Mitchell Lawrie moved within touching distance of the Advanced Tour title after winning both events on Sunday to open a 17-point lead at the top of the table.
Lawrie has now won half of the events this year – including at least one on every weekend – as he again played some incredible darts in Bristol.
The Junior Power League leader set a new Advanced Tour record average of 109.31 in his opening game of the weekend and produced four ton-plus averages in total.
Jack Johnson and Owen Bryceland were the other event winners on the penultimate weekend of Advanced Tour action. While Lawrie has a huge lead at the top of the table, only four points separate Jayden Walker in second place and Lewis Cook in fifth.
EVENT 13
Jack Johnson won his first Advanced Tour event of the season – having previously lost in three finals – by beating Lewis Cook 6-3 in the opening event of the weekend.
The 14-year-old bookended his event with victories over the Cook brothers, having kicked off the day with a 4-3 win over Alfie in a match with no breaks of throw.
From there, he beat another Cook in Liam (no relation) 4-1, before impressive back-to-back wins over fellow Junior Power League players Jack Nankervis (4-0) and Christian Ennis (4-1).
Johnson then beat Charlie Greensmith – playing his second semi-final of the season – 5-2 with a brilliant 158 checkout in leg three.
In the final, Johnson averaged 91.66, with two 12-dart legs and a 13-darter, wrapping up the event win with a 12-dart leg to finally break his run of losing in Advanced Tour finals.
Cook impressed on his way to the final, notably in a 5-4 semi-final win over Jayden Walker, in which Cook averaged 87.94 and Walker 91.39. Cook looked in command when he broke Walker’s throw in 12 darts in the sixth leg to lead 4-2. But Walker broke back in 13, then held to force a decider – which Cook clinched as his opponent waited on Double 10.
The story of the early rounds came when world champion Mitchell Lawrie set a new Advanced Tour record average of 109.31 in his 4-0 win over Ridley Ladigus. Lawrie produced legs of 11, 14, 16 and 14 darts, leaving 17 after nine darts in the opening leg, and wrapping up the win with a 100 checkout.
RESULTS
Final:
Jack Johnson (Eng) 6-3 Lewis Cook (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Jack Johnson (Eng) 5-2 Charlie Greensmith (Eng)
Lewis Cook (Eng) 5-4 Jayden Walker (Eng)
EVENT 14
Owen Bryceland won his first Advanced Tour event as Lewis Cook was beaten in a second successive final.
The 12-year-old Scot beat three of his fellow Junior Power League players on his way to winning the event, seeing off both Tergel Khurelkhuu and Jack Johnson in addition to Cook.
After beating Johnson 4-1 in the quarter-finals, Bryceland was staring the exit door in the face when he trailed Ben Townley 4-2 in the semis.
He needed to win the last three legs to advanced to his first final of the season – and he did just that, producing a 14-darter against the throw, then holding throw to force a decider. In the final leg, Bryceland took out 92 with Townley waiting on Double 10.
Bryceland produced his best average of the event (87.70) in the final, as he fought back again – this time from 3-1 down, to beat Cook. A brilliant 12-dart break got Bryceland back in the contest at 3-2, before another 12-darter on his own throw took him within one leg of victory.
He sealed the win in style, taking out 117 to condemn Cook to a third final defeat this season, alongside his victory in Event 9.
The 16-year-old played some excellent darts on his way to the final, notably in producing 90-plus averages in both the semi-final and quarter-final as he came through deciding legs in both.
He beat Arthur Allston 5-4 in the semis with a 92.07 average, with a 76 checkout against the darts in the decider. He had previously fought back from 3-0 down to beat Harley Glycos 4-3 in the quarters with a 90 average, starting the comeback with a 13-dart break.
The highest average of the event belonged to Jayden Walker, who threw 96.97 in his 4-0 first-round win over Belgium’s Jason Goossens, including a 152 checkout.
RESULTS
Final:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 6-4 Lewis Cook (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 5-4 Ben Townley (Eng)
Lewis Cook (Eng) 5-4 Arthur Allston (Eng)
EVENT 15
Mitchell Lawrie produced one of the most complete performances across an Advanced Tour event as he won his seventh event of the season – with three ton-plus averages along the way.
The 15-year-old Scot continued his remarkable recent form by beating Jack Nankervis 6-2 in the final with a 105.16 average.
He had earlier averaged 107.36 in his opening game against Alfie Knox and 102.49 against compatriot Owen Bryceland in the semis.
Lawrie beat Knox 4-0 to start the day, including a 10-dart leg in which he hit the bullseye with the first dart of his fourth visit. He also beat fellow Junior Power League players Christian Ennis and Jack Johnson (coming back from 3-1 down to beat Johnson 4-3), before his ton-plus wins over another JPL pair in Bryceland and Nankervis.
He kicked off his 5-1 win over Bryceland with another 10-darter (180, 134, 171, 16), while he was 2-1 down against Nankervis before winning five legs on the spin, including an 11-dart break.
Nankervis enjoyed something of a return to form as he reached only his second final of the season and his first since Event 9. He beat Jayden Walker 5-2 in the semi-finals with checkouts of 127, 100 and 95, before hitting two 13-dart legs in his defeat to Lawrie in the final.
Reggie Woodmore produced his best performance of the tour in reaching the quarter-final, having previously not made it past the last 32. He beat JPL player and former world champion Lex Paeshuyse 4-3 in the last 32, winning the deciding leg with the first break of throw of the match.
RESULTS
Final:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 6-2 Jack Nankervis (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 5-1 Owen Bryceland (Sco)
Jack Nankervis (Eng) 5-2 Jayden Walker (Eng)
EVENT 16
Mitchell Lawrie made it a Sunday double and eight event wins in total for the year when he beat Kaya Baysal 6-1 to round off an excellent weekend for him in Bristol.
The world champion extended his lead at the top of the Advanced Tour rankings to 17 points after another dominant series of performances.
He averaged 97.91 in the final, racing into a 5-0 lead with a couple of 13-dart legs thrown in, before Baysal held throw, only for Lawrie to clinch the win on his own throw.
While Lawrie averaged 99.82 in a 4-1 win over Jayden Walker, arguably his best performance came in a 4-2 win over Owen Bryceland in the last 16. Lawrie averaged 98.55 while Event 14 winner Bryceland averaged 101.47 in defeat.
Bryceland kicked off with an 11-darter before Lawrie won three on the bounce to take control. Bryceland clawed a leg back with a 14-darter – as Lawrie waited on Double 2 after 12 darts – but Lawrie wrapped up the win in the next leg. Lawrie also beat fellow JPL player Christian Ennis 5-0 in the semi-final with a 102 checkout.
Baysal reached his fourth final of the season – and it is now three defeats along with his Event 1 win. He was involved in a thrilling semi-final, beating Archie Self 5-4 with both players averaging north of 92. Baysal – who had beaten Tergel Khurelkhuu 4-3 in the quarters – was 4-2 down against Self but won the last three legs to reach the final.
RESULTS
Final:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 6-1 Kaya Baysal (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 5-0 Christian Ennis (Nir)
Kaya Baysal (Eng) 5-4 Archie Self (Eng)