TAYLOR McGuckian won a first ever Advanced Tour event, while a more familiar event winner in Archie Self bagged his first of the season, on a thrilling and high-quality day of darts in Coventry.
Both finals went to a deciding leg, with McGuckian beating Tergel Khurelkhuu in the Event 11 final and 2024 champion Self seeing off Ryan Branley – a double event winner the previous day – in the Event 12 showpiece.
Three different players – Jack Nankervis, Branley and Self – also hit 100-plus averages on another outstanding day of darts.
After 12 of 20 events, Branley leads the rankings by 14 points from Tergel, while Self’s first event win of 2025 has put him sixth in the table, 20 points off top spot.
Event 11
Taylor McGuckian, pictured, won his first Advanced Tour event with a 6-5 win over Tergel Khurelkhuu in the final, which included an 11-dart leg from the 16-year-old from Bedworth.
McGuckian raced into a 5-2 lead, kicking off with legs of 14, 14, 19 and 11 to state his intent, before Tergel rallied and won three on the spin including legs of 14 and 13 to force a decider.
With the title on the line, McGuckian kicked off with a ton and hit a 139 two visits later as he showed no sign of any nerves. He eventually clinched the win on double 10, after a run in which he had ended Branley’s winning run.
Branley had won 12 Advanced Tour matches on the spin before McGuckian beat him 4-2 in the quarter-finals, sealing the win with a 68 checkout.
McGuckian had earlier beaten Mason Teese and Drake Porter, and then won the first of two last-leg deciders when he beat Jack Courtney 5-4 in the semis.
Courtney had led 4-2, with a 120 checkout among his finishes, but McGuckian won three successive legs to book his spot in the final, having not previously gone past the semi-final in this year’s Advanced Tour.
Tergel reached his third final of the year after beating Kaya Baysal, Callum Coade, Ben Townley and Oliver Haughan, with a 12-darter to seal his opening win over Baysal among a number of highlights.
On the subject of individual highlights, Branley – who averaged 92.64 across his 10 matches on Saturday – hit 100.74 in his last-16 match against Jayden Walker. Branley won 4-1 with legs of 14, 15, 15 and 12, as well as checkouts of 110 and 100.
RESULTS
Final:
Taylor McGuckian (Eng) 6-5 Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng)
Semi-finals:
Taylor McGuckian (Eng) 5-4 Jack Courtney (Ire)
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 5-2 Oliver Haughan (Eng)
Quarter-finals:
Taylor McGuckian (Eng) 4-2 Ryan Branley (Eng)
Oliver Haughan (Eng) 4-2 Lee Bradshaw (Eng)
Jack Courtney (Ire) 4-0 Nico Bado (Gib)
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 4-1 Ben Townley (Eng)
Event 12
It was perhaps no surprise that a final between the defending champion and the current leader went the full 11 legs – and Archie Self and Ryan Branley served up an intriguing if a little nervy Event 12 showpiece.
After a match that ebbed and flowed, the momentum appeared to be with Saturday’s double champion Branley when he threw an 11-dart leg with a 96 checkout to seal a deciding leg.
But Self showed just why he won the Advanced Tour last time out, taking the leg with a 106 checkout after back-to-back visits of 140 and 134, to seal the win.
He had started the event in stunning fashion, averaging 101.90 in his 4-0 win over Daniel Stephenson, which included an 11-darter in leg three and a 150 checkout in leg one.
He also beat Leo Howard and Event 11 winner Taylor McGuckian before a 5-3 semi-final win over Tergel Khurelkhuu.
Branley’s route to the final featured wins over Ben Townley, Owen Bryceland and Jack Nankervis, before he produced his performance of Event 12 in a 5-1 semi-final win over Nico Bado, averaging 96.98 in the process.
Nankervis may have fallen at the quarter-final stage – but, as on the previous day, he was again involved some of the day’s biggest moments.
He threw an average of 101.08 in his last-16 win over Mitchell Lawrie, including a 12-darter which he sealed with a magnificent 161 checkout.
RESULTS
Final:
Archie Self (Eng) 6-5 Ryan Branley (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Archie Self (Eng) 5-3 Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng)
Ryan Branley (Eng) 5-1 Nico Bado (Gib)
Quarter-finals:
Archie Self (Eng) 4-1 Taylor McGuckian (Eng)
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 4-1 Jayden Walker (Eng)
Nico Bado (Gib) 4-3 Joseph Westby (Eng)
Ryan Branley (Eng) 4-1 Jack Nankervis (Eng)
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