Joe Croft enjoyed a perfect opening day on the second weekend of the Winmau Championship Tour, winning Events 5 and 6 at Eston Sports Academy as three players shared the honours overall.
17-year-old Thomas Banks won the Event 7 competition, defeating Winmau Team 360-star Cayden Smith 5-3 in the Final.
Charlie Martin was the other player to pick up a tournament win, denying Bulldog Banks an unbeaten Sunday with a 5-2 success in the Event 8 Final.
Joe picked up the first win of the weekend, after fending off a late fightback from Andy Boulton to win 5-3 in the Event 5 Final, hitting a first 9 average of 105.88 in Middlesbrough.
“Andy’s been there, and he’s done it, so you can’t let people have a chance like that. I dug in and got the job done, so I’m happy with that” reflected Joe on a gruelling day at Eston Sports Academy.
The 31-year-old then clinched a 5-4 victory over former WDF World Champion Neil Duff in the Event 6 Final, including 3 180s and a 12-dart leg.
“I owed Neil that because he beat me at the Super Series, and he beat me last time in Middlesbrough 4-3. I kind of owed him, it but I love him, he’s a brilliant guy and a very humble loser.”
Crofty has jumped into a promising position at the halfway stage of the Winmau Championship Tour, sitting 2nd in the rankings with 570pts having claimed 512pts from his performances on Saturday.
“I’ve worked really hard, things haven’t gone right these last couple of weeks, but I bounced back and made sure I did what I needed to start winning again.”
“I just take everything in my stride, after winning one I’ve hit a target I had in my own personal aims. But to win 2 is just ridiculous, I never would have thought it, and I’m really happy with it.”
After his second event win Crofty spoke to Darts World’s Harry Masterson:
Thomas Banks added his name to the winner’s circle with a 5-3 victory over Cayden Smith in the Final of Championship Tour 7, adding 256 ranking points to his tally in the overall rankings.
“Cayden’s a very good player, I’ve known him for ages, and you can’t let him have chances. As soon as he started having chances and coming back into the game, I was like come on just give me a break.”
“But it was very good to get over the line especially after the Development Tour, I made a Final and missed match darts to win.”
Thomas lost in a last leg decider against Czech Republic international Roman Benecky in the Final of Development Tour 6, but has been hunting improvement with practise partner/ tour card holder George Killington.
“I played really well in Germany and all the work is paying off. I’m practising with George Killington two times a week and it’s really improving my game. It boosts my confidence when I beat him and it’s the same for him when he beats me.”
Charlie Martin ended the weekend having defeated Thomas 5-2 in the Event 8 Final, moving up to 7th in the rankings.
“It’s a bit surreal to be honest, I didn’t expect it and it’s been a long old day. I struggled early on, but I played some good darts at the end so I’m very happy.”
The 28-year-old wrapped up the win with a 78 checkout in 2 darts, (T18, D12) having beat Reece Colley and Alex Long earlier on. Charlie hit a staggering first 9 average of 114.95 in his 5-2 Semi Final win over Reece in Middlesbrough.
“It was a relief because all day I had been missing my doubles, so to finally get it done leg was nice. I was thinking just do what I did in the Semi Final against Reece and thankfully it all worked out.”
This weekend was the final one in Middlesbrough, as the attention switches to Aylesbury and Bradmoor Farm for the remaining 8 competitions. Gary Stone still leads the way by 127 points followed by Joe Croft and Andy Boulton.
Congratulations once again to Joe Croft, Thomas Banks and Charlie Martin who were the latest players to pick up a £1000 cheque and win on the Winmau Championship Tour.
Winmau Championship Tour: Event 5 Final:
Joe Croft 5-3 Andy Boulton
Winmau Championship Tour: Event 6 Final:
Joe Croft 5-4 Neil Duff
Winmau Championship Tour: Event 7 Final:
Thomas Banks 5-3 Cayden Smith
Winmau Championship Tour: Event 8 Final:
Charlie Martin 5-2 Thomas Banks
2024 Winmau Championship Tour Rankings:
- Gary Stone: 697pts
- Joe Croft: 570pts
- Andy Boulton: 547pts
- Bradley Brooks: 398pts
- Thomas Banks: 398pts
- Neil Duff: 349pts
- Charlie Martin: 296pts
- James Welding: 226pts
- James Richardson: 186pts
- Cayden Smith: 136pts
—–ENDS—–
