The PDC Q-School will take place in Kalkar until Sunday (January 12th). There, darts players can secure one of the coveted tour cards, which entitles them to take part in the financially lucrative Pro Tour for two years. A former World Cup participant apparently couldn’t cope with his elimination at all.
Joy and sorrow are always close together at the PDC Q-School. At the beginning of the year, numerous darts players from all over Europe meet in Kalkar, North Rhine-Westphalia. Your big goal: one of the 17 coveted tour cards, which entitles you to take part in financially lucrative Pro Tour events.
The Belgian Patrick Bulen also really wanted to return to this. “The Pitbull” survived the first phase (January 6th to 8th) successfully. With three points and a leg difference of +12, the 55-year-old went into the final stage, which will run until Sunday.
Darts: Belgian calls PDC a “disease”
But Bulen was looked for in vain on the start list. The reason: The PDC qualified the former World Cup participant after a mega freak out in a defeat on the second day of the qualification phase. The Belgian professional lost his nerve against Dmitriy Zhukov from Latvia.
According to “Bild”, he gave free rein to his emotions following the defeat. So he showed those present his middle finger, insulted the PDC as a “disease” and kicked chairs across the hall. According to the tabloid, there was even a fight.
“I often play against him in Belgian tournaments. He can be quite impulsive,” the “Nieuwsblad” quoted an unnamed darts player from Belgium as saying. Due to the disqualification, Bulen will initially only be able to take part in events on the second-class Challenge Tour.
Things went much better for German World Cup participant Kai Gotthardt in Kalkar. The 29-year-old secured his participation in the Pro Tour for the first time with his day’s victory on Friday.