Beau Greaves and Carl Sneyd were victorious on Friday in winning the opening two PDC
Winmau Challenge Tour Events of the year, as the second-tier tour season commenced at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
Last week saw the First & Final Stage of the PDC’s Annual Qualifying School take place, with 29 two-year Tour Cards dished out across two separate fields in the UK and in Europe, with winners including the likes of Max Hopp, Karel Sedlacek and Bradley Brooks.
The PDC Winmau Challenge Tour is eligible for players who competed at Qualifying School, but were unsuccessful in winning a Tour Card. It also gives players at the top of the Order of Merit the opportunity to compete at Players Championship Events throughout the year, should Tour
Card Holders choose not to enter.
Event One saw the reigning 2x Women’s World Matchplay Champion, Beau Greaves, who was competing in her very first Challenge Tour event, come out on top, as she reached the final firstly by recording victories against Patrick Quinn, Mike Warburton, Alexander Merkx, Jurjen Van der Velde, Jamie Atkins, Keenan Thomas, Henry Coates and Michel Unterbuchner, to set up a clash with Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont.
Nothing separated the pair in the opening stages of the final, with four straight holds of throw, ending with Bellmont breaking Greaves’ throw for the first time in Leg Five to move 3-2 ahead, before following it up with a 16 dart hold of throw to move within one of victory.
Greaves then battled back by winning back-to-back legs in 16 and 13 darts respectively to send the tie to a ninth
and deciding leg, in which Bellmont would have the advantage of throwing first. Despite the early advantage, the Swiss thrower did miss multiple darts, which allowed Greaves to step up and the 21-year-old pinned a 19-dart break of throw to take the title and pick up the £2,500 top prize.
In Event Two, Carl Sneyd was victorious, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Maximilian Nirschl, Chris Hurds, Paul Rowley, John Henderson, Reece Colley, Gilbert Van der Meijden and Jeffrey Sparidaans, to set up a clash with compatriot, Tommy Lishman.
The final began with Sneyd racing into a 4-0 lead, with winning legs coming in a total of 67
darts, before Lishman ended the run with a 13 dart hold of throw to pick up his first leg of the
tie. This resulted in being Lishman’s only leg won during the final, as Sneyd sealed the victory in
Leg Six with a 16 darter to pick up his maiden PDC title as well as the £2,500 top prize.
The PDC Winmau Challenge Tour weekend continues on Saturday, with Events Three & Four
taking place in Milton Keynes, as play commences at 10:30 GMT. All live scores and results can be viewed at tv.dartconnect.com.
PDC
Winmau Challenge Tour
Event One
Quarter Finals
Stefan Bellmont 5-2 Jarno Bottenberg
Tommy Lishman 5-3 Simon Whitlock
Beau Greaves 5-1 Henry Coates
Michel Unterbuchner 5-4 Mervyn King
Semi Finals
Stefan Bellmont 5-3 Tommy Lishman
Beau Greaves 5-3 Michel Unterbuchner
Final
Beau Greaves 5-4 Stefan Bellmont
Event Two
Quarter Finals
Tommy Lishman 5-2 Graham Usher
Kevin Burness 5-2 Nathan Girvan
Jeffrey Sparidaans 5-4 Christopher Wickenden
Carl Sneyd 5-0 Gilbert Van der Meijden
Semi Finals
Tommy Lishman 5-1 Kevin Burness
Carl Sneyd 5-3 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Final
Carl Sneyd 5-1 Tommy Lishman
