PDC Qualifying School results: BDO pair Mark McGeeney and Scott Baker secure PDC Tour Cards

By Sporting Life

Darts

Fri January 18, 2019 · 6y ago

Mark McGeeney and Scott Baker both secured PDC Tour Cards on Day Two of the 2019 UK Qualifying School in Wigan.

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Chris Hammer's PDC Qualifying School Guide
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Q School: Day One report & results

The second of four days of action saw almost 400 players battle it out to win a coveted two-year Tour Card, with the final two players from each day winning a Tour Card automatically and ranking points allocated to other players to form the UK Q School Order of Merit - of which the top 11 will all earn one (latest standings below).

However, as former BDO pair McGeeney and Baker now become part of the PDC, the Lakeside champion Glen Durrant - as well as runner-up Scott Waites - are struggling in their Q School bids and have a lot of work to do heading into the weekend.

Jim Williams, who reached the Lakeside semi-finals before losing to Durrant, has produced a string of consistent results and he's currently enjoying a lofty position on the Order of Merit.

Competing in his first Q School, former BDO number one McGeeney came agonisingly close to winning a Tour Card on the first day of action, suffering defeat in the semi-finals but went one better on day two.

The Stockport thrower's day began with victories over Dave Prins, Scott Dale, Martin Atkins, Andy Chalmers and Mark Hickey as he reached the last 16.

McGeeney then recorded back-to-back 5-2 wins over Matt Clark and Jamie Bain, before edging out Carl Wilkinson 5-4 to attain his all-important Tour Card.

"It's a huge relief for me, my whole year has been building up to this," said McGeeney. "Everyone said Q School would be tough but for me this is why I play the game, I want to compete with the best of the best.

"I loved playing in the Grand Slam and now my goal is to play at Ally Pally and the Winter Gardens and test myself against the world's top players."

Baker, who has competed in the last two stagings of the Lakeside Championship, was also successful in his first attempt at Q School.

Back-to-back whitewashes of Mark Esposito and Lorraine Winstanley got Baker's day off to a perfect start before a sensational 107.7 average saw him overcome David Adshead 5-2.

Victories over former Tour Card holders Barrie Bates, Stephen Burton and Jonathan Worsley followed, before a 5-2 success over Lakeside Championship semi-finalist Jim Williams put him within one win of glory.

A convincing 5-1 triumph over American Danny Lauby confirmed Baker's status as a full-time professional on the PDC circuit for 2019 and 2020.

"I'm absolutely buzzing, I'm on top of the world right now," said Baker.

"I was playing well yesterday but today I managed to produce that little bit extra to get through.

"The setup here is worlds apart from what I'm used to and I surprised myself a bit with how well I played. Now I can't wait to get started on the ProTour."

It was a second day of disappointment for Durrant, three-time World Champion John Part and Brazil's World Cup star Diogo Portela, who all exited before the last 64 stage.

Former World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton and experienced Welshman Barrie Bates both went out in the Last 64, while former Players Championship Finals winner Kevin Painter exited in the last 32.

Despite suffering defeat at the final four stage, Lauby and Wilkinson are both well placed to claim Tour Cards via the Q School Order of Merit, should they not claim an automatic Tour Card in the remaining two days.

Play continues on Saturday with Day Three, with a further two automatic PDC Tour Cards on offer, alongside ranking points for the Q School Order of Merit.

A total of four further automatic Tour Cards will be won over the next two days, with a further 11 places available via the UK Qualifying School Order of Merit.

Click here for Chris Hammer's PDC Qualifying School Guide