OWEN Bryceland took a huge step toward qualifying for the JDC Advanced Tour in 2025 by winning back-to-back events on the Foundation Tour in Coventry.
The 10-year-old from Cumbernauld in Scotland beat compatriot and overall ranking leader Mitchell Lawrie 5-1 in the Event 11 final before seeing off England’s Jack Howarth – a double event winner himself on Saturday – in a 5-4 thriller in the Event 12 decider.
The talented young Scot – who also hit the Foundation Tour’s highest ever average of 104.86 in his last-16 win over Joshua Machin – is 15 points behind leader Lawrie and within 13 of second-placed Howarth.
Lawrie leads the way on 49 points with eight events to play, while Howarth has 47 and Bryceland 34. Bryceland is 15 clear of fifth-placed Ethan Pulham in the battle to qualify for next year’s Advanced Tour.
EVENT 11 SUMMARY
In the opening event of the day, the final was an all-Scotland affair – and a dress rehearsal for next weekend’s JDC Scotland Masters final in Alloa – with Bryceland facing Lawrie.
Lawrie went into the contest looking to win a fifth event of the Tour but was never able to get going against his younger opponent despite a 15-darter to break in the third leg.
Bryceland held in the opener, then broke Lawrie’s throw in 16 darts, and after the brief setback of being broken himself, he reeled off three legs on the bounce to win 5-1 with an 82.50 average and claim his second title on this year’s Tour.
Bryceland had beaten England’s Arthur Allston 4-1 in the semi-final, setting the tone with a 96 checkout in the opening leg, while Lawrie edged past Hayden Ball by breaking in a last-leg decider.
Bryceland had come through a deciding leg in the quarters, breaking Drake Porter’s throw when it mattered to win 3-2, having earlier hit a 13-darter having opened the leg with a 180.
England’s Porter deserves credit for his performances in Event 11, ending Howarth’s 14-match winning streak this weekend with a 3-2 win having trailed 2-1.
Quarter-finals:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 3-2 Drake Porter (Eng)
Arthur Allston (Eng) 3-0 Jordan Cluskey (Eng)
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 3-0 Hayden Robbie (Eng)
Hayden Ball (Eng) 3-0 Jack Peet (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 4-1 Arthur Allston (Eng
Mitchell Lawrie (Sco) 4-3 Hayden Ball (Eng)
Final:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 5-1 Mitchell Lawrie (Sco)
EVENT 12 SUMMARY
Bryceland completed a memorable double by beating Howarth 5-4 in the Event 12 final, denying the Englishman what would have been a fifth title on this year’s Tour.
The young Scot, who only took up darts two years ago – and won his first competitive match – raced into a 2-0 lead in the final before being pegged back at 2-2.
He responded by going 4-2 up – but Howarth doesn’t win as many titles as he does by giving up easily and he fought back to draw level at 4-4.
Bryceland pulled it out of the bag though – taking out a brilliant 104 finish with Howarth sitting on 20 and ready to land the title.
The pair had very different semi-finals, with Bryceland beating Ball – a double semi-finalist on the day – 4-0 and Howarth battling past Cori Wiltshire 4-3 having been 3-1 up at one stage.
The performance of the day, weekend and arguably the Tour itself came from Bryceland in the last 16. He beat Machin 3-0 inside four minutes with a brilliant average of 104.86, opening with visits of 122, 134 and 140 on his way to a 14-darter. He hit another three ton-plus scores in the second leg, before wrapping up proceedings with another 13-darter to seal an astonishing victory.
On another day of impressive junior darts, one notable performance was that of England’s Riley Pinhorn, who was a surprise winner over ranking leader Lawrie in the last 64, coming through 3-2.
And among those who will be looking to kick on at the next weekend of action in May are Preston Ingram, who made his second quarter-final of the Tour, and Archie Chippendale, who reached his first.
Quarter-finals:
Hayden Ball (Eng) 3-0 Preston Ingram (Eng)
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 3-1 Paige Pauling (Eng)
Jack Howarth (Eng) 3-2 Archie Chippendale (Eng)
Cori Wiltshire (Eng) 3-1 Sidney Lloyd (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 4-0 Hayden Ball (Eng)
Jack Howarth (Eng) 4-3 Cori Wiltshire (Eng)
Final:
Owen Bryceland (Sco) 5-4 Jack Howarth (Eng)
