Following a marathon few days of high-quality tungsten action, the curtain finally fell on the opening weekend of the 2026 PDC Challenge Tour. And standing tall when the dust finally settled in Milton Keynes, it was Jack Tweddell walking out with the biggest grin.
Tweddell and Milton Keynes are clearly on speaking terms. The venue has history with the Swindon slinger, having already delivered him a Challenge Tour title last season when Mervyn King was sent packing. This time, it was Steve Lennon on the wrong end of the deal, brushed aside 5-1 in a final that echoed that previous demolition job.
And this didn’t come from nowhere. 2026 has barely begun and Tweddell has already struck gold, lifting the ADC Global Championship at the MODUS Live Lounge, a win worth a hefty £60,000 and even heavier confidence.
Sunday morning arrived with a different feel. No reload. No second bite. Just one final event and then done. For many, exhaustion set in. For the 30-year old Tweddell, it was more than enough runway. The journey wasn’t smooth. Far from it.
Three last-leg deciders had to be navigated, including a semi-final scrap against compatriot Jimmy Bristow that pushed every nerve to its limit. Along the way, he dismantled a very in-form Joe Hunt, knocked out Ally Pally nine-dart folklore in Willie Borland, handled Steve Hine, and survived a stern test from Poland’s ever-dangerous Radek Szagański.
In the final, Lennon will feel he left something out there. The averages told a tight story, but darts isn’t won on spreadsheets. Tweddell was sharper when it mattered, cleaner on the doubles, and that’s where titles are decided.That victory rockets Tweddell up to third on the early PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit, tucked just behind Hunt and Martijn Dragt, with fellow winner Tommy Lishman lurking in seventh.
For that cluster of names, the next few weeks will be spent staring at the phone. The ProTour starts in Germany next month – and a call-up is very much in the air.
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
