Former World Champion and all round darts legend Steve Beaton has safely navigated the opening minefield at the PDC's Q-School 2026, booking his passage to the final stage after storming into the last 16 on day one. The Bronzed Adonis, still chiselled, still unflustered, still very much alive in the fight, can now exhale. What lies ahead from Thursday onward will be infinitely more punishing – but for now, the popular veteran, who reversed a decision to step off the main tour in 2024, has earned a brief ceasefire.
Keeping him company in the hotel lounge is former World Cup winner John Henderson. The experienced Scot has done exactly what was required, nothing more, nothing less. Job done. Feet up. A couple of days’ rest secured, safe in the knowledge that when the real party starts, it’s always more fun when Hendo is invited.
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Fourteen other hopefuls have joined them in this early sanctuary, all punching their tickets to the final phase with days to spare – a priceless luxury in a week where energy, nerve and sanity are finite resources. They are:
Lloyd Walker (ENG), James Howard Jones (ENG), Jamie Kelling (ENG), Damien Grimes (IRE), James Evans-Bradford (ENG), Daniel Ayres (ENG), Killian McCormack (IRE), Jake Eichen (ENG), Joe Croft (ENG), Joseph Heywood (ENG), Paul Lewis (ENG), Charlie Large (ENG), Keelan Kay (ENG) and Jamie Tiley (SCO).
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Meanwhile, across the Channel in Germany, the same pattern is emerging. Among the early qualifiers in Kalkar is Brian Raman, the 2022 WDF World Championship quarter-finalist and former PDC Tour Card holder, who will be eyeing a swift return to the professional circuit after falling away at the end of 2024.
Standing alongside him is a name that once sent shockwaves through the elite – Jeffrey de Zwaan. The Black Cobra. Two-time Players Championship winner. Former World Matchplay semi-finalist. Those achievements may sit almost a decade in the rear-view mirror, but at just 29, time has not yet closed its fist. There is still venom left.
Completing the European batch who earned passage to the final stage on day one: Sietse Lap (NED), Jeffrey Keen (NED), Dennis Van Bergen (NED), Jarno Bottenberg (NED), Jose Justicia (ESP), Gilbert van der Meijden (NED), Michael Hurtz (GER), Michael Van De Ven (NED), Michael De Mayer (BEL), Tomislav Rosandic (CRO), Mitja Gustorf (GER), Kris Mievis (BEL), Jiri Brejcha (CZE) and Luitsen Elzinga (NED).
By Tuesday evening, another thirty-two names will join this growing roll of survivors. For everyone else, Wednesday looms like a reckoning. Finish in the top sixteen – or cling desperately to the final Order of Merit lifeline – or watch the dream dissolve.
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