Louis Jones is the JDC Foundation Tour Phase Two champion after winning two events on the final weekend of action in Coventry.
The 16-year-old from Manchester won the opening event on each day to build an unassailable lead at the top of the rankings, eventually finishing on 38 points, eight clear of Kyle Gilding in second place.
At one point during the weekend, Jones was on a 20-match winning run stretching back to the start of Event 11, which he also won, and his performances when it mattered underlined his status at the top player on this edition of the tour.
He also produced the weekend’s highest average – 102.62 – and produced some excellent darts.
The other event winners on the final weekend of the tour were Teddy Acott and Logan Neil-Symons.
The following players have qualified for next year’s Advanced Tour: Gilding, Alfie Hutton, Charlie Greensmith, Alfie Armitage, Acott, Harry Childs, Vince Kenis and Ridley Ladigus.
Jones, Gilding, Hutton, Greensmith, Armitage, Acott, Childs and Milan Vanuytrecht, meanwhile, have booked their spots in the World Championship in Gibraltar.
EVENT 13
Louis Jones continued his fine form from the previous weekend of Foundation Tour action when he followed up his Event 12 win by taking the Event 13 title.
Jones was in outstanding form throughout the event, producing a stunning 102 average in his quarter-final win over Logan Neil-Symons.
He also threw a 90 average in the last 16 – and his average never dipped below 72 throughout the event.
Jones sealed the title when he beat Charlie Greensmith 5-3 – the Event 11 winner – in the final. The first two legs went with throw, before Jones broke in the third for a 2-1 lead. Greensmith drew level as he broke straight back in 16 darts, only for another 16-dart break to put Jones back in front.
Jones then enjoyed consecutive visits of 100, 114 and 131 on his way to a 17-dart hold to make it 4-2, with Greensmith holding in 17 darts himself to cut the gap to one leg. But Jones held firm to close out the match and win the event.
He had earlier come back from 3-1 down in the semi-final to beat Teddy Acott. Acott raced ahead with legs of 15, 17 and 16, with Jones’ solitary leg in the opening four coming thanks to a 126 checkout. Jones then composed himself to reel off three legs in a row, sealing the deal when Acott was waiting on double 10 to wrap it up himself.
Jones’ stand-out performance came in the quarter-final, when he averaged 102.62 in a 3-1 win against Neil-Symons. After losing the opening leg when his opponent took out 112, Jones became unplayable.
He hit a 120 checkout for a 15-dart leg, then went 140, 140, 140, 81 for an 11-darter, before kicking off the next leg with a 180 and 140 as he went out in 14 darts.
Beaten finalist Greensmith enjoyed an excellent run, seeing off Ethan Parry 4-2 to reach the final, after playing some superb darts during the event.
RESULTS
Final:
Louis Jones (Eng) 5-3 Charlie Greensmith (Eng)
Semi-final:
Louis Jones (Eng) 4-3 Teddy Acott (Eng)
Charlie Greensmith (Eng) 4-2 Ethan Parry (Wal)
EVENT 14
Teddy Acott won his first event of the season as Charlie Greensmith suffered a 5-3 defeat in the final for the second time on the same day.
After doing enough to win his opening two matches, both of which were scrappy contests, Acott’s average did not dip under 72 for the rest of the event, as he played consistently well.
Spare a thought for Greensmith, though, who reached his second final of the day and ended up losing by the same scoreline.
He held throw to win the opening leg of the final, before Acott won three on the spin – all in six visits – to move 3-1 up. Greensmith cut the deficit back to 3-2 with a brilliant 13-darter, in which he threw 93, 177, 97 and 94 before hitting tops at the first time of asking.
Acott held throw to move 4-2 up, before Greensmith took out 70 to move back to within one leg – but Acott came through a scrappy next leg to seal the title.
Acott had to come through three last-leg deciders on his way to the title, including breaking throw in the final leg to see off Kyle Gilding.
He beat Alfie Hutton 4-2 in the semi-final, kicking off with a 14-darter and throwing two 80-plus finishes.
Greensmith’s run to the final saw him produce an 85.08 average in his 3-0 quarter-final win over Taylor James-Harding, with checkouts of 90 and 114. James-Harding had earlier ended Louis Jones’ 20-match winning run on the Foundation Tour, beating him 3-2.
RESULTS
Final:
Teddy Acott (Eng) 5-3 Charlie Greensmith (Eng)
Semi-final:
Teddy Acott (Eng) 4-2 Alfie Hutton (Eng)
Charlie Greensmith (Eng) 4-1 Logan Neil-Symons (Eng)
EVENT 15
Louis Jones won his second event of the weekend and his third of the tour, beating Finlay Clayton 5-1 in the final to secure his status at the top of the overall rankings.
Jones dominated the final, winning the first two and the last three legs, including finishes of 112 and 89, after coming through his semi-final against Alfie Hutton in a deciding leg, taking out 54 with Hutton waiting on double 4.
Clayton performed well in reaching his first final of the tour, having previously gone no further than the last 16. His best performance was a 4-1 semi-final win over Riley Emery, in which he averaged 80.64.
When it comes to high averages, though, Emery himself led the way in Event 15, throwing 95.94 in his 3-0 last-32 win over Dylan Cowley. Emery opened with a 13-darter, which included a 180 and two 140s, and followed it up with two 17-dart legs, winning the match with a 74 checkout.
Elsewhere in Event 15, Liam Rowe averaged 86.71 in his 3-0 win over William Learmonth, while Alfie Moore threw 85.39 as he beat Liam Elliott 3-1.
RESULTS
Final:
Louis Jones (Eng) 5-1 Finlay Clayton (Eng)
Semi-final:
Louis Jones (Eng) 4-3 Alfie Hutton (Eng)
Finlay Clayton (Eng) 4-1 Riley Emery (Eng)
EVENT 16
Logan Neil-Symons wrapped up Phase Two of the Foundation Tour by winning his first JDC title.
He beat Belgium’s Vince Kenis 5-3 in the final to bring the curtain down on a superb and competitive Foundation Tour.
The players traded holds of throw for the first seven legs of the match, with Neil-Symons taking out 88 and 100, before he broke the Kenis throw in the eighth leg to seal the title, taking out 92 to clinch the crown.
He played well throughout the event, notably in a 3-1 win over Alfie Hutton in the last 32, in which he averaged 84.22. His general level was consistent, too, only once dipping below 70, while he also had to come through his semi-final against Teddy Acott in the deciding leg.
After Acott went 2-1 up, Neil-Symons took out 112 to break, then produced a 13-dart leg to go 3-2 up. Acott pulled it back to 3-3 – but Neil-Symons delivered a brilliant 12-darter (kicking off with 140, 180 and 137) to book his place in the final.
Kenis, for his part, forced his way into next year’s Advanced Tour by reaching the final, with his crowning performance a 3-2 win over overall winner Louis Jones in the quarter-finals. Kenis threw a 13-darter on his way to victory over Jones.
Alfie Moore again produced a big average, throwing 92.02 in his win over Taylor James-Harding, while Louis Jones averaged 90.18 as he beat Robert Anderson 3-0.
RESULTS
Final:
Logan Neil-Symons (Eng) 5-3 Vince Kenis (Bel)
Semi-final:
Vince Kenis (Bel) 4-2 Kyle Gilding (Eng)
Logan Neil-Symons (Eng) 4-3 Teddy Acott (Eng)
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