Rosney aims to hit the ground running as PDC pro player

Published on 28 January 2026 at 08:20

IRISH darts star Stephen Rosney says he aims to "hit the ground running" as he starts his new life on the PDC Pro Tour at the Winmau World Masters qualifiers today.

The former Republic of Ireland captain has admitted that gaining his PDC Tour Card at Q School earlier this month is "still a bit surreal" and admitted that it will be life changing for him.

However while the Nenagh man said he will try to enjoy the experience of being on the PDC Pro Tour, he wants to quickly show he can compete at that level.

Stephen told Darts In Ireland: "I will try to take it all in over the first few weeks and enjoy it as much as I can.

"But at the same time I know my competitive spirit will take over and I will want to get up the PDC Order Of Merit table as quickly as I can.

"I don't just want the minimum two years with the tour card. I want to show that I belong here and can compete with the best in the world every week."

The 30-year-old was an ever present at INDO ranking events over the past years, and he said he will aim to keep that up at the PDC Players Championships events.

He said: "I will certainly try to make all the Players Championships events if I can.

"It will be difficult to balance that as I will continue to work for now, but that's a good problem to have because this is the opportunity that we all fight for.

"My history on the INDO rankings shows how important it is to try to make it to every event so that you can stay high on the rankings table.

"I wouldn't like to think that after two years you could lose your tour card just because you missed an event."

Roseny will be joined on the PDC Pro Tour by fellow Irish players Niall Culleton and Shane McGuirk after they also claimed their tour cards at Q School.

However it will be bittersweet as his fellow Offaly county player Dylan Slevin unfortunately lost his card this year.

He said: "It's absolutely brilliant that the three of us managed to get our cards and we will now have five players from the Republic of Ireland on the tour.

"I obviously know Shane quite well from playing with him on the Ireland team and at Lakeside last year and  I've played doubles with Niall at events over the years.

"So it's massive for all three of us to have each other on the tour.

"It's a shame for Dylan Slevin that he didn't win his card back at Q School as he performed well there and was just a bit unlucky on some days.

"Dylan is someone I know very well going back over the years as his home is just ten minutes  down the road from me and I know his family well too.

"He's a class darts player. That doesn't change just because he lost his tour card and I've no doubt he will be back again."

Meanwhile, Rosney already has his eye on what he wants to achieve in his first year on the PDC tour.

He added: "Qualifying for the world championships in my first year will be very important given the amount of money that's involved there and what it can do for your ranking.

"I think if you don't make the world championships in your first year, you are really putting yourself under pressure to hold onto your card in that second year."

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