Christopher Wickenden has moved into the PDC Tour Card conversation after turning Challenge Tour form into ProTour chances, including a 6-2 Players Championship win over Gian van Veen.
The 38-year-old, known as Pugs, sits seventh on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit and has been receiving call-ups as part of the wider PDC ProTour picture. Those appearances have not yet brought a surge up the senior rankings, but they have given Wickenden direct tests against the players he is trying to join full-time.
Wickenden told the DartsNews interview with Wickenden that he stepped away from the game after dartitis and a local-league flashpoint, before returning through friends and rebuilding his throw.
Challenge Tour form opens the door
The key development is not just the backstory, but the route now in front of him. A high Challenge Tour placing brings ProTour opportunities, and Wickenden has already banked first-round wins at Players Championship 18 and 19.
His place around 141st on the Players Championship Order of Merit shows the scale of the task still ahead, yet beating Van Veen is a significant marker. For a player chasing a first Tour Card after years outside the elite circuit, every ProTour invite now carries practical weight.
Wickenden has said the full-time professional game remains the target. His next months will decide whether this Challenge Tour push becomes a genuine route into the PDC’s top tier.
