Gary Anderson has ended his seven-year European Tour hiatus by qualifying for the Dutch Darts Championship in April.

Anderson’s most recent Euro Tour appearance was at the 2016 European Darts Open in Düsseldorf, and he has only one Euro Tour title to his name, which he won at the 2014 German Darts Championship.

Following the World Championship, the two-time World Champion fell to 22nd in the PDC Order of Merit, but he has had a promising start to the season, reaching the final of Players Championship Five on Saturday.

During January’s Masters in Milton Keynes, the 52-year-old hinted that he might be willing to return to the European Tour if the travel is minimal.

Last month, the Scot competed in the Tour Card holder qualifier for the German Darts Grand Prix (ET4) but was defeated by Andrew Gilding.

On Monday, he came within a whisker of qualifying for the Austrian Darts Open in April, but was denied by Raymond van Barneveld in the final qualifying round.

Anderson led 4-2 and landed a spectacular 167 checkout to force a deciding leg, only for Van Barneveld to land a timely 180 and take out 72 to seal qualification.

However, the Scotsman responded brilliantly later in the day in the ET6 qualifier, defeating Tony Martinez and Devon Petersen in last-leg deciders to book his place in the Dutch Championship, which takes place in Leeuwarden from April 28-30.

Daryl Gurney, meanwhile, maintained his record as the only player to have qualified for the first six European Tour events of 2023 via Tour Card Holder qualifiers.

The two-time major champion was joined by Krzysztof Ratajski, Kim Huybrechts, Madars Razma, and Jim Williams in qualifying on Monday.

A resurgent Ian White, as well as young duo Dylan Slevin and Ricardo Pietreczko, completed an unforgettable double qualification.

Both events were skipped by ten-time major winner James Wade, former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa, and two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis, while 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price chose not to compete.

The prize fund for this year’s PDC European Tour has been increased to £175,000 per event, including £30,000 for the winner.

Austrian Darts Open (ET5) Tour Card Holder Qualifiers

William O’Connor

Ian White

Cameron Menzies

Jim Williams

Maik Kuivenhoven

Bradley Brooks

Ricky Evans

Daryl Gurney

Owen Roelofs

Simon Whitlock

Madars Razma

Dylan Slevin

Ricardo Pietreczko

Nick Kenny

Krzysztof Ratajski

Jeffrey de Zwaan

Chris Dobey

Matt Campbell

Kim Huybrechts

Luke Woodhouse

Raymond van Barneveld

Brendan Dolan

Mickey Mansell

 

Dutch Darts Championship (ET6) Tour Card Holder Qualifiers

Dylan Slevin

Adam Smith-Neale

Stephen Bunting

Martin Lukeman

Dimitri Van den Bergh

Jim Williams

Gabriel Clemens

Steve Beaton

Ross Smith

Daryl Gurney

Madars Razma

Ian White

Alan Soutar

Ricardo Pietreczko

Krzysztof Ratajski

Graham Hall

Adam Gawlas

Arron Monk

Kim Huybrechts

Gian van Veen

Gary Anderson

Keane Barry

John O’Shea

George Killington