Lewis Cook produced a stunning day of darts on Sunday to secure the European Open title for the second year in a row – pipping brother Alfie to the title by one point.
Coming into the second day of action in Dublin with plenty to do, having reached a quarter-final and last 16 in Saturday’s events, the 15-year-old from Essex in England delivered by winning both events to retain the title.
To add to his joy, he even beat his brother in one final and another semi-final on his way to glory in Dublin.
Cook’s double success on Sunday followed event wins for Oscar Saxton and Arthur Allston the previous day, with those two players completing the top four in the rankings behind the Cook brothers.
EVENT 1
Oscar Saxton won the opening event, beating John Morris 5-4 in the final to kick off the European Open in style.
The 15-year-old from Shropshire in England finished 46th in the Foundation Tour but has shown huge improvement in recent months, finishing runner-up in the JDC Ireland Open on Friday.
He went one further in the opening event of the European Open, coming back from 4-2 down to beat Ireland’s Morris in the final.
The match went with throw until the fourth leg, when Morris broke for a 3-1 lead. Saxton broke back with a 72 checkout – but was unable to hold in the next leg as Morris broke in 17 darts for 4-2.
Saxton stuck to his task, though, breaking back with a 115 checkout and then holding in 16 darts to force a deciding leg. In the decider he took out 68 with his opponent waiting on a two-dart combination to seal the event win.
Saxton played some good darts during his run to the final, notably in a 4-2 win over Shea Shacklady in the last 16, where he averaged 82 and produced a 14-dart leg.
Shacklady broke in the opening leg, but Saxton took a 2-1 lead with back-to-back finishes of 114 and 104, before his 14-darter put him 3-1 up. Shacklady responded with a 110 checkout but Saxton sealed the win thanks largely to back-to-back visits of 140 and 133.
Morris deserves plenty of credit for reaching the final, with his 4-3 semi-final win over the in-form Arthur Allston standing out. Allston led 3-1 before Morris got a foothold in the contest and then closed it out with a 16-dart leg.
The highest average of the event was Allston’s 88.26 in his quarter-final win over Jackson Timoney, sealing the win with a 106 checkout for a 15-dart leg.
RESULTS
Final:
Oscar Saxton (Eng) 5-4 John Morris (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Oscar Saxton (Eng) 4-3 Jack Caulfield (Ire)
John Morris (Ire) 4-3 Arthur Allston (Eng)
EVENT 2
Arthur Allston continued his superb recent form by winning Event 2, having picked up the JDC Ireland Open on Friday evening to go with the Foundation Tour he won last month.
The 15-year-old from Essex in England beat Ireland’s Jamie French 5-1 in the final, with the highlight a 13-dart leg to go 2-0 up. The players then traded 90-plus checkouts before Allston broke to move within one leg of victory – which he sealed with a 66 checkout after hitting a 140.
Allston stated his intent when he averaged 82.36 in beating Tom Smith 4-0 in his opening match and was excellent in a 4-1 win over Lewis Cook in the quarter-finals, producing checkouts of 136 and 100.
French enjoyed a superb run to the final, beating Alfie Cook 4-1 in the semi-finals including a 15-dart break which included visits of 174 and 140.
The highest average of the event was Lewis Cook’s 93.94 in his 4-0 win over James Morris in the last 16. The English player produced legs of 15, 18, 18 and 13, throwing 10 ton-plus scores including two maximums.
RESULTS
Final:
Arthur Allston (Eng) 5-1 Jamie French (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Arthur Allston (Eng) 4-2 Arthur McKeever (Nir)
Jamie French (Ire) 4-1 Alfie Cook (Eng)
EVENT 3
Lewis Cook beat brother Alfie in the Event 3 final to cap a string of excellent performances.
The older Cook brother averaged 84.95 across the event – including two 92-plus averages.
He beat his younger brother 5-1 in the final to claim the sibling bragging rights, reeling off legs of 17, 17, 16, 17 and 19 darts.
Lewis broke throw with a 79 checkout in the opening leg and raced into a 4-0 lead, before Alfie held throw to pull one back. However, there was to be no dramatic comeback as Lewis held in a final leg which saw both brothers throw 180s.
Lewis played some outstanding darts on the way to the final, notably in his 4-0 win over Benjamin Stassen and his 4-1 quarter-final victory against Event 2 winner Oscar Saxton.
He averaged 93.94 against Stassen, producing legs of 15, 14, 17 and 18 darts, throwing 11 ton-plus scores in a six-minute demolition.
Against Saxton he averaged 92.69, including a brilliant 12-darter and a 13-dart leg. Cook opened the match with his 12-darter, going 135, 95, 180 and 91, then followed it up with 96, 125, 100 and 140 to leave tops, which he hit at the first time of asking.
Younger brother Alfie, 12, also played some superb darts en route to the final, notably in a 4-1 quarter-final win over Shea Shacklady, in which he averaged 86.69. He produced legs of 17, 18, 17 and 16, hitting 11 ton-plus scores.
RESULTS
Final:
Lewis Cook (Eng) 5-1 Alfie Cook (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Lewis Cook (Eng) 4-0 Talan Mitchell (Ire)
Alfie Cook (Eng) 4-3 Jackson Timoney (Ire)
EVENT 4
Lewis Cook retained his European Open title by winning Event 4, beating Jack Courtney in the final after defeating his brother Alfie in the semis.
He did not scale the same remarkable highs he produced in the previous event – but he showed his class in the key moments to ensure his name stays on the European Open for a second year.
Typically, brother Alfie brought out the best in him in the semi-final, with Lewis averaging 87.14 in a 4-1 win. After a scrappy opening leg, Alfie won the second in 14 darts, before Lewis found his rhythm and won successive legs in 17, 15 and 14 darts.
In the final, he beat Ireland’s Courtney 5-3, including two 14-darters. Courtney won the opening leg with a 111 checkout, before Cook levelled, broke, and then held for a 3-1 lead. From there, the match played out with throw, with Cook – who hit three maximums in the match – wrapping up the event win and the title with his second 14-dart leg of the contest.
RESULTS
Final:
Lewis Cook (Eng) 5-3 Jack Courtney (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Lewis Cook (Eng) 4-1 Alfie Cook (Eng)
Jack Courtney (Ire) 4-1 Jamie French (Ire)
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