Analysis: Niko Springer leads the pack in European Tour qualifiers

By mid-2025, eight of the fourteen European Tour events have already been completed. This week also saw the qualifying tournaments take place for the ninth and tenth events: the Baltic Sea Darts Open and the Flanders Darts Trophy.

The top 16 players on the world rankings automatically qualify for the second round of each European Tour event. Meanwhile, the top 16 from the Pro Tour Order of Merit face off in the first round against players who come through the qualifying tournaments (10 from the Tour Card Qualifier, 4 from the Host Nation Qualifier, 1 from the Nordic & Baltic Qualifier, and 1 from the East European Qualifier).

A closer look at the qualifiers for Tour Card holders shows that Niko Springer has been the most successful so far. The 25-year-old German has qualified for five out of the ten European Tour events — more than any other player this year. Springer has won 21 matches in the qualifiers and lost just five. He also posted the highest average across all qualification matches: 113.29, achieved during a match in the qualifier for the third European Tour event.

Since the rankings for European Tour qualification are locked at different times for each event, some Tour Card holders haven’t needed to play in every qualifier — they’ve already secured a top 16 spot in the Pro Tour Order of Merit. One such player is Ryan Joyce, who played only five qualification matches but still holds the highest overall average: 96.91.

Below, you can find the full list of averages. The European Tour is currently on a brief break and will resume on the weekend of July 11–13, with the Baltic Sea Darts Open taking place in Kiel, Germany. Rob Cross will begin the tournament as the defending champion, having defeated Luke Humphries in last year’s final.