Wesley Plaisier and Robert Owen were victorious on Friday, in winning Winmau Challenge Tour Events 16 & 17 respectively, as the PDC’s second-tier tour weekend commenced at the Morningside Arena, Leicester.
Former Tour Card Holder, Owen, who’s reached two previous Challenge Tour finals in 2022, went all the way once more, as he recorded victories over Joshua Sinkovits, Robert Nelson, Neil MacDougall, Colin Osborne, Shane Hayward, Matthew Dennant and Robert Thornton, to set up a clash with Christian Kist.
The final began with Owen racing into a 2-0 lead, before Kist halved the deficit in Leg 3 with an 18-dart break of throw. The pair then broke each other’s throw for the following three legs, which saw Owen move 4-2 ahead and move within one of victory. The Welshman sealed the victory in Leg 7 with a 16 darter to take the title and pick up his 1st Challenge Tour title.
In Event 17, Dutchman Wesley Plaisier was victorious, as he reached the final by recording victories over Rene Eidams, David Wawrzewski, Geoffrey Murray, Christian Kist, Raymond Marshall, Lewis Pride and Martijn Dragt, to set up a clash with Robert Thornton.
Nothing separated the pair in the opening stages of the final, with four straight holds of throw, before the first break came from Plaisier in Leg 5 with a 14 darter, before following it up with a 20 dart hold to move within one of victory. Thornton did pull one leg back before Plaisier sealed the victory in Leg 8 with a 16 darter to take the title and pick up the 1st Challenge Tour crown of his career.
PDC Winmau Challenge Tour weekend continues on Saturday, with Events 18 & 19 taking place in Leicester, with play commencing at 10:00 GMT, as all live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com.
PDC Winmau Challenge Tour
Event 16
Quarter Finals
Robert Owen 5-1 Matthew Dennant
Robert Thornton 5-2 David Wawrzewski
Christian Kist 5-3 Llew Bevan
John Brown 5-0 Prakash Jiwa
Semi-Finals
Robert Owen 5-4 Robert Thornton
Christian Kist 5-3 John Bowles
Final
Robert Owen 5-2 Christian Kist
Event 17
Quarter Finals
Karel Sedlacek 5-1 Lukas Wenig
Robert Thornton 5-0 Dan Read
Martijn Dragt 5-3 Jurjen Van der Velde
Wesley Plaisier 5-3 Lewis Pride
Semi-Finals
Robert Thornton 5-3 Karel Sedlacek
Wesley Plaisier 5-2 Martijn Dragt
Final
Wesley Plaisier 5-3 Robert Thornton
—–ENDS—–
Images: Kais Bodensieck/PDC Europe
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