Benito van de Pas quietly made his first step towards competing in a PDC event for the first time in over five years prior to this week's European Championship.

The Dutchman, known for his distinctive throwing action, lost his PDC tour card at the end of 2020 and launched three unsuccessful attempts at winning it back via Q-School in the following three years.

His last recorded match, prior to this year, was in the MODUS Super Series in 2023, but he was spotted playing darts at a local pub in January. Van de Pas, 33, has been building back up to his previous level by competing in MODUS again - and he seemingly has one eye on playing in the PDC again as well.

Benito van de Pas appears in PDC qualifying event

As 'Big Ben' does not currently hold a tour card, he cannot enter a PDC-sanctioned event - but for one exception.

For every European Tour event of the season, the PDC hold a Host Nation Qualifier to determine the final four competitors in the final 48-player field.

Last week, the Dutch Darts Championship was held in Maastricht, with Van de Pas' name included among the list of entrants for the Home Nation Qualifier.

Stats from DartConnect show that Van de Pas lost 6-4 to Owen Roelofs in round one of the qualifier, while averaging 71.68. But he started well by going 4-3 up, and showed flashes of his old brilliance, averaging 100 in the fifth leg and checking out in 15 darts.

The Dutchman has been competing on the MODUS Super Series throughout 2026, and has won each of his last nine matches - including two consecutive victories against fellow former PDC tour card holder Kai Fan Leung. He won Week 7 of MODUS back in September after winning 19 games in the space of six days.

Whether he has the appetite to make a PDC comeback at this stage will become clear in the coming months, with 2027 Q-School entries now open for the UK and Europe.

Players are technically able to enter either competition as long as they are willing to travel, though the Europe version had more tour cards on offer this year; 16 won tour cards in that event, compared to 13 from the UK event.

'I did not like it...' - Benito van de Pas on absence from darts

Speaking to MODUS earlier this year, Van de Pas revealed that his lengthy absence from darts was down to the fact that he simply 'did not like it anymore'.

He also said he was suffering from pain in his arm towards the end of his first run in darts, which he noticed has now cleared up since his return to competitive action.

"I did not play for three, four years, and then at the beginning of the year I was thinking that I was going to find a hobby again. And I tried to play darts again," he said.

"I think I missed it. At the end, four years ago, I was, 'I don't like it anymore'. Now I like to practice again and have fun, and make new friends.

"I stopped after that week [in MODUS] a couple of years ago because I did not like it anymore. I remember I had an injury - my arm hurt. And when I stopped after a lot of years and came back, practiced again, I had no pain anymore. I've had fun.

"It's great to be back, and sometimes I know I can play a lot better. But then I'm thinking, 'Come on, keep pushing'. I've only been playing for four months, so I have fun."