Callan Rydz ( born 3 July 1998) is an English professional

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

player who competes in

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Wor ...

(PDC) events. Rydz topped the 2019 PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit, which earned him his

PDC Tour Card The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). They comprise Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) Players Championships and European Tour events. Only four players ...

he has held since 2020. In the PDC, he has won three ranking Players Championship titles, two Challenge Tours and two Development Tours. He is also a two-time PDC World Championship quarter-finalist.

Darts career

2017–2019: Early PDC career

Rydz made his

PDC European Tour The PDC European Tour is a series of darts tournaments held across Europe organized by the Professional Darts Corporation. Starting in 2012 with five events, the number of events has steadily risen with eight held in 2013 and 2014, nine in 2015, 10 ...

debut at the 2017 Gibraltar Darts Trophy as a UK Qualifier, aged just 18. He was eliminated in the first round by

Martin Schindler Martin Schindler (born 16 August 1996) is a German professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number eighteen. A PDC Tour Card holder since 2017, he has won four ra ...

. At 2018 PDC Q-School, Rydz tried to win a

, however he missed out on the points table by virtue of countback. He played on the Challenge Tour and Development Tour throughout the year. As a result of his Development Tour exploits, he qualified for the

2018 PDC World Youth Championship The 2018 PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship was the eighth edition of the PDC World Youth Championship, a tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation for darts players aged between 16 and 23. In a change mirroring that of the 20 ...

and progressed through the early group stage. He managed to reach the semi-finals, including a victory over the #1 seed

Luke Humphries Luke Humphries (born 11 February 1995) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number one. He is a former PDC World Darts Champion ...

but lost out 6–3 to eventual runner up

. He also tried to win a Tour Card in 2019 Q-School, but missed out again by one leg. Rydz qualified for the 2019 UK Open by winning through the amateur qualifier in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, but lost to Jamie Hughes in the first round. On 21 April 2019, he won his first PDC title after picking up the Development Tour Event 8 title, beating

5–2 in the final with a three-dart average of 106.6. At the 17th Players Championship event of 2019, Rydz made his first Pro Tour appearance in 2 years, and marked it with a run to the quarter-finals. He defeated Stephen Burton, Chris Dobey,

Steve Beaton Steve Beaton (born 5 April 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competes in World Seniors Darts (WSD) events. Nicknamed "the Bronzed Adonis", Beaton formerly formerly competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO), World Dart ...

and

Brendan Dolan Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in a "double-to-start" event (where a pla ...

before losing 6–3 to eventual winner

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number nine; he reached a peak ranking of world number two in 2010. ...

. He followed up the Development Tour title with a Challenge Tour title on 11 August 2019 by seeing off David Evans 5–2 in the final. Rydz went to the top of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit on 28 September 2019 by winning Event 18, beating Cody Harris to win the title. Rydz finished 2019 top of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, meaning he gained a two-year PDC Tour Card and qualified for the

2020 PDC World Darts Championship The 2020 PDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2020 William Hill World Darts Championship) was the 27th PDC World Darts Championship, World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it Spli ...

. He made the quarter-finals of the 2019 PDC World Youth Championship on 4 November, but lost 6–2 to Adam Gawlas.

2020

At the

, Rydz's debut at the tournament, he won his opening game 3–2 in sets against

Steve Lennon Steve Lennon (born 25 November 1993) is an Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Scuba Steve", he reached his first major quarter-final at the 2018 Players Championship Finals. He ...

but lost to

Danny Noppert Danny Noppert (born 31 December 1990) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number sixteen; he reached a peak ranking of world number seven in 2023 an ...

in the second round. Rydz won Young Player of the Year at the 2020/21 PDC Awards Dinner.

2021

On the

2021 PDC Pro Tour The 2021 PDC Pro Tour was a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Players Championships and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. There were 32 PDC Pro Tour events ...

Rydz competed in the

2021 PDC Players Championship series The 2021 PDC Players Championship series consisted of 30 darts tournaments on the 2021 PDC Pro Tour. As with the second half of 2020, the events were grouped into Super Series events, with 8 events taking place throughout the year. The Top 64 on ...

and won his first PDC ranking title on 26 February, at Players Championship 2, beating

Jonny Clayton Jonny Clayton (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number five. Nicknamed "the Ferret", he has won four PDC major televised s ...

8–7 in the final. Rydz qualified for the 2021 World Matchplay, and on his debut he reached the quarter-finals, overcoming

Glen Durrant Glen Durrant (born 24 November 1970), nicknamed "Duzza", is an English former professional darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Durrant is a three-time BDO World Champi ...

10–6,

Rob Cross Robert Cross (born 21 September 1990) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number eight; he reached a peak ranking of world number two in 2018 ...

11–8, before losing to

Krzysztof Ratajski Krzysztof Ratajski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 1 January 1977) is a Polish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He previously participated in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments; his b ...

16–8. He also made his World Grand Prix and

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

debuts in 2021 but did not make it past the first round in either tournament. In October, Rydz defeated

Gabriel Clemens Gabriel Clemens (born 16 August 1983) is a German professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He reached the semi-finals at the 2017 World Masters, the 2023 PDC World Championship and the 2023 Player ...

8–6 in the final of Players Championship 25, earning his second PDC ranking title.

2022

Rydz entered the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship as the top qualifier from the Pro Tour Order of Merit. With

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

wins against Yuki Yamada,

and

Nathan Aspinall Nathan Aspinall (born 15 July 1991) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number six; he reached a peak ranking of world number ...

, followed by a 4–1 win over Alan Soutar, Rydz reached the quarter-finals having only lost one set. He faced Peter Wright for a place in the semi-finals. Rydz had a 3–1 lead but bowed out of the tournament after Wright won the match 5–4 in a deciding set. In the 2022 PDC Players Championship series he was the runner-up at Players Championship 15, losing to Michael Smith 8–3 in the final. Rydz entered the 2022 Players Championship Finals as the 32nd seed. He defeated 33rd seed

Madars Razma Madars Razma (born 26 September 1988) is a Latvian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Razmatazz", Razma made his first PDC major quarter-final at the 2022 World Grand Prix. A PDC To ...

6–5, 64th seed Ricardo Pietreczko 6–3, and 48th seed Keane Barry 10–8 to reach the quarter-finals where he lost to 24th seed

10–3.

2023

On the

2023 PDC Pro Tour The 2023 PDC Pro Tour was a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Players Championships and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. There were thirty Players Champion ...

Rydz competed in the

2023 PDC Players Championship series The 2023 PDC Players Championship series consisted of 30 darts tournaments on the 2023 PDC Pro Tour. The Top 64 on the Players Championship Order of Merit qualified for the 2023 Players Championship Finals. Gerwyn Price topped the Players Cham ...

. He won his third ranking PDC title at Players Championship 19, defeating

Dave Chisnall David Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twelve; he reached a peak ranking of world number five in ...

8–7 in the final.

2024

In the

2024 PDC Players Championship series The 2024 PDC Players Championship series consisted of 30 darts tournaments on the 2024 PDC Pro Tour. The Top 64 on the Players Championship Order of Merit qualified for the 2024 Players Championship Finals. Prize money The 2024 prize money was ...

Rydz started off well, reaching the quarter-finals at event 2, losing there to Martin Lukeman 6–2, and defeating

Luke Littler Luke Littler (born 21 January 2007) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number two. Nicknamed "the Nuke", Littler is the rei ...

6–4 to reach the semi-finals at event 3, where he lost to Gary Anderson 7–4. Rydz reached two more quarter-finals at events 9 and 22, losing 6–5 in deciding legs to Ritchie Edhouse and

respectively. This qualified Rydz for the

2024 Players Championship Finals The 2024 Players Championship Finals (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals) was the sixteenth staging of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) darts tournament, which saw the top 64 players from the ...

as the 42nd seed, but he lost to 23rd seed

Dirk van Duijvenbode Dirk van Duijvenbode (born 30 June 1992) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is known for his energetic walk-on, combined with hardstyle music. More recently, he has become known f ...

6–1 in the first round. On the European Tour, Rydz reached the semi-finals at the

2024 Swiss Darts Trophy The 2024 Swiss Darts Trophy was the twelfth of thirteen PDC European Tour events on the 2024 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at the St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland from 27 to 29 September 2024. It featured a field of 48 players and £ ...

2025

Rydz began the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship with a 3–0 win against Romeo Grbavac where he averaged 107, breaking the record for highest average in the first round of the PDC World Championship, which was set by

at the 2024 edition. He then defeated 22nd seed

3–0 before averaging 105 in a 4–0 win over 11th seed

Dimitri van den Bergh Dimitri Barbara Peter Van den Bergh (born 8 July 1994) is a Belgian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twenty-two; he reached a peak ranking of world n ...

. Rydz reached his second World Championship quarter-final after beating

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...

4–3. He was beaten 5–3 by

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player, who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number three; he was ranked world number one from 20 ...

, despite a higher average and winning more legs than van Gerwen.

Personal life

Rydz is a supporter of football club

Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Since the formation of the club in 1881 ...

World Championship results

PDC

* 2020: Second round (lost to

2–3) * 2021: Second round (lost to

0–3) * 2022: Quarter-finals (lost to Peter Wright 4–5) * 2023: Second round (lost to Josh Rock 0–3) * 2024: Second round (lost to Ricardo Pietreczko 2–3) * 2025: Quarter-finals (lost to

3–5)

Performance timeline

BDO PDC PDC European Tour PDC Players Championships

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rydz, Callan 1998 births Living people English darts players English people of Polish descent Professional Darts Corporation current tour card holders Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne