ARCHIE Self has the lead at the top of the Advanced Tour rankings at the halfway stage after winning his second event of the weekend.
Self beat Ireland’s Aidan O’Hara in the Event 6 final on Saturday – and he did the same in the Event 8 showpiece to round off the weekend in style and ensure he has a one-point lead over Kieran Thompson in the rankings.
The other event winner on Sunday was Cayden Smith, who beat Thompson 6-4 in the Event 7 final for his first Advanced Tour event triumph.
Self – who has three event wins on the 2024 Advanced Tour – now leads the way on 22 points, with Thompson on 21, Daniel Stephenson on 19, O’Hara on 17 and the chasing pack led by Ryan Branley and Smith both on 16.
EVENT 7 SUMMARY
Cayden Smith won his first Advanced Tour event title as he beat Kieran Thompson to deny his fellow Englishman a second title of the weekend.
The 17-year-old from Stourport-on-Severn – a Super 16 finalist earlier this year – produced some magnificent darts throughout the event to claim a deserved victory.
He was a 4-0 winner against Callum Beddow in the opening round, hitting two 180s and two 140s on the way, before battling past Taylor James Harding 4-3 in the last 16.
Smith produced his best average of the event in the quarter-finals, throwing 84.37 in a 4-1 win against Daan Toxopeus of the Netherlands. Smith broke in the opening leg, then had his throw broken in the second, before winning three in a row, sealing the win with a stunning 148 checkout.
His semi-final against Daniel Stephenson was a thriller – as was a theme for semi-finals this weekend – with Smith fighting back from 3-0 down to win 5-4.
Stephenson looked in command when he broke, held and then broke again in 14 darts. But Smith won four legs in succession, a sequence that was only broken by a brilliant 13-darter from Stephenson to make it 4-4.
Smith, though, dusted himself down, hitting the most timely of 180s to leave 52, which he took out in three darts to seal his place in the final.
He lost the opening leg of the final, with Thompson going out in 14 darts to hold, before Smith responded with a five-visit leg of his own. The players then exchanged breaks for 2-2, before Smith broke again and held for a 4-2 lead.
Thompson hit back with a 14-darter, and then won a scruffy eighth leg to draw level. But Smith kept his composure, breaking again for 5-4 and then clinching his first Advanced Tour title by taking out 62 with Thompson waiting on 25.
Thompson played some excellent darts throughout the weekend – and his 5-0 win over Ireland’s Jack Lenihan was one of the standout performances.
Thompson went out in 17, 15, 16, 18 and 15 darts for a 92.78 average, fittingly sealing the win with a brilliant 130 checkout.
Another player to catch the eye during the weekend was Toxopeus. He reached his first quarter-final of the Advanced Tour in Event 7, going one better in Event 8, and his 4-0 win over Shoey Ayers in the last 16 was a good snapshot of what he is capable of producing. Toxopeus averaged 87.13 in that match, with a 13-dart break the highlight of a confident performance.
Quarter-finals:
Jack Lenihan (Ire) 4-2 Joseph Westby (Eng)
Kieran Thompson (Eng) 4-1 Nico Bado (Gib)
Cayden Smith (Eng) 4-1 Daan Toxopeus (Ned)
Daniel Stephenson (Eng) 4-1 Aidan O’Hara (Ire)
Semi-finals:
Kieran Thompson (Eng) 5-0 Jack Lenihan (Ire)
Cayden Smith (Eng) 5-4 Daniel Stephenson (Eng)
Final:
Cayden Smith (Eng) 6-4 Kieran Thompson (Eng)
EVENT 8 SUMMARY
Aidan O’Hara must be sick of the sight of Archie Self, after the 14-year-old Englishman from Thatcham in Berkshire beat him in a second final of the weekend to clinch the Event 8 title with a 6-0 win.
Self averaged 92.02 in the process, with legs of 14, 15, 16 and 15 coming in a four-leg burst where he blew his opponent away.
Self broke in the opener, then held in 14 to double his lead, before a 138 checkout put him 3-0 up. Self then held in 16 for 4-0, before going out in 15 darts in a high-quality fifth leg with O’Hara waiting on 4. Self wrapped up the whitewash win when he hit double 16 at the first time of asking.
O’Hara, though, emerged from the match and the weekend with plenty of credit.
He beat compatriot Jack Lenihan 4-2 in the last 32, before seeing off Taylor James Harding by the same scoreline in the last 16.
His best average of the event (84.72) came in the quarter-finals as he beat Rune Van Damme of Belgium 4-1, opening that match with a 13-darter.
And O’Hara was excellent again in the semi-finals as he beat Kieran Thompson – one of the players of the weekend – 5-1, sealing the deal with a 14-dart break of throw.
Unfortunately for O’Hara, he ran into the red-hot Self again in the final. Self stated his intentions with a 4-0 win over Jack Nankervis in the opening round, before averaging 85.81 in a 4-2 last-16 win against Jack Johnson.
He then had to come back from 2-1 down to beat Ryan Branley 4-2, before beating Daan Toxopeus 5-2 in the semi-final, with successive checkouts of 96 and 78 putting him 4-2 up at a crucial time in the match.
Toxopeus followed up his quarter-final in Event 7 with a semi-final in Event 8, collecting the impressive scalps of Daniel Stephenson and Mason Teese on the way before running into Self.
The next four events on the Advanced Tour take place on May 18-19 – with so much still at stake.
Quarter-finals:
Kieran Thompson (Eng) 4-2 Callum Beddow (Eng)
Aidan O’Hara (Ire) 4-1 Rune Van Damme (Bel)
Daan Toxopeus (Ned) 4-1 Mason Teese (Eng)
Archie Self (Eng) 4-2 Ryan Bradley (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Aidan O’Hara (Ire) 5-1 Kieran Thompson (Eng)
Archie Self (Eng) 5-2 Daan Toxopeus (Ned)
Final:
Archie Self (Eng) 6-0 Aidan O’Hara (Ire)
