On another exciting weekend of Foundation Tour darts in Coventry, there were four different winners – including a youngest ever tour event winner in 10-year-old Addison Hefferon.
He was joined by Alfie Cook, Joshua Gregory and Hayden Ball in winning events on a weekend that once again highlighted the quality and unpredictability of the Foundation Tour.
With four different players winning events, Junior Howard also warrants a mention for reaching two finals. He battled his way through to both the Event 15 and 16 finals – improving on his previous best of a semi-final on this year’s tour.
After 16 events, Arthur Allston – who reached two quarter-finals over the weekend – has 51 points and a 16-point lead at the top of the rankings, with Kaleb Gascoyne in second and Jake Hobbs two points back in third.
EVENT 13
Alfie Cook claimed the Event 13 title for his first win of the season – having previously reached two semi-finals and a further two quarter-finals.
He saved his most dominant performance of the day for the final, beating Jake Robinson 5-0 with an average of 81.68.
Cook threw four 180s in the final, and set the tone with a 15-dart hold and 112 checkout to kick things off. He broke with a 103 checkout, and continued to dominate, sealing the win with a 14-darter that included a pair of maximums.
Cook only dropped three legs in his first five matches of the event, beating Zach Greaves, Stanley Brown, Tony Harter, Edward Dunham and Addison Hefferon along the way. He then beat Jenson Macey 4-2 in the semi-final, before a superb performance to clinch the title.
Beaten finalist Robinson enjoyed his best event of the tour so far, having previously reached the Event 9 semi-final. He won his first three matches 3-0, before producing arguably his best performance of the event in a 3-1 last-32 win over Elijah Taylor, in which he threw a 13-darter.
He beat Lennon Wharf by the same scoreline, then a 3-0 win against Jayden Lee set up a semi-final clash with Declan Mainwaring, which he won 4-3 – despite trailing 3-0.
Mainwaring looked on course to reach a second final of the season, having taken out 134 to break throw. But Robinson kept his composure, with 120 checkout drawing him level, before hitting tops to break throw and seal the win.
Results:
Final:
Alfie Cook (Eng) 5-0 Jake Robinson (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Alfie Cook (Eng) 4-2 Jenson Macey (Eng)
Jake Robinson (Eng) 4-3 Declan Mainwaring (Eng)
EVENT 14
Joshua Gregory was another first-time winner when he bagged the Event 14 title – producing some excellent performances along the way.
He beat Jenson Macey 5-2 in the final, with his finishing proving the difference. Gregory took out finishes of 55, 60, 50 and 74 to keep Macey at arm’s length, before sealing the win when by checking out 20.
He was made to work hard for his title, beating Kaleb Gascoyne and Event 13 winner Alfie Cook in the semis and quarters, respectively. His 3-2 quarter-final win over Cook was particularly impressive, with his opponent averaging 84.32, but Gregory holding his nerve to take out 36 with Cook waiting on 8. Gregory’s highest average of the event came in the last 16, when he beat George Booth 3-0 with an average of 80.52.
For beaten finalist Macey, it was another near miss after playing very well, having reached the semi-finals earlier in the day. He played some superb darts during the event, with his best performance coming in a 4-0 semi-final win over Jacob Godber, sealing the win with a 15-dart leg.
Overall rankings leader Arthur Allston warrants a mention for his last-32 win over Harley Wiggans, in which he averaged 90.18, including a 14-dart leg.
Results:
Final:
Joshua Gregory (Eng) 5-2 Jenson Macey (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Joshua Gregory (Eng) 4-2 Kaleb Gascoyne (Eng)
Jenson Macey (Eng) 4-0 Jacob Godber (Eng)
EVENT 15
Addison Hefferon – at the age of 10 – became the youngest tour event winner when he claimed the Event 15 title with a 5-3 win over Junior Howard in the final.
Between the last 16 and the semi-finals, Hefferon displayed real character as he had to come through three successive last-leg deciders to keep his run going.
He beat Jack Divall 3-2 in the last 16, then saw off Liam Rowe by the same scoreline in the quarter-final, before beating the previous event winner, Joshua Gregory, 4-3 in an entertaining semi-final. Hefferon clinched the win by taking out 55 with Gregory waiting on 10.
The 10-year-old trailed 3-2 in the final but won three legs on the spin to celebrate his first tour title.
The player he beat in the final, Howard, played some superb darts on his way there. He was in particularly impressive form in the quarter-final and semi-final, enjoying wins of 3-0 against Callum Ryan and 4-0 against Jake Hobbs, averaging 84.68 in the semi.
Results:
Final:
Addison Hefferon (Eng) 5-3 Junior Howard (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Addison Hefferon (Eng) 4-3 Joshua Gregory (Eng)
Junior Howard (Eng) 4-0 Jake Hobbs (Eng)
EVENT 16
Hayden Ball completed the run of different players lifting the event titles when he beat Junior Howard in the Event 16 final to seal his second win on this year’s tour.
The 17-year-old previously won the Event 3 title and was celebrating again by being crowned the final champion of the weekend in Coventry.
After beating Alfie Edwards, Mitchell Brightwell, Elijah Taylor and Theo Vaughan in the early rounds, he squeezed past Jack Divall 3-2 in the last eight, taking out 50 for the match.
He produced arguably his performance of the event in the semi-finals, beating Jordan Preece 4-1, including a 14-darter that included visits of 140, 125 and 117.
In the final, with Howard looking to go one better than he had a few hours earlier, Ball fell 3-0 down and Howard must have felt he was closing in on glory.
Checkouts of 100, 62 and 70 put Howard in the driving seat, but Ball came back into the game, holding throw and then breaking with a 118 checkout. Another hold saw him draw level, before a visit of 174 left him needing 63 to break, which he cleared with minimal fuss.
He clinched victory with three darts to take out 32, with Howard poised on 16, and both players contributed plenty to a highly entertaining final.
Results:
Final:
Hayden Ball (Eng) 5-3 Junior Howard (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Hayden Ball (Eng) 4-1 Jordan Preece (Eng)
Junior Howard (Eng) 4-1 Mattie Ambage (Eng)
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