On another excellent weekend of Foundation Tour action across four venues – Belgium, England South, England North and Ireland – one player at each event won two titles. Daan Toxopeus, Louis Jones, Logan Neil Symons and Charlie O’Connor all celebrated double glory.
The other events were won by Quettier Yanis and Wannes Van Heck (Belgium), Jed Wakinshaw and Kye Courtney (England North), Riley Milligan and Joshua Russell (England South), and Oran Devine and Mikey Conway (Ireland).
In the opening England South event, Logan Neil Symons caught the eye with a brilliant 112 average.
ENGLAND SOUTH
Joshua Russell won a third event of the season to maintain his lead at the top of the rankings – but the story of the weekend on the England South tour was Logan Neil Symons, who won two titles and threw a 112 average.
Symons, 15, took the Event 10 and Event 12 titles to move within eight points of Event 11 winner Russell at the top of the rankings. The other event was won by Riley Milligan, who beat Olly Garratt in the first event of the weekend.
In that first event – indeed in his first match – the in-form Symons threw a brilliant 112.73 average in his 3-0 win over Charlie Lenney. He threw only 40 darts in his win, posting legs of 14, 15 and 11.
To win his titles, he had to beat Mason Beaven 5-2 in Event 10 and Harry Legg 5-1 in Event 12.
He raced into a 4-0 lead against Beaven, opening with an 11-dart leg (140, 140, 180, 41) and dominating the contest aside from a two-leg fightback from Beaven before Symons wrapped up the win.
In the Event 12 final, Legg won the opening leg before Symons responded in style, reeling off five legs in a row including two 14-darters.
Milligan had taken the Event Nine final, beating Garratt 5-2 with a brilliant 150 checkout on the way.
The other winner was Wales’ Russell, who kept up his record of winning on every Foundation Tour this weekend, as he beat Jack Ingram 5-3 in the Event 11 final. Ingram won the opening leg but Russell claimed the next three to take control of the final, and, after Ingram fought back to 3-3, Russell broke throw with a 104 checkout to lead – and then sealed the title by taking out 38.
RESULTS
Event 9
Final:
Riley Milligan (Eng) 5-2 Olly Garratt (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Riley Milligan (Eng) 4-1 Theo Galea (Eng)
Olly Garratt (Eng) 4-1 Rhys Evans (Wal)
Event 10:
Final:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 5-2 Mason Beaven (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 3-0 Cris Sunderland Bowe (Eng)
Mason Beaven (Eng) 4-2 Lola Wheeler (Eng)
Event 11:
Final:
Joshua Russell (Wal) 5-3 Jack Ingram (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Joshua Russell (Wal) 4-1 Mason Beaven (Eng)
Jack Ingram (Eng) 4-0 Spencer Edwards (Wal)
Event 12:
Final:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 5-1 Harry Legg (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 4-2 Cris Sunderland Bowe (Eng)
Harry Legg (Eng) 4-2 Jack Bellingham (Eng)
BELGIUM
Daan Toxopeus won both events on Sunday to cap a wonderful weekend for the Dutchman as he moved to the top of the standings in the Belgium Foundation Tour.
The 16-year-old reached a final and semi-final on Saturday before bagging both the Event 11 and Event 12 titles on Sunday to move one point ahead of Quettier Yanis, who won the opening event of the weekend.
The other title was won by Wannes Van Heck, who is third in the standings, three points Yanis and four adrift of Toxopeus.
Yanis, 14, won Event 9 on Saturday, beating Toxopeus 5-1 in the final, after a 4-3 win over Wannes Van Heck in the semis. After building a 2-0 lead with legs of 15 and 16, with a 129 checkout in the opener, Van Heck went 3-2 up, only for Yanis to reach the final with a 17-darter and a 14-darter.
Wannes Van Heck, 17, won Event 10, beating fellow Belgian Niel Verpoorten 5-0 in the final, after fighting back from 3-0 to beat Toxopeus 4-3 in the semis.
Toxopeus had looked on the verge of reaching the final after taking out 118 – but Van Heck reeled off four legs in a row, sealing the with a 14-dart leg.
Toxopeus more than made up for his disappointment on Sunday, winning both the Event 11 and Event 12 titles to make it four wins from the 12 events this season.
In Event 11, he beat Oden Ollevier 5-2 in the final, but not before he had exacted revenge on Van Heck for the previous event’s 4-3 semi-final defeat – by beating his rival by the same score at the same stage of the event.
Incredibly, Toxopeus had trailed 3-0, just as Van Heck had the day before, winning the match on tops with his opponent waiting on Double 1.
Toxopeus backed up his event win by taking the final title of the weekend when he beat Van Heck 5-3 in the Event 12 final.
The third meeting between the players over the weekend was won by the Dutchman, giving him the edge 2-1 in their clashes, getting the key break in the seventh leg to go 4-3 up, before clinching the title on his own throw.
He had earlier needed to show character to avoid a first-round exit, fighting back from 3-1 down to beat Ilio Van Dooren 4-3, sealing the win with a 13-darter.
Back-to-back 4-0 wins followed, including an 88 average in his win over Ruben Baalmans, before a 4-1 semi-final win over Lennert Van De Beek.
RESULTS
Event 9
Final:
Quettier Yanis (Bel) 5-1 Daan Toxopeus (Ned
Semi-finals:
Quettier Yanis (Bel) 4-3 Wannes Van Heck (Bel)
Daan Toxopeus (Ned) 4-0 Thomas De Roover (Bel)
Event 10
Final:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 5-0 Niel Verpoorten (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 4-3 Daan Toxopeus (Ned)
Niel Verpoorten (Bel) 4-1 Thomas De Roover (Bel)
Event 11
Final:
Daan Toxopeus (Ned) 5-2 Oden Ollevier (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Daan Toxopeus (Ned) 4-3 Wannes Van Heck (Bel)
Oden Ollevier (Bel) 4-1 Lennert Van De Beek (Bel)
Event 12
Final:
Daan Toxopeus (Ned) 5-3 Wannes Van Heck (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Daan Toxopeus (Ned) 4-1 Lennert Van De Beek (Bel)
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 4-1 Lorenzo Steylemans (Bel)
ENGLAND NORTH
Louis Jones won both events on Sunday to go to the top of the England North rankings, beating Jed Wakinshaw in both finals after Wakinshaw had won the Event 10 title the previous day.
The first event of the weekend was claimed by Kye Courtney for his first title of the season, and only five points now separate the top five players.
Courtney, 13, claimed the opening title of the weekend when he beat Sam Hurst 5-4 in the Event Nine final. He trailed 2-0 and 4-3 in the final, before drawing level with an 80 checkout, before breaking Hurst’s throw in 16 darts to seal the title.
Courtney had trailed 2-0 in the semis, too, before winning four legs on the spin to beat Noah Wardle 4-2, having earlier beaten Riley Emery 3-1 in the quarters with an 85 average.
Wakinshaw took the Event 10 title with a 5-4 win over Jude Clarke, fighting back from 3-1 and 4-2 down to seal his first title with a brilliant 142 checkout. Clarke had earlier hit a 142 checkout of his own, along with a 114, as the players slugged it out in a fantastic final.
Walkinshaw had a strong day on Sunday, too, but lost in both event finals to Jones.
The 17-year-old followed his Event Six win with two more titles, beating Wakinshaw 5-2 in the Event 11 final and 5-3 in the Event 12 showpiece.
Jones played well throughout Event 11, producing four 80-plus averages, including one in the final. He broke Wakinshaw’s throw with a 79 checkout in the opening leg and barely looked back. Wakinshaw held throw with a magnificent 158 checkout, but Jones held throw and then broke for a 4-1 lead. Wakinshaw broke back but Jones responded with another break of his own to take the title.
The highest average of the event was thrown by Mason Hale, who averaged 107.36 in his 3-0 last-32 win over Sam Hurst. Hale won with legs of 15, 15 and 12 darts, with two 107 checkouts.
Jones repeated his Event 11 triumph later in the day, with Wakinshaw no doubt sick of the sight of his opponent by Sunday evening as Jones won the final 5-3.
Wakinshaw had the advantage when he broke in the third leg for a 2-1 lead, but Jones broke back and held to take the lead and did not let go.
The victor had earlier hit back-to-back 90-plus averages in the last 16 and quarter-finals, before fighting back from 3-1 down to beat Mason Hale 4-3 in the semi-final, with Hale hitting a 142 checkout.
RESULTS
Event 9
Final:
Kye Courtney (Eng) 5-4 Sam Hurst (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Kye Courtney (Eng) 4-2 Noah Wardle (Eng)
Sam Hurst (Eng) 4-3 Benjamin Smith (Eng)
Event 10:
Final:
Jed Wakinshaw (Eng) 5-4 Jude Clarke (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Jed Wakinshaw (Eng) 4-2 Thomas Williams (Eng)
Jude Clarke (Eng) 4-1 George Booth (Eng)
Event 11:
Final:
Louis Jones (Eng) 5-2 Jed Wakinshaw (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Louis Jones (Eng) 4-1 Riley Emery (Eng)
Jed Wakinshaw (Eng) 4-1 Jack Taylor (Eng)
Event 12:
Final:
Louis Jones (Eng) 5-3 Jed Wakinshaw (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Louis Jones (Eng) 4-3 Mason Hale (Eng)
Jed Wakinshaw (Eng) 4-2 Ozzy Ayers (Eng)
IRELAND
Charlie O’Connor leads the rankings in Ireland by nine points after winning both events on Sunday – and has now won two events on every weekend of this year’s Foundation Tour.
The other two events were won by first-time victors Oran Devine and Mikey Conway, with Conway also making a final.
Devine beat John Morris 5-1 in the Event Nine final, with a 100 checkout along the way, having beaten Scott Doyle 4-2 in the semi-final, sealing the win with a 72 checkout to break throw.
Conway took the spoils in Event 10, winning a thrilling final 5-4 against Gavin Murphy. Conway opened with a 13-dart leg to state his intent, and eventually won the match with a break of throw.
In a tricky run to the final, he had earlier beaten Morris, Devine, Tyler O’Connor and Jack Caulfield, winning his semi-final against the latter 4-0.
Sunday belonged to Charlie O’Connor, with the 16-year-old taking both titles on the day to cement his lead at the top of the rankings.
In the Event 11 final, he beat Conway 5-3, despite Conway threatening to kick on when breaking throw with a 104 checkout to make it 3-3. But O’Connor broke straight back and then held to win his fifth title of the season.
His sixth was not far behind. He beat Tyler O’Connor 5-1 to cap a marvellous day, sprinting into a 4-0 lead with the highlight being a 15-dart break in the opening leg.
RESULTS
Event 9
Final:
Oran Devine (Ire) 5-1 John Morris (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Oran Devine (Ire) 4-2 Scott Doyle (Ire)
John Morris (Ire) 4-1 Jacob Todd (Nir)
Event 10
Final:
Mikey Conway (Ire) 5-4 Gavin Murphy (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Mikey Conway (Ire) 4-0 Jack Caulfield (Ire)
Gavin Murphy (Ire) 4-2 Ethan Todd (Nir)
Event 11
Final:
Charlie O’Connor (Ire) 5-3 Mikey Conway (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Charlie O’Connor (Ire) 4-1 John Morris (Ire)
Mikey Conway (Ire) 4-0 Fionn Kiely (Ire)
Event 12
Final:
Charlie O’Connor (Ire) 5-1 Tyler O’Connor (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Charlie O’Connor (Ire) 4-1 Arthur McKeever (Nir)
Tyler O’Connor (Ire) 4-0 Cian Gilchrist (Ire)