Winmau’s Team 360 welcomed its latest member recently with the addition of Connor Hopkins. The Gwent county player has already recorded great success with the JDC and will be looking to further develop under Steve Brown’s umbrella project.
Connor was the first to claim a JDC advanced Tour card in May and is the latest Welsh youngster to follow the storied path toward darting success. He has already earned various representative honours and will be keen to do so at the senior/elite levels
Steve said:
“Connor has been on my radar for a while, he represents the next generation of Welsh darting stars ”
The addition of Hopkins to the initial group sees the squad further expanded after Cayden Smith joined in recent weeks. Smith has claimed a World title and finished second in the JDC (Foundation) rankings for the 2021 season.
The other members of Team 360 have been as busy as possible in these times with young Dutch recruit Jurden van der Velde perhaps the most active. Jurden has claimed two recent open victories and is keen to add more as opportunity expands.
His performance in the second event was remarkable at any level. After only dropping one game in the group stage Van der Velde moved through from the round of 16 to the claiming of the event without dropping a single leg.
His results of 4-0,4-0,5-0 and 6-0 in the final show a return of played 19 and won 19 over the four games. Never mind Steve Hine ‘The Muffin Man’, Jurjen will soon be known as ‘The Bagel Boy’ if this carries on. Jurjen went on to do similar the following weekend although he was generous enough to not perform another clean sweep
As the newest team members get to know each other, receive their shirts and communication has become easier, plans are beginning to emerge for group social occasions, meet-ups, and even a winter ‘training camp’ has been muted.
Northern Irish Team 360 star Alex Hughes celebrated his 15th birthday and although the celebrations were mainly home-based, due to current restrictions, we are sure a great time was enjoyed and that there will be time for Team 360 to mark the occasion at a later point.
Perhaps at that winter training camp?
—–ENDS—-
Image: Team 360/Steve Brown
Regular Team 360 Updates and UKDA Results (with selected match reports and news) in Every Darts World Magazine:
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