Darts star stripped of tour card at World Championship | Other | Sport

Former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa has lost his PDC Tour card after suffering a World Darts Championship first-round defeat against Ricardo Pietreczko on Tuesday. 

De Sousa, 51, endured a poor season on the floor and failed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals after finishing 98th in the Order of Merit, picking up just £15,000 in prize money.

Although that didn’t impact his World Championship qualification, De Sousa knew that a defeat against Pietreczko in the first round at Alexandra Palace would see him lose his tour card for 2026.

Despite averaging more than 90 and hitting six 180s, De Sousa ended up falling to a 3-1 defeat to Pietreczko. The Portuguese arrowsmith, who is ranked 73rd in the world, cut a distraught figure post-match. 

De Sousa will now need to go to Q-School in January if he is to secure his spot on the tour once again for the next two years. ‘The Special One’ has held a tour card for the last six years and has since won seven titles. 

His most notable title came when he won on the major TV stage for the first time in 2020, claiming the Grand Slam title after beating James Wade 16-12 in a dramatic final. 

The Lisbon-born darter continued his rise as he went into the 2021 World Championship as the 14th seed. Despite winning his opening game against Ross Smith, he lost to Mervyn King in the third round.

De Sousa’s Players Championship campaign in 2021 was sensational, it’s safe to say. Indeed, after winning three of the 34 events, he topped the Order of Merit going into Finals weekend in Minehead.

But that is as best as it has got for De Sousa, who had a run to the semi-final at the 2022 Masters and the fourth round at the World Championship, as he has stumbled down the rankings over the last two years.

Now, following defeat to Pietreczko, De Sousa has officially lost his tour card. 

As for Pietreczko, he will be bidding for another run at the World Championship as he prepares to face the winner of Dave Chisnall and Fallon Sherrock’s clash at Ally Pally on Thursday.

Pietreczko’s clash with De Sousa was his first game on the TV major stage since another heated encounter against rival Luke Littler at the Players Championship Finals last month. 

‘Pikachu’ and Littler have enjoyed their fair share of battles over the years after first being involved in a tasty clash at the Belgian Darts Open in March 2024.

Littler hit double 10 to seal a 7-3 semi-final win, but when he opened up his arm to shake his hand, Pietreczko stormed towards him and appeared to unleash an aggressive verbal volley in his face.

Following the defeat, Pietreczko took to social media and posted: “I really appreciate the fact that he can play a game like that at such an age. But I hope his arrogance punishes him.”

There has been no love lost between the pair since, with Littler and Pietreczko locking horns in Minehead last month and the ‘Nuke’ cut a delighted figure after beating the German at the time.