Former World Championship Mark Dudbridge has finished second on this year’s Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit to win back his tour card.
The Bristol thrower, who lost to Phil Taylor in the 2005 World Championship final at the Circus Tavern, lost his tour card at the end of the 2015-16 season.
But the 44-year-old, along with former major finalist Wayne Jones, will return to the Pro Tour in 2018 after securing second spot on the Order of Merit following Event 20 today.
After Jones won Event 19 earlier in the day to guarantee he would finish top on the Order of Merit, it meant only one more tour card was up for grabs going into the final tournament of the season.
Luke Humphries’ 5-3 loss in the semi-finals to Adam Smith-Neale ended his hopes of claiming second place on the final Order of Merit, as he ended the season £800 behind Dudbridge.
Today’s double-header completed the year’s Challenge Tour season, with £200,000 in prize money having been paid out to players on the PDC’s second-tier tour.
Alongside two-year tour cards for Jones and Dudbridge, the players ranked from third to eighth on the final Order of Merit – Humphries, Peter Jacques, Aaron Dyer, Alan Tabern, Mark Frost and Kevin McDine, have earned free entry to Qualifying School in 2018.
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