Rock relishing Winmau World Youth Championship title defence

PDC Winmau World Youth Championship

Reigning champion Josh Rock believes this year’s Winmau World Youth Championship field could be the strongest ever, as he prepares to begin his title defence on Sunday.

Rock headlines confirmed qualifiers for 2023 World Youth Championship

PDC Winmau World Youth Championship

The field of international qualifiers & pre-qualified Tour Card Holders for the 2023 PDC Winmau World Youth Championship have been confirmed.

Nine-dart Littler stuns Van Veen to claim Event 20 title

Winmau Development Tour

Teenage sensation Luke Littler landed a nine-dart finish on his way to winning a fourth Winmau Development Tour title of 2023 in Leicester on Sunday.

Nijman and Rafferty celebrate Development Tour wins in Leicester

Winmau Development Tour

Wessel Nijman secured his third Winmau Development Tour title of 2023 in Leicester on Saturday, as Nathan Rafferty returned to winning ways at the Morningside Arena.

Littler and Van Veen continue Development Tour domination in Leicester

Winmau Development Tour

Luke Littler and Gian van Veen continued their monopoly of the 2023 Winmau Development Tour by sharing titles on an extraordinary day of action in Leicester on Friday.

Glory for Gawlas with Winmau Development Tour 15 title

Winmau Development Tour

Adam Gawlas celebrated his maiden PDC Winmau Development Tour title in Germany on Sunday, edging out Ireland’s Dylan Slevin in a fiercely-contested Event 15 final in Hildesheim.

Van Veen & Cole triumph in latest Development Tour double-header

Winmau Development Tour

Gian van Veen moved top of the Winmau Development Tour Order of Merit after winning his fourth title of 2023 on Saturday, as Jarred Cole celebrated his first Development Tour success for five years in Germany.

Nijman secures second Development Tour crown of 2023 in Hildesheim

Winmau Development Tour

Wessel Nijman secured his second Winmau Development Tour title of 2023 on Friday, as former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks returned to the winner's circle in Germany.

Van Veen completes busy weekend with Winmau Development Tour Event Ten win

Winmau Development Tour

Gian van Veen secured his second PDC Winmau Development Tour title of the weekend with success in Sunday's Event Ten in Wigan.

Van Veen & Teehan secure Development Tour success in Wigan

Winmau Development Tour

Gian van Veen and Ciaran Teehan claimed Winmau Development Tour titles as Events Eight and Nine took place on a high-quality day of competition in Wigan.

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.

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