Wessel Nijman made it a perfect double on Friday, after winning both Development Tour Events 16 & 17, as the fourth weekend of the PDC’s Youth Tour season commenced at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
Nijman, the winner of two Development Tour titles previously in 2024, reached the final of Event 16 firstly by recording victories against Mason Whitlock, Malik Istvan, Calvin Nicolai, Xanti Van den Bergh, Jack Howarth, Nathan Rafferty and Beau Greaves, to set up a clash with Tavis Dudeney.
The final began with Nijman racing into a 3-0 lead, with winning legs coming in a total of 46 darts, before Dudeney ended the Dutchman’s streak in Leg Four with a 15 dart hold of throw to pick up his first leg of the tie. The Englishman then went on to hit back-to-back 18 darters to square the tie up at 3apiece and make it a best of three contest. The pair then held throw in the following two legs to force a decider, however, the advantage of throwing first proved to be vital, as Nijman sealed the victory with a 14 darter and denying his opponent a match winning dart to seal yet another Development Tour title as well as £2,500 top prize.
In Event 17, The Dutchman went all the way once again, as he recorded victories against Jeffrey Keen, Nathan Rafferty, Riley Rees-Tucker, Tyler Thorpe, Viktor Tingstrom, Beau Greaves and Matt Heffer, to set up a clash with Germany’s Niko Springer in the tournament’s finale.
The final began with Springer racing into a 2-0 lead, with winning legs coming in 15 and 17 darts, before Nijman fort back by winning three successive legs in a total of 43 darts to move 3-2 ahead in a race to five. The German squared the tie up at 3apiece in Leg Six, before Nijman sealed the victory by winning back-to-back legs in 13 and 15 darts respectively to end a landmark day with two successive Development Tour titles, a fourth of 2024 and a ninth of his career.
The PDC Winmau Development Tour weekend continues on Saturday, with Events 18 & 19 taking place in Milton Keynes, with play commencing at 10:30 BST, as all live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com.
PDC Winmau Development Tour 2024
Event 16
Quarter Finals
Jimmy Bristow 5-2 Thomas Banks
Tavis Dudeney 5-1 Keaton Williams
Wessel Nijman 5-2 Nathan Rafferty
Beau Greaves 5-3 Bram Van Dijk
Semi Finals
Tavis Dudeney 5-2 Jimmy Bristow
Wessel Nijman 5-2 Beau Greaves
Final
Wessel Nijman 5-4 Tavis Dudeney
Event 17
Quarter Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-2 Beau Greaves
Matt Heffer 5-4 Sascha Stuhlemmer
Niko Springer 5-2 Sebastian Bialecki
Keane Barry 5-3 Daniel Perry
Semi Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-0 Matt Heffer
Niko Springer 5-2 Keane Barry
Final
Wessel Nijman 5-3 Niko Springer
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC Europe
