Jack Nankervis had won the Latvian Open Youth title on Saturday. By Sunday, Mika Donnevert had taken the next one off him.
The youth and under-23 events ran alongside the senior competitions at the Bellevue Park Hotel in Riga, with U18 events carrying Silver ranking status on both days and the U23s Bronze.
Boys Darts events
Nankervis moved a step closer to a Lakeside debut with a 4-2 win over Mason Teese in the Latvian Open final, sealing it with a 14-darter. It was his ninth WDF Youth ranking title.
The Cornwall-based Winmau player has long been a precocious talent. At just 12, he became the youngest winner of a JDC Foundation Tour event.
Sunday brought a reversal in the Riga Open final. Donnevert came from 3-0 down to beat Nankervis 4-3, averaging 81.78 in the process. The German’s seventh WDF Youth title of the year boosts his own Lakeside hopes.
Girls events
Ruby Grey has had a weekend to remember. A year after completing the Latvian Open Girls and Women’s double, the Haverhill teenager retained her Latvian Open girls title with a 4-1 win over fellow English teenager Paige Pauling, for her 13th WDF girls title.
She repeated the feat on Sunday, winning four legs on the bounce to beat Latvia’s own Helena Cernokozinska 4-1 in the Riga Open final.
Under-23 events
In the U23, Daniel Kortbæk took his first WDF ranking title in the Latvian Open, beating Reece Pauling 4-1 with an 86.44 average. The Dane’s win also secured his place at the 2027 WDF World Masters in Las Vegas.
Pauling hit back the following day. He took out 40 in all four legs to beat Italy’s Leo Matera 4–0 in the Riga Open final, averaging 87.14 for his second WDF U23 title.
Elsewhere, Maite Navamuel extended her lead at the top of the WDF Women’s U23 rankings. The Dane won her 10th title of the year in that category at the Latvian Open, beating Matilda Heiskanen 4-1 in the final.
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Images: WDF / Chris Sargeant
