WTC Expo | 8 – 5 | [46] | ||
| 7 | 5–7 May | Belgian Darts Open | Wieze, Oktoberhallen | 8 – 6 | [47] | ||
| 8 | 12–14 May | Czech Darts Open |