Reyes and Sparidaans Regain PDC Tour Spots as Newcomers Culleton and Sneyd Earn Maiden Cards

Cristo Reyes and Jeffrey Sparidaans have successfully secured their returns to the PDC Tour, while newcomers Niall Culleton from Ireland and England's Carl Sneyd have each won their first-ever PDC Tour cards on the second day of the final stage at the PDC Qualifying Schools. Reyes was the standout performer on Friday at the European event in Germany, marking his return to the professional circuit after a five-year absence with a string of impressive victories, including a 6-3 win over Matthias Ehlers in his final match of the day. Reyes had previously made a comeback to the World Darts Championship last month after a six-year hiatus, pushing eventual finalist Gian van Veen to a 3-1 defeat. The 38-year-old reached the last 16 at Alexandra Palace back in 2015. Meanwhile, Sparidaans also secured his return to the professional circuit following a one-year break, thanks to a nail-biting deciding-leg victory over Michele Turetta. The Dutchman initially led Turetta 5-1 but saw his lead slip away after the Italian achieved an incredible 170 checkout to level the match at 5-5. Turetta then squandered four match darts in the deciding leg, allowing Sparidaans to clinch a 6-5 win and reclaim his Tour Card. At the UK Qualifying School in Milton Keynes, Culleton and Sneyd each secured their maiden Tour Cards after winning six consecutive matches in thrilling fashion on Friday. Culleton began his campaign with a 6-3 victory over Kirk De Ruyter, then staged a dramatic comeback from 5-0 down to defeat Sam Jackson 6-5. The Irishman went on to beat veteran Mervyn King 6-2 and compatriot Damien Grimes 6-4, before overcoming Sam Spivey 6-3 with a 98 average to set up a winner-takes-all clash with Danny Goddard. Goddard, who had earlier hit a nine-dart finish to win his fourth-round tie against Martin Grearson, initially led 5-4 but Culleton rallied to emerge victorious 6-5, earning his first-ever PDC Tour Card. Culleton was joined in the winner's circle by Sneyd, who started the day by defeating Martin Tonks 6-1 and Tommy Morris 6-2 with relative ease. The Englishman then progressed past fellow countrymen Daryl Hunt and Thomas Cromwell, before coming back from 5-2 and surviving match darts on multiple occasions against David Sharp to win 6-5. Sneyd then faced Irish star Steve Lennon for the prospect of a Tour Card, taking a 4-2 lead before seeing out the contest 6-4 to secure two years on the professional circuit. PDC Tour Cards are awarded to the last two players remaining at the end of each day's play at both the UK and European Qualifying Schools, with four of the eight cards across the four-day finals events now awarded. However, an additional 13 cards will be awarded to the leading players from the respective Qualifying Schools at the end of Sunday's play based on the Order of Merits - eight in Europe and five in the UK. Following a run to the quarterfinals on day one, 61-year-old Steve Beaton dropped below the cut line to 14th place after losing 6-5 in Friday's first round to Stephen Burton. Fallon Sherrock and John Part both suffered round-one defeats for the second successive day, while Charlie Manby exited in the second round and Mervyn King was beaten in the last 32. The Premier League Darts title will be defended by Luke Humphries, with the action available to watch every Thursday from February to May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sports with NOW.