TERGEL Khurelkhuu is the new Advanced Tour champion and JDC world number one – after winning the final event of the season to clinch the title.
The 14-year-old from Mongolia, who becomes the first player from Asia to top the JDC’s overall rankings, won two events on the final weekend to pip long-time leader Ryan Branley to the honours by one point.
Tergel, a runner-up three times on the previous weekend of Advanced Tour action, needed to produce an incredible series of results to have any chance of overtaking England’s Branley – and he did just that.
After winning Event 18 on Saturday afternoon, he followed it up by clinching Event 20 on Sunday, to complete an incredible turnaround.
The sacrifices Tergel has made by spending long periods away from his homeland at such a young age to pursue his darting dreams are bearing huge rewards – and he is a worthy champion after 20 rounds of action.
Mitchell Lawrie also had a fantastic weekend, winning two events himself, having become the first Scottish player to win an Advanced Tour event on the previous weekend of competition in May.
EVENT 17
Mitchell Lawrie picked up where he had left off last time, winning Event 17 to go with the Event 16 win he enjoyed last time out in Coventry.
The 14-year-old from Scotland was in superb form, beating Rhys Butler 4-1 and Taylor McGuckian 4-0 to get out of the traps, before winning a quarter-final of quite remarkable quality 4-1 against Lex Paeshuyse.
Lawrie averaged 96.92, with Paeshuyse averaging 97.50 in defeat, as both players underlined just why they are so highly regarded. All five legs were won in 17 darts or fewer, with the highlight being a 12-dart break from Lawrie to go 3-1 up.
Both players held throw to start the match, with Paeshuyse taking out 86, before Lawrie held with a 94 checkout. Lawrie then took out 88 to seal his 12-darter, before a 14-dart hold sealed the win.
In the semi-final, he beat Oliver Haughan 5-2, despite Haughan kicking off with a 117 checkout.
That set up a meeting with Mason Teese in the final, which Lawrie won 6-1. After holds in the opening three legs, Lawrie made his breakthrough in leg four with a 15-dart break. From there, he accelerated away to clinch his second event win of the Advanced Tour.
For Teese, it was a case of third time unlucky as he was a runner-up for the third time this season. He played some excellent stuff on his way to the final, including characterful 4-3 wins over Jack Nankervis and Owen Bryceland, as well as an opening-round victory over Ryan Branley.
RESULTS
Final:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 6-1 Mason Teese (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 5-2 Oliver Haughan (Eng)
Mason Teese (Eng) 5-0 Jack Peet (Eng)
EVENT 18
Tergel Khurelkhuu powered to his second event win of the season as he beat Owen Bryceland 6-1 in the Event 18 final.
The 14-year-old from Mongolia did not have an easy route to the title, having to beat Mitchell Lawrie, Shoey Ayres, Archie Self and Ryan Branley just to reach the final, before producing the goods against Bryceland.
The victory was Tergel’s first event win since the second weekend of tour action in March – and underlined his determination having lost in three finals the last time out.
His opening clash with Lawrie was another unsurprisingly high-quality encounter, with both players averaging north of 91 and Tergel clinching the win with a 13-dart break.
He then beat Ayres 4-2, before a 4-0 win against last year’s champion Self, which set up a thrilling semi-final against Branley. Tergel emerged with a 5-4 win and a 90 average, fighting back from 3-0 and 4-3 down to advance to the final. After Branley took out 122 to move 4-3 ahead, Tergel responded positively, winning the match with a 101 checkout.
Tergel beat first-time finalist Bryceland 6-1 to secure the title, although the one leg Bryceland did win was thanks to a sensational 143 checkout. The 11-year-old Scot was superb throughout the event and can take huge confidence from his performances.
RESULTS
Final:
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 6-1 Owen Bryceland (Sco)
Semi-finalss:
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 5-4 Ryan Branley (Eng)
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 5-1 Mason Teese (Eng)
EVENT 19
Mitchell Lawrie made it three event wins in four as he followed up his success from a day earlier by winning the Event 19 title on Sunday lunchtime.
The Scot continued his fine form by overcoming Lewis Cook, Ryan Branley, Nico Bado and Daniel Stephenson on his way to the final, needing to show plenty of heart in final-leg thriller against Branley and Bado.
Against Branley all seven legs went with throw, but the quarter-final against Gibraltar’s Bado was an altogether different contest. Lawrie led 3-0 thanks to legs of 15, 17 and 16, only for Bado to hit back with a 12-darter he completed with a 155 checkout. Bado then won the next two legs to force a decider, but Lawrie went out in 14 darts to reach the final.
He beat Lex Paeshuyse 6-1 in the final, setting the tone with a 14-dart break in the opening leg and not looking back. Despite the world champion putting up good resistance, two further 14-darters from Lawrie contributed to what proved a comfortable win in the end.
Paeshuyse may have been beaten but some of his performances – in the event and across the weekend in general – were remarkable.
He really caught the eye in his 4-0 last-16 win over Lee Bradshaw, averaging 96.97, including a stunning 12-darter (96, 171, 123, 111). He also stopped Tergel Khurelkhuu from reaching another final by beating him 5-4 in the semis, reeling off four legs in a row – including a 128 finish – to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead.
RESULTS
Final:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 6-1 Lex Paeshuyse (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 5-3 Daniel Stephenson (Eng)
Lex Paeshuyse (Bel) 5-4 Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng)
EVENT 20
Tergel Khurelkhuu clinched the Advanced Tour title and assumed the role of the JDC’s new world number one with a stunning run to pick up his second event win of the weekend and his third of the tour.
The Mongolian star was rewarded for his sheer determination as much as his brilliant darts, as he kept believing he could snatch the title away from long-time pacesetter Ryan Branley.
Going into the weekend, Tergel needed the darts equivalent of snookers to take the honours – but he kept going, and when Branley was beaten by Mitchell Lawrie in the last 16, the door was ajar.
Even at that point, though, Tergel needed to either win the event outright – or lose the final 6-5 – to clinch the title.
Having come through a deciding leg against Craig Devlin in the opening round, he overpowered Drake Porter 4-0 with a 93.94 average, then saw off Lawrie 4-2 in a clash of the two players who dominated the weekend’s honours.
A brutal 5-0 win against Lewis Cook in the semi-finals, in which Tergel averaged 97.60 and hit 12 and 13-darters, saw him keep his title dream alive.
Tergel needed to win the final – or lose by a single leg – to lift the trophy, and he raced out of the blocks, building a 4-1 lead. But Mason Teese fought back to draw level at 4-4, putting Branley back in contention. However, Tergel secured the all-important fifth leg in 16 darts, and, after Teese made it 5-5, he sealed the event win in some style, producing a 13-darter to put the cap on a wonderful story and another exciting Advanced Tour season.
RESULTS
Final:
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 6-5 Mason Teese (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Tergel Khurelkhuu (Mng) 5-0 Lewis Cook (Eng)
Mason Teese (Eng) 5-2 Archie Self (Eng)
For full rankings table, visit DartConnect here.
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