The big German darts coup did not take place at the 2026 World Cup, but the development of the sport in the Federal Republic is apparently still going in the right direction. In the future, a record number of German darters will be taking part in the PDC tour.
15 German darts stars will take part in the new season of the Professional Darts Corporation in 2026. This will be clear after the end of the so-called Q-School, where players can earn one of the coveted tour cards.
In Kalkar, North Rhine-Westphalia, five players from Germany secured a tour card in a World Cup surprise: Arno Merk, Yorick Hofkens, Matthias Ehlers, Marvin Kraft and Pascal Rupprecht. A total of 15 Germans are on the professional tour this year, more than ever before.
Merk, who eliminated the two-time title holder Peter Wright at the last World Cup and only failed in the third round against superstar Michael van Gerwen, secured one of a total of 29 starting rights awarded on Friday with a final victory over the Dutchman Jeffrey Sparidaans, in which Merk even survived match darts.
Ten Germans had already secured their start
The 18-year-old Hofkens from Goch and the 44-year-old Hohberger Ehlers also followed suit on Saturday with a day’s victory, and on Sunday other Germans followed with the 25-year-old Kraft from Bad Windsheim and the 25-year-old Rupprecht from Bielefeld. At least the PDC is not new territory for Rupprecht; he tried his luck between 2023 and 2024.
The tour card enables participation in the majority of PDC events in the next two years.
In addition to the five named, there is the world number 15. Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko, former World Cup semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens, Niko Springer, Lukas Wenig, Max Hopp, Dominik Grüllich, Kai Gotthard, Leon Weber and Maximilian Czerwinski will be on the tour.