Schmutzler & Kurz secure final European Development Tour titles

Fabian Schmutzler (PDC)

Germany's Fabian Schmutzler has secured his spot at the 2021/22 William Hill World Darts Championship as he clinched a second PDC Unicorn European Development Tour title in succession as the tour came to a close on Sunday.

With Rusty-Jake Rodriguez having already qualified for the World Championship through the ProTour Order of Merit, the second-placed player on the European Development Tour Order of Merit would secure an Alexandra Palace place.

Schmutzler's success in Event 11, followed by another strong run in Event 12 meant that he moved onto £6,000 in prize money and well ahead of his rivals for qualification in his first weekend competing on the Development Tour circuit.

It was a double German success on the day at the H+ Hotel in Niedernhausen, with Nico Kurz also securing victory in the final event.

Sixteen-year-old Schmutzler, who secured his first title with Event Ten on Saturday, was back in the winner's circle once again, moving him into a commanding position in the European Development Tour order of Merit heading into the final event. 

He kicked things off in Event 11 with a 4-0 win over Norway's Henrik Ettrup, and quickly followed this with a 4-1 win over Jeroen Mioch and 4-2 triumph against Kevin Doets. 

Two whitewash victories were to follow against Justin Paul and Gijsbert Van Malsen to reach the last four. 

His toughest test came in the semi-finals, but Schmutzler edged through to the final with a 5-3 win over Czech Republic's Tomas Houdek.

Standing in the way of back-to-back titles for Schmutzler was the more experienced Adam Gawlas, but again the German proved too strong as he ran out a 5-2 winner to win European Development Tour 11.

Crucially for Schmutzler, he also put on a bright showing in Event 12, reaching the semi-finals to further boost his earnings and put him out of reach from the chasing pack for the spot at Alexandra Palace. 

The youngster secured his World Championship spot in just six events, having only become old enough to compete in October when he turned 16. 

However, it was 24-year-old Kurz who secured the title in the final event of the year, beating compatriot Dominik Gruellich 5-1 in the final. 

The victory means that Kurz squeezed himself into tenth in the European Development Tour Order of Merit, and crucially into a qualifying spot for the 2021 PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship. 

He started his run to the title with a 4-2 win over Geert Nentjes, before beating Leon Remde by the same scoreline. 

A 4-0 whitewash of Daan Bastiaansen followed, before two 4-3 victories over Egor Tvorogov and Mark Tabak to reach the quarter-finals. 

There he edged out compatriot Kevin Luhr 5-2 and followed this by seeing off Maikel Verberk by the same scoreline to reach the final, where he beat Gruellich to secure the title. 

Kurz joins Rodriguez, Schmutzler, Nentjes, Niels Zonneveld, Sebastian Bialecki, Jurjen van der Velde, Niko Springer, Doets and Mike van Duivenbode in securing qualification for November's PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship.

See full results in the Match Centre at this link.

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Event 11
Event 12

Order of Merit winner Rusty-Jake Rodriguez has secured a spot in the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts and a 2022/23 PDC Tour Card.

With Rodriguez having already qualified for the William Hill World Darts Championship through the ProTour Order of Merit, the second-placed player on the European Development Tour Order of Merit secured an Alexandra Palace place.

PDC Unicorn Development Tour
Sunday November 7, H+ Hotel, Niedernhausen

Event 11
Quarter-Finals

Owen Roelofs 5-0 Simon Schreier
Adam Gawlas 5-3 Geert Nentjes
Fabian Schmutzler 5-0 Gijsbert Van Malsen
Tomas Houdek 5-2 Damian Mol

Semi-Finals
Adam Gawlas 5-4 Owen Roelofs
Fabian Schmutzler 5-3 Tomas Houdek

Final
Fabian Schmutzler 5-2 Adam Gawlas

Event 12
Quarter-Finals

Fabien Schmutzler 5-0 Jurjen van der Velde
Dominik Gruellich 5-3 Sebastian Bialecki
Nico Kurz 5-2 Kevin Luhr
Maikel Verberk 5-3 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

Semi-Finals
Dominik Guellich 5-4 Fabian Schmutzler
Nico Kurz 5-2 Maikel Verberk

Final
Nico Kurz 5-1 Dominik Gruellich

Click here to see the PDC Unicorn Development Tour Orders of Merit.