World Darts Championship favourite misses out on debut Tour Card in deciding leg heartbreak

Andreas Harrysson has painfully missed out on a PDC Tour Card by just one place on the Order of Merit.

The 50-year-old narrowly missed out on securing a first Tour Card at European Qualifying School via legs difference.

Getty

After four gruelling days in Kalkar, Germany, Harrysson lost 6-5 in a deciding leg to Jeffrey de Zwaan that would have seen him join the Pro Tour.

The defeat saw him finish in ninth spot in the Order of Merit rankings – one place outside the automatic top eight.

Harrysson finished on the same amount of points as Pascal Rupprecht, who ended up in eighth place.

However, he boasted an inferior legs difference – amassing a +16 compared to Rupprecht’s +22.

It means that Harrysson will once again have to compete on the Winmau Challenge Tour – a secondary tour to the PDC Pro Tour – as well as the PDC Nordic & Baltic (PDCNB) Tour.

Harrysson had been tipped to advance from Q-School having created history at the PDC World Darts Championship last run.

He became the first person born in Sweden to make it into the fourth round, where his debut tournament came to an end.

‘Dirty Harrysson’ beat Ross Smith in the first round – ensuring the 12th seed was the first seeded player to be eliminated at Ally Pally.

That was followed up by a 3-0 second round win over fellow fan favourite Motomu Sakai.

And he then knocked out Ricardo Pietreczko to set up a clash with four-time PDC Major winner Jonny Clayton.

Getty

But victory over ‘The Ferret’ proved to be a step too far as he lost 4-2 in a six-set thriller.

Had Harrysson beaten Clayton, he would have automatically sealed his spot on the main PDC circuit for two years.

He would have also moved into the World’s Top 64 as a result.

However, he has ultimately suffered heartbreak at Q-School as his wait for a first Tour Card goes on.

Harrysson is not the only big name to miss out, with Fallon Sherrock, Steve Beaton and Steve Lennon also failing to qualify.

Sherrock’s poor showing means that Beau Greaves will be the only female on the PDC Tour in 2026.