PDC WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRIES OPEN
AMBITIOUS young darts players will have the chance to qualify for the PDC World Youth Championship through the Rileys Qualifiers, which will be held in 32 Rileys Darts Zones during October.
The event, which was previously won by Arron Monk in January, will offer £30,000 in prize money as well as places in November^s Grand Slam of Darts and on the 2012 PDC ProTour for the finalists - in addition to a £10,000 first prize.
The Last 64 players will compete down to the final at the K2 Centre in Crawley on Friday November 4 (12pm), and the field will be comprised of the top 20 players from the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit, along with a series of International Qualifiers and the 32 Rileys Qualifiers.
"The PDC World Youth Championship is a tremendous chance for a star of the future to launch their career," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"The introduction of the PDC Youth Tour this year has meant that young stars have a greater opportunity than ever to break through at the top level of darts and compete in high-quality events to continue their development.
"That will continue as we culminate this year^s Youth Tour with the World Youth Championship, and the Rileys Qualifiers mean that any young player in the UK, regardless of whether they have played on the Youth Tour, can enter to try and win this fantastic prize."
Qualifying events will be held in Rileys Darts Zones on Sunday October 23, in Stirling, and at 31 venues on Sunday October 30, costing £5 to enter via the Rileys website. Entry will close at 5pm on Wednesday October 19.
Entries are open to players aged 14 and over, with an upper age limit of players needing to be aged 21 and under on January 3 2011 to be eligible to play.
Four PDC Youth Tour events remain before the World Youth Championship, and will be played in Nuland this weekend as well as in Dublin, Killarney and Gladbeck during October.
Players who are competing on the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour can enter the Rileys Qualifiers, and would be refunded any entry fees should they finish in the top 20 of the Order of Merit to qualify automatically.
Australian pair Guy Holland and Robbie King, Canada^s Shaun Narain and Ireland^s Ryan Maher have already won qualifying events to secure their place in the World Youth Championship last 64.
The PDC World Youth Championship prize fund will be:
Winner: £10,000
Runner-Up: £5,000
Semi-finalists: £2,500 each
Quarter-finalists: £1,250 each
Last 16 losers: £625 each
In addition, the two finalists will be invited to compete in the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts, as well as being invited to become a PDC ProTour Card holder for 2012 & 2013, plus entry fees paid.
Rileys Qualifiers Information
Entries for the Rileys Qualifiers costs £5 and must be made by 5pm on Wednesday October 19, and can be made online through www.rileys.co.uk/tournaments.
Players will be allowed to enter the Stirling qualifier and a further event on Sunday October 30, but should they qualify from Stirling would not be eligible to compete in a further qualifier.
Play in each Rileys Qualifier will commence at 3pm, with players needing to register before 2pm on the day, when the draw will be made. Rileys clubs will open at 12pm. All games will be the best of seven legs.
The Rileys Qualifiers will be held at the following Rileys Darts Zones:
Sunday October 23
Scotland: Stirling
Sunday October 30
Scotland: Aberdeen, Edinburgh
North-East: Hull, Scunthorpe, Sunderland
North-West: Birkenhead, Bolton, Chester, Wigan
Midlands: Chesterfield, Coventry, Leicester, Loughborough, Solihull, Wolverhampton
South-West: Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Gloucester, Oxcord, Torquay, Worcester
South-East: Colchester, Gillingham, Norwich, Stevenage
South: Bournemouth, Brighton, Croydon, London Victoria, Reading