After the World Cup surprise
Darts “madness”: Arno Merk secures a tour card
January 9, 2026 – 1:11 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Big cheers for Arno Merk: The man from Peine is celebrating his next big darts success. He is having an impressive run at Q-School.
Arno Merk’s darts fairy tale continues: The 33-year-old from Peine secured one of the coveted tour cards at the Q-School and can take part in the professional tour for at least two years. “Absolute madness!” Merk wrote on Instagram shortly after his coup. “Thank you very much for all the support and for all the lovely messages! I’m still overwhelmed and will be celebrating the whole thing for a few more days!”
Merk also gave free rein to his emotions in his Instagram story after the decisive victory. “Does anyone know of a good pub near Kalkar that can be completely dismantled?” he asked jokingly.
Merk had already presented herself in a brilliant manner on day one of the Q-School and easily made it to the final phase. There he was successful in his first attempt: six victories in a row mean winning the tour card. In the decisive duel with the Dutchman Jeffrey Sparidaans (6:5) he survived several match darts against him.
For Merk, it is the next big step in darts after a strong second half of 2025. The tormentor only secured a place at the World Cup in London’s Alexandra Palace by winning the German Super League. At the most prestigious darts tournament of the year, he first eliminated veteran Kim Huybrechts and then two-time world champion Peter Wright. It wasn’t until the third round against world-class player Michael van Gerwen that the match ended.
Now the next highlight: “It was really a perfect day, I’m very happy,” he said in an interview with the PDC darts association. He survived some “tricky moments”. In the end, he showed at the World Cup and at Q-School that he had the right mentality.