Niko Springer and Wessel Nijman were victorious on Saturday, in winning Development Tour Events 18 & 19 respectively, as the PDC’s Youth Tour weekend continued in Milton Keynes.
Springer, who lost out in the finale of Friday’s Event 17, went a step further in Event 18, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Oliver Klein, Tavis Dudeney, Born Van Put, Llew Bevan, Jack Male, Craig Galliano and Dylan Slevin, to set up a clash with Nijman once again in back-to-back finals.
The final began with Nijman racing into a 3-0 lead, with winning legs all coming in 15 darts each, before Springer ended the Dutchman’s run in Leg Four with a 15-dart leg of his own. The German went on to break Nijman’s throw in the following leg in 12 darts, which was then followed by a 16 dart break back from the Dutchman to move 4-2 ahead and within one of victory.
Springer produced a remarkable comeback and survived match darts along the way from Nijman, as the German sealed a 5-4 victory in a ninth and deciding leg in 17 darts to pick up a second Development Tour title of the year.
In Event 19, Nijman made amends for his runners up finish in the opening event of the day, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Jannes Bremermann, Xymen Dobbelaere, Viktor Tingstrom, Jakub Janaszkiewicz, Cole Davey, Beau Greaves and Dominik Gruellich, to set up a clash with England’s Jack Male.
The final began with Nijman racing into a 3-0 lead, with winning legs coming in 18,12 and 21 darts respectively, before Male picked up his first leg of the tie in Leg Four with a 19 dart hold of throw to make it 3-1 in the Dutchman’s favour. The pair went on to hold throw for the following three legs, which saw Nijman seal a 5-2 victory in Leg Seven with a 12 darter to pick up a third title in four events and an incredible fifth of 2024.
The PDC Winmau Development Tour weekend concludes on Sunday with Event 20 taking place in Milton Keynes, as play commences from 10:30 BST, with all live scores and results to be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com
PDC Winmau Development Tour 2024
Event 18
Quarter Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-1 Leighton Bennett
Dylan Dowling 5-2 Keenan Thomas
Dylan Slevin 5-0 Angelo Balsamo
Niko Springer 5-4 Craig Galliano
Semi Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-0 Dylan Dowling
Niko Springer 5-0 Dylan Slevin
Final
Niko Springer 5-4 Wessel Nijman
Event 19
Quarter Finals
Jack Male 5-2 Nathan Rafferty
Niko Springer 5-4 Ryan Branley
Dominik Gruellich 5-3 Leighton Bennett
Wessel Nijman 5-4 Beau Greaves
Semi Finals
Jack Male 5-4 Niko Springer
Wessel Nijman 5-4 Dominik Gruellich
Final
Wessel Nijman 5-2 Jack Male
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
