Austria’s Harald Leitinger was the first player to win a PDC Tour Card with his success on Day One at the European Qualifying School.
Leitinger, 35, edged past Martijn Kleermaker 5-4 in their final in Hildesheim, after the Dutchman missed his chance to claim a Tour Card in their deciding leg.
Leitinger has only previously competed twice in PDC events, in 2011 and 2017, but will now get his chance to become a full-time professional in 2020 and 2021 after securing his status on the PDC circuit.
He won eight games on the day at Halle 39, including defeats of Austrian World Cup representative Zoran Lerchbacher and former World Youth Championship finalist Berry van Peer in deciding legs.
Leitinger also overcame Dutch duo Wesley Harms and Kay Smeets as well as Belgium’s Brian Raman in the latter stages as he progressed to claim a coveted Tour Card.
Kleermaker gained valuable ranking points in his bid to claim a PDC Tour Card, while Raman and Croatia’s Boris Krcmar were semi-finalists on Day One of the four-day Qualifying School in Hildesheim.
European Qualifying School Day One
Last 16
Brian Raman 5-2 Tytus Kanik
Franz Roetzsch 5-4 Wesley Plaisier
Kay Smeets 5-3 Thomas Junghans
Harald Leitinger 5-2 Wesley Harms
Karel Sedlacek 5-4 Jeffrey de Graaf
Boris Krcmar 5-4 Dragutin Horvat
Martijn Kleermaker 5-4 Thibault Tricole
Tonny Veenhof 5-3 Derk Telnekens
Quarter-Finals
Brian Raman 5-0 Franz Roetzsch
Harald Leitinger 5-2 Kay Smeets
Boris Krcmar 5-3 Karel Sedlacek
Martijn Kleermaker 5-3 Tonny Veenhof
Semi-Finals
Harald Leitinger 5-2 Brian Raman
Martijn Kleermaker 5-4 Boris Krcmar
Final
Harald Leitinger 5-4 Martijn Kleermaker
