16 PLAYERS SECURE TOUR CARDS AS FOUNDATION TOUR PHASE ONE CONCLUDES
Sixteen players have secured Advanced Tour cards after Phase One of the Foundation Tour came to a dramatic conclusion in all four locations.
In England South, Logan Neil Symons won two events to secure his tour card in style, alongside Joshua Russell, Alfie Yarrow (who was beaten in three finals), and Event 19 winner Charlie Miller. Jack Bellingham finished third but is too old to qualify for a card.
In England North, Max Daly won an event on his way to securing his Advanced Tour card, with Ozzy Ayers, Jude Clarke and Kye Courtney also guaranteeing their spots, while Louis Jones finished top of the rankings but is another player too old for a card, along with Mason Hale.
In Ireland, Scott Doyle won two events to finish top of the rankings and book his place on the Advanced Tour, where he will be joined by Tyler O’Connor, Mikey Conway and Jack Caulfield. Double event winner Gavin Murphy and Charlie O’Connor – both of whom finished in the top four – are too old for cards.
And in Belgium, the tour cards have gone to Yanis Quettier, Mattis Verschaeve, Daan Toxopeus and Oden Ollevier, with triple event winner Wannes Van Heck and Ruben Baalmans both unable to take their spots due to their age.
ENGLAND SOUTH
Logan Neil Symons won two events – including the final one of the tour – to clinch top spot from Joshua Russell in England South.
The duo finished level on points after 20 events, winning four each, but Symons sealed top spot by virtue of his better leg difference.
He finished top of the rankings after beating Jack Bellingham 5-2 in the Event 20 final, having beaten Alfie Yarrow 5-4 in the Event 18 final on Saturday afternoon.
Symons dropped only two legs in six matches on his way to the Event 20 final, producing a 92.02 average in the last 16 when he beat Charlie Miller – the Event 19 winner – 3-0.
In the final, he broke in the second leg to take a 2-0 lead, and although Bellingham broke straight back in a match where holds of throw were scarce, he closed out the win to ensure first place ahead of Russell.
Symons won Event 18 by beating Yarrow 5-4, but his best performance came in a 4-2 semi-final win over Jack Bellingham, in which he averaged 86.05 and hit a 130 checkout against the darts.
Yarrow ultimately qualified for his Advanced Tour card relatively comfortably – but spare a thought for him after losing three successive finals. He was beaten 5-2 by CJ Everrit in the Event 17 final, as Everrit claimed his first event win, before losing to Symons in the Event 18 final and Miller 5-2 in the Event 19 final.
It was a second event win on the tour for Miller, who raced into a 3-0 lead before wrapping up the win with a stunning 158 checkout.
Arguably the highest quality match of Event 19 came in the quarter-finals, when Russell beat Theo Galea 3-1. Russell opened with a 13-dart leg on his way to a 97.57 average, while Galea – who hit a 150 checkout – averaged 85.48 in defeat.
RESULTS
Event 17
Final:
CJ Everrit (Eng) 5-2 Alfie Yarrow (Eng)
Semi-finals:
CJ Everrit (Eng) 4-1 Jayden Laming (Eng)
Alfie Yarrow (Eng) 4-1 Finley Cleave (Eng)
Event 18
Final:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 5-4 Alfie Yarrow (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Alfie Yarrow (Eng) 4-3 Otto Hookham (Eng)
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 4-2 Jack Bellingham (Eng)
Event 19
Final:
Charlie Miller (Eng) 5-2 Alfie Yarrow (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Charlie Miller (Eng) 4-3 CJ Everrit (Eng)
Alfie Yarrow (Eng) 4-1 Joshua Russell (Wal)
Event 20
Final:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 5-2 Jack Bellingham (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Logan Neil Symons (Eng) 4-0 Llayton Shaughnessy (Eng)
Jack Bellingham (Eng) 4-0 Jenson Ellaway (Wal)
ENGLAND NORTH
There were four different event winners on the final weekend of Foundation Tour Phase One action in England North, with one of those players – Max Daly – sealing his place on the 2027 Advanced Tour.
Daly won Event 19, beating Alfie Hill 5-0 in the final, to guarantee his place on the Advanced Tour, losing only one leg in the entire event.
Daly played some exquisite darts throughout the event, averaging 92.02 against Joseph Bruce in the last 64 and bettering that with a 93.94 average in his 4-0 semi-final win over Ben Lundstrom.
The opening event of the weekend was won by Riley Emery, who beat Louis Jones 5-3 in the final to claim his first event win of the season.
Event 18 was won by Mason Hale, who finished in the top four of the rankings but is too old to take his place in next year’s Advanced Tour. He beat Dylan Cowley 5-2 in the final, with a 102 checkout, but his best performance of the event saw him average 100.20 in his 3-0 last-16 win over Bobby Haste, in which he produced two 13-dart legs.
Event 20 was won by Nathan Rolfe, who claimed his first event win having not previously progressed beyond the quarter-final stage. He beat Archie Chippendale 5-3 in the final, despite having trailed 3-1 when Chippendale took out 128 to hold and then broke in the next leg. Rolfe broke back with an 80 checkout as he won four legs on the spin to claim the title.
RESULTS
Event 17
Final:
Riley Emery (Eng) 5-3 Louis Jones (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Riley Emery (Eng) 4-2 Stanley Derbyshire (Eng)
Louis Jones (Eng) 4-3 Benjamin Smith (Eng)
Event 18
Final:
Mason Hale (Eng) 5-2 Dylan Cowley (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Mason Hale (Eng) 4-1 George Booth (Eng)
Dylan Cowley (Eng) 4-1 Benjamin Smith (Eng)
Event 19
Final:
Max Daly (Eng) 5-0 Alfie Hill (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Max Daly (Eng) 4-0 Ben Lundstrom (Eng)
Alfie Hill (Eng) 4-0 Dylan Cowley (Eng)
Event 20
Final:
Nathan Rolfe (Eng) 5-3 Archie Chippendale (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Nathan Rolfe (Eng) 4-1 Harvey Thompson (Eng)
Archie Chippendale (Eng) 4-3 Dylan Cowley (Eng)
IRELAND
Scott Doyle qualified for next year’s Advanced Tour in style, winning two events to take his tally for the season to five wins – which was enough to finish top of the rankings, one point ahead of Charlie O’Connor.
Doyle won the first and last events of the weekend, getting off to a flying start when he beat O’Connor 5-4 in the Event 17 final having also come through a last-leg decider in the semis when he beat Jack Caulfield 4-3.
But while those victories showed a mix of character and quality, Doyle’s best performance of the weekend came in the quarter-finals where he beat Jacob Todd 3-0 with a 98.02 average which included a 13-dart leg.
He ended the weekend on a high, beating Caulfield 5-2 to seal the title and top spot in the rankings, having booked his place on next year’s Advanced Tour earlier.
The other two events over the weekend were won by Gavin Murphy, who finished third in the rankings but will be unable to compete on next year’s Advanced Tour due to his age.
The 17-year-old beat Mikey Conway 5-2 in the Event 18 final, averaging 84.08 with a couple of 14-dart finishes. He had earlier beaten Doyle in the quarter-finals, with finishes of 91 and 118.
Murphy made it back-to-back wins when he beat Jamie Cunningham 5-2 in the Event 19 final, fighting back from 2-0 down and sealing the deal with a 72 checkout.
RESULTS
Event 17
Final:
Scott Doyle (Ire) 5-4 Charlie O’Connor (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Scott Doyle (Ire) 4-3 Jack Caulfield (Ire)
Charlie O’Connor (Ire) 4-3 Jamie Cunningham (Ire)
Event 18
Final:
Gavin Murphy (Ire) 5-2 Mikey Conway (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Gavin Murphy (Ire) 4-1 William Fitzpatrick (Ire)
Mikey Conway (Ire) 4-3 Jack Caulfield (Ire)
Event 19
Final:
Gavin Murphy (Ire) 5-2 Jamie Cunningham (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Gavin Murphy (Ire) 4-3 Tyler O’Connor (Ire)
Jamie Cunningham (Ire) 4-1 Luke Maher (Ire)
Event 20
Final:
Scott Doyle (Ire) 5-2 Jack Caulfield (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Scott Doyle (Ire) 4-2 Gavin Murphy (Ire)
Jack Caulfield (Ire) 4-1 Jamie Cunningham (Ire)
BELGIUM
Wannes Van Heck dominated on the final weekend of Foundation Tour Phase One action in Belgium, winning three events to sign off in style.
He won Events 17, 19 and 20, with only Quettier Yanis – who won his third title of the season when he claimed Event 18 –breaking his dominance over the weekend.
Van Heck kicked off with a 5-1 win over Luka Kenis in the Event 17 final, having beaten Oden Ollevier 4-3 in the semis from 3-1 down and securing a 4-2 win over Yanis in the quarters.
Yanis took Event 18, beating Mattis Verschaeve 5-2 in the final from 2-1 down, with his opponent winning with legs of 13 and 14. Yanis then settled down, winning four legs in a row. He was a deserving winner, having beaten Daan Toxopeus 4-0 in the semi-final with a 91.09 average.
Van Heck won both events on Sunday to take his tally of event wins to five for the season. He beat Scott Demuysere 5-3 in the Event 19 final, which included legs of 12, 13 and 14, after previously beating Yanis 4-3 in the quarter-finals from 3-2 down.
Van Heck, who is too old to take his place in next year’s Advanced Tour, capped the weekend by winning Event 20, beating Verschaeve 5-4 in the final. He was 2-0 and 4-2 up, before being taken to a deciding leg.
RESULTS
Event 17
Final:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 5-1 Luka Kenis (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 4-3 Oden Ollevier (Bel)
Luka Kenis (Bel) 4-2 Daan Toxopeus (Ned)
Event 18
Final:
Yanis Quettier (Bel) 5-2 Mattis Verschaeve (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Yanis Quettier (Bel) 4-0 Daan Toxopeus (Ned)
Mattis Verschaeve (Bel) 4-1 Niel Verpoorten (Bel)
Event 19
Final:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 5-3 Scott Demuysere (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 4-1 Mattis Verschaeve (Bel)
Scott Demuysere (Bel) 4-0 Lorenzo Steylemans (Bel)
Event 20
Final:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 5-4 Mattis Verschaeve (Bel)
Semi-finals:
Wannes Van Heck (Bel) 4-3 Oden Ollevier (Bel)
Mattis Verschaeve (Bel) 4-2 Niel Verpoorten (Bel)
